IRVINE, CALIF. >> UC Davis senior opposite hitter Olivia Utterback put down a match-high 19 kills Wednesday and the third-seeded Aggies earned a spot opposite Hawaii in the semifinals with a four-set win over host No. 6 seed UC Irvine in the first round of the Outrigger Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship.

The Aggies’ 20-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-20 victory at Bren Events Center advanced them to a match with the Rainbow Wahine on Friday, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s conference championship match.

Utterback, UC Davis’ lone first-team, All-Big West selection, hit .298 with nine digs and four aces to help rally the Aggies (19-9). They dropped the first set to the Anteaters (16-14).

Jade Light added 14 kills and sophomore outside hitter Reese Diersbock, a Le Jardin Academy alumna, was one of six Aggies with at least five kills, finishing with nine on 25 swings.

UC Davis hit .309 in the match and had 10 aces.

The Aggies split their matches against the Rainbow Wahine this season, winning in four in Hawaii in October and losing in four in Davis, Calif., earlier this month.

“That’s where we want to be … in the position to be competing with the best teams in the conference, and so we will get that opportunity on Friday,” UC Davis coach Dan Conners said. “I thought we had one of our better offensive matches tonight hitting .309 which is quite a bit above our average.”

Kate Smith had 12 kills to lead UC Irvine, which only got into the tournament after beating Hawaii in its regular-season finale Saturday.

The Anteaters won both matches against the Rainbow Wahine this season.

No. 4 Long Beach State 3, No. 5 UC San Diego 1

Madi Maxwell and Kameron Bacon double blocked Kylie Pries on match point to send the Beach (19-10) into the semifinals of the tournament against No. 1 seed Cal Poly with a 25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23 win over the Tritons.

Senior outside hitter Natalie Glenn hit .465 with a team-high 19 kills for Long Beach State, which outblocked UCSD 11-5.

Abby Karich had a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs and Maxwell added 11 digs, 10 kills and was in on five blocks.

LBSU won the final two points of the fourth set after it was tied at 23-23 and took the third set by the same margin after scoring the final three points.

Pries had a match-high 20 kills in 55 swings for the Tritons (17-13), who qualified for the six-team tournament in their first year of eligibility after completing a four-year reclassification period into Division I. Middle blocker Emily McDaniel, an All-Big West first-team selection, hit .091 with six kills and two block assists.

Cal Poly and Long Beach State played once this season with the Mustangs winning in five on the road. Both teams were defeated twice by Hawaii.