# 2023 UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball team

The 2023 UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2023 NCAA Division I & II men's volleyball season. The Anteaters, led by eleventh year head coach David Kniffin, played their home games at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters competed as members of the Big West Conference and were picked to finish third in the Big West preseason poll.

## Season highlights

* Joe Karlous won the National Setter of the Week award for Week 0 games.

## Preseason
### Coaches poll

The preseason poll was released on December 21, 2022. UC Irvine was picked to finish third in the Big West Conference standings.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Hawai'i | 25 (5) |
| 2 | Long Beach State | 19 |
| 3 | UC Irvine | 17 (1) |
| 4 | UC Santa Barbara | 13 |
| 5 | CSUN | 10 |
| 6 | UC San Diego | 6 |

## Schedule

TV/Internet Streaming/Radio information:
    ESPN+ will carry all home and conference road games. All other road broadcasts will be carried by the schools respective streaming partner.
| Date Time | Opponent | Rank | Arena City (Tournament) | Television | Score | Attendance | Record (Big West Record) |
| 1/6 3 p.m. | vs. #14 Lewis | #8 | Smith Fieldhouse Provo, UT | byutv.org | W 3–1 (26–28, 28–26, 25–22, 25–23) | 249 | 1–0 |
| 1/7 3 p.m. | vs. McKendree | #8 | Smith Fieldhouse Provo, UT | byutv.org | W 3–0 (36–34, 25–15, 25–19) | 152 | 2–0 |
| 1/13 7 p.m. | Emmanuel | #7 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | W 3–0 (25–12, 25–21, 25–11) | 578 | 3-0 |
| 1/18 7 p.m. | # 10 USC | #7 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | W 3–2 (25–22, 25–27, 23–25, 25-20, 15-11) | 1,534 | 4-0 |
| 1/20 7 p.m. | Concordia Irvine | #7 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | W 3–0 (25–21, 25–18, 25–16) | 702 | 5-0 |
| 1/21 7 p.m. | @ Concordia Irvine | #7 | CU Arena Irvine, CA | EagleEye | W 3–0 (25–17, 25–20, 25–7) | 112 | 6-0 |
| 1/25 7 p.m. | #12 BYU | #6 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | W 3–0 (25–21, 25–23, 25–15) | 1,102 | 7-0 |
| 1/27 7 p.m. | #12 BYU | #6 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | L 2-3 (24-26, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 9-15) | 1,743 | 7-1 |
| 2/03 6 p.m. | @ #9 Grand Canyon | #7 | GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ | ESPN+ | L 1-3 (19-25, 19-25, 25-12, 22-25) | 1,108 | 7-2 |
| 2/04 4 p.m. | @ #9 Grand Canyon | #7 | GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ | ESPN+ | L 2-3 (21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 27-29, 13-15) | 704 | 7-3 |
| 2/08 7 p.m. | @ #6 Pepperdine | #7 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, CA | WavesCast | W 3-2 (29-27, 20-25, 25-20, 27-29, 15-9) | 623 | 8-3 |
| 2/10 7 p.m. | #6 Pepperdine | #7 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) | 1,292 | 9-3 |
| 2/24 7 p.m. | #2 UCLA | #6 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | L 1-3 (25-17, 23-25, 19-25, 16-25) | 2,411 | 9-4 |
| 2/26 5 p.m. | @ #2 UCLA | #6 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA | P12+ UCLA | L 1-3 (25-20, 22-25, 16-25, 25-27) | 1,306 | 9-5 |
| 3/04 3 p.m. | @ #10 Stanford | #6 | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA | P12+ STAN | W 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-22) | 793 | 10-5 |
| 3/05 5 p.m. | #3 Penn State | #6 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | L 2-3 (34-32, 23-25, 25-18, 22-25, 11-15) | 881 | 10-6 |
| 3/10 7 p.m. | UC San Diego* | #6 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-16) | 932 | 11-6 (1-0) |
| 3/11 7 p.m. | @ UC San Diego* | #6 | LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-14) | 910 | 12-6 (2-0) |
| 3/16 7 p.m. | @ UC Santa Barbara* | #6 | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-11, 15-11) | 312 | 13-6 (3-0) |
| 3/17 7 p.m. | UC Santa Barbara* | #6 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-20) | 790 | 14-6 (4-0) |
| 3/31 7 p.m. | #15 CSUN* | #5 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-19) | 620 | 15-6 (5-0) |
| 4/01 7 p.m. | @ #15 CSUN* | #5 | Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-19) | 186 | 16-6 (6-0) |
| 4/07 9 p.m. | @ #1 Hawai'i* | #5 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI | ESPN+ | L 1-3 (16-25, 25-17, 23-25, 22-25) | 7,399 | 16-7 (6-1) |
| 4/08 9 p.m. | @ #1 Hawai'i * | #5 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI | ESPN+ | L 0-3 (24-26, 20-25, 19-25) | 8,409 | 16-8 (6-2) |
| 4/14 7 p.m. | @ #4 Long Beach State* | #5 | Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA | ESPN+ | L 0-3 (18-25, 19-25, 22-25) | 2,409 | 16-9 (6-3) |
| 4/15 5 p.m. | #4 Long Beach State* | #5 | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | L 2-3 (25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 20-25, 13-15) | 1,651 | 16-10 (6-4) |
| 4/20 7:30 p.m. | CSUN $^{(6)}$ | #5 $^{(3)}$ | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA (Big West Quarterfinal) | ESPN+ | W 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-18) | 1,008 | 17-10 |
| 4/21 7:30 p.m. | #4 Long Beach State $^{(2)}$ | #5 $^{(3)}$ | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA (Big West Semifinal) | ESPN+ | W 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-20) | 2,543 | 18-10 |
| 4/22 7 p.m. | #1 Hawai'i $^{(1)}$ | #5 $^{(3)}$ | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA (Big West Championship) | ESPNU | L 1-3 (18-25, 25-21, 13-25, 22-25) | 4,064 | 18-11 |
    *-Indicates conference match.
    Times listed are Pacific Time Zone.

## Announcers for televised games

* Lewis: No commentary
* McKendree: No commentary
* Emmanuel: Rob Espero & Charlie Brande
* USC: Rob Espero & Charlie Brande
* Concordia: Robbie Loya & Charlie Brande
* Concordia: Jeff Runyan
* BYU: Rob Espero & Charlie Brande
* BYU:
* Grand Canyon:
* Grand Canyon:
* Pepperdine:
* Pepperdine:
* UCLA:
* UCLA:
* Stanford:
* Penn State:
* UC San Diego:
* UC San Diego:
* UC Santa Barbara:
* UC Santa Barbara:
* CSUN:
* CSUN:
* Hawai'i:
* Hawai'i:
* Long Beach Sttae:
* Long Beach State:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AVCA Coaches | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Off the Block Media | Not released | Not released | 7 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | | 7 |
^The Media did not release a Pre-season or Week 1 poll.