Oct. 21, 2005

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Senior middle blocker Amanda Vazquez pounded out 12 kills with five service aces to help UC Irvine post strong Game 2 and 3 finishes, sweeping UC Davis 30-24, 30-22, 30-26 in a non-conference women's collegiate volleyball match at the Pavilion Friday evening.

The Aggies fall to 3-18 for the season. The Anteaters improve to 8-13.

Junior outside hitter Nicole Read led UC Davis with 16 kills and five aces of her own, while freshman libero Nichole Brown picked up 24 of her team's 51 digs. Redshirt freshman Renee Ibekwe also was a highlight off the Aggie bench, recording four kills, two aces, a block assist and a .300 hitting average.

UCI middle blocker Whitney Pavlik provided four total blocks, including two solo stuffs. Another middle, freshman Lauren Kellerman, totalled 10 kills and added a pair of aces for the Anteaters. Cassidy Caprista provided offensive spark off the bench, recording six kills in eight swings.

Irvine jumped out to a 9-1 start in Game 1, getting three kills from junior outside Trisha White in that opening run. The Aggies clawed back, as Read clubbed four kills in a span of six points to reduce the deficit to 13-7, then later served up five straight points to bring her team within a 24-22 difference. Vazquez then put down a kill and served up an ace in the final stretch to allow UCI to escape with a 30-26 victory. Read had six kills and six digs in the first game for UC Davis, while White totalled nine kills to lead the Irvine attack.

In Game 2, freshman Chantal Paschetta served up a 4-0 run to help the Aggies pull away from an 8-5 lead. UC Davis stretched its advantage to as much as 16-9 before Vazquez ignited an Anteater comeback with back-to-back aces. Her kill capped a scrambling rally to pull UCI within 20-18, then she served up another ace to slice the margin to just one point.

Read twice picked up kills to return the lead to UC Davis, but each time Irvine had an answer. After a Christa Conom tied the score at 22-22, the Aggies suffered a string of five straight attack errors to allow the Anteaters to take a 27-22 lead. Pavlik had a block at the 26th point, then posted a solo stuff to close the game out at 30-22.

Game 3 took a similar turn to the second frame as UC Davis again piled up an early lead of 10-5, then later 18-12. Read had three aces in a span of four serves in the early run, then posted back-to-back kills midway through the game to help craft that lead.

UCI again scrambled back as Kellerman and Conom each had two kills in an 8-0 run, turning a 21-14 Aggie lead into a 22-21 Anteater advantage. UCI took advantage of three free-ball kills down the stretch, then Kellerman served up another ace to pull away to a 27-22 lead. Read had two late kills, including one that held off a match point and returned the serve to the Aggie baseline, but Pavlik knocked down a side-out kill to complete the sweep.

UC Davis returns to action Saturday night for a home match against 24th-ranked Long Beach State.

UC IRVINE (kills-aces-blocks) - Trisha White 11-0-02, Devon Sutherland 0-1-0, Christa Conom 3-0-2, Whitney Pavlik 5-0-4, Amanda Vazquez 12-5-1, Lauren Kellerman 10-2-0, Terri Peterson 0-0-0, Keegan Featherstone 1-0-0, Cassidy Caprista 6-0-0, Jennifer Moser 0-0-0, Kristin Kelley 0-0-0. Totals 48-8-6.0. Assists - Christa Conom 34. Digs leader - Jennifer Moser 15.

UC DAVIS (kills-aces-blocks) - Michelle Nelson 1-0-1, Katelyn Astruc 1-0-1, Katie Wilson 1-0-1, Jenny Pierce 1-0-2, Rachel Keener 3-0-1, Nicole Read 16-5-1, Amy McMahon 2-0-2, Kelly Patterson 1-0-0, Cleo Schiff 0-0-0, Chantal Paschetta 3-1-0, Jill McPheeters 1-0-1, Renee Ibekwe 4-2-1, Nichole Brown 0-0-0. Totals 34-8-6.0. Assists - Michelle Nelson 21. Digs leader - Nichole Brown 24.