Oct. 8, 2005

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Junior outside hitter Nicole Read pounded out 25 kills while freshman libero Nichole Brown tallied 28 digs to lead UC Davis to a 24-30, 30-22, 30-27, 30-27 comeback win over Cal State Northridge in non-conference women's collegiate volleyball action at Wells Fargo Court Saturday evening.

The Aggies snap a month-long losing streak to improve to 3-16 for the year. The Matadors drop to 3-13.

Read added 13 digs and a pair of service aces to her match-high offensive output. She also hit a robust .377 for the match, committing just five errors on 53 attempts. Freshman defensive specialist Michelle Nelson also broke double figures in digs, recording 10 of her team's 77 defensive gets.

UC Davis also got strong contributions from its middle blockers as junior Katie Wilson assisted on five blocks and junior Jenny Pierce served up three of the Aggies' 12 aces.

Freshman Harmony Burdine led CSUN with 17 kills while Darla Donaldson added 13. Libero Jamie Crawford had 27 digs to lead four Matadors in double figures.

Northridge hit .472 on 20 kills to ride an early 15-9 lead to a 30-24 win in Game 1. Burdine had kills on four straight points to help craft the early edge, but UC Davis managed to close in to 22-19 and 24-21 margins. Donaldson then had a kill and a block to push her team up by 27-21 and the Matadors protected the lead.

Neither team held more than a one-point lead in the early going of Game 2 until freshman Chantal Paschetta served up three straight points to a 17-14 Aggie lead. Read and Jill McPheeters scored kills with a Paschetta ace in between during that run. UC Davis stretched their advantage to 24-17 behind Nelson's serving, and Read put down the final two points to even the match at 1-1.

The Aggies and Matadors played to an astonishing 16 ties in the crucial third game. After CSUN freshman Kelley Hanson's ace knotted the frame at 24-24, UC Davis pulled away on three straight kills by Read. Both teams traded points until a 29-26 game point for the Aggies. Donaldson gave her team life with a kill to cut the score to 29-27, but Read scored a side-out kill to push UC Davis ahead by a game.

In Game 4, back-to-back kills by junior Rachel Keener ignited a 6-0 run to help the Aggies pull away from a 12-12 tie. She hit consecutive kills again later in the game to cushion the lead to 24-16 and Northridge never approached by closer than three points the rest of the way.

Paschetta finished the match with 10 kills and nine digs while Keener had nine kills and three block assists off the bench. Setter Katelyn Astruc was credited for 48 assists and added an ace and a solo block to the victory.

UC Davis returns to action for the Causeway Classic at Sacramento State on October 12.