Nov. 11, 2005

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Freshman outside hitter Kylie Atherstone posted a match-high 17 kills and a .500 hitting average while freshman middle Jaclyn Houston contributed on 14 of her team's 19.5 blocks, leading Cal Poly to a 28-30, 30-22, 30-23, 30-28 win over UC Davis in non-conference women's collegiate volleyball action at the Pavilion Friday evening.

The Aggies drop to 4-23 for the season. The Mustangs improve to 18-5 overall.

Junior middle blocker Jenny Pierce led UC Davis with five of 13 team service aces, and added three total blocks. Senior Jill McPheeters had eight kills and hit .278 for the match. Outside hitters Rachel Keener and Chantal Paschetta recorded 13 and 14 kills, respectively, althought the Aggie left side also committed a total of 23 hitting errors.

For the Mustangs, senior outside Vanessa Gilliam added 16 kills and two aces. In addition to her net play, Houston also hit 10-0-18 for a .556 success rate on offense.

The Aggies' serving game kicked off from the very start of the match as Pierce served back-to-back aces in a 5-1 UC Davis start. The Aggies maintained their lead throughout the first game until Courtney Holman served up six straight points to erase a 26-20 deficit. Houston's fourth kill of the game tied the game at 27-27, but a Mustang hitting error and a kill by Paschetta set up a game-point situation. Houston and Chelsea Hayes put a block on Keener to cut the Aggie lead to 29-28, then Keener put down a side-out kill for the game-winner.

In Game 2, Hayes had consecutive block assists in an early run that allowed Cal Poly to take a 10-6 lead, then had an ace that later pushed her team back up by an 18-12 advantage. McPheeters scored back-to-back kills late in the second game to close a 26-19 Mustang lead to 26-22, but Cal Poly scored four straight points to seal the win and tie the match at 1-1. Atherstone had seven kills on 10 swings in the second game while Gilliam added a 5-0-10 line.

Atherstone continued her solid offensive and defensive play in Game 3, scoring a block and kill in a 4-0 run that turned an 11-11 tie into a 15-11 Cal Poly advantage. Houston compiled four kills and five block assists in the third to help keep UC Davis out of close range. The Aggies managed to close into within a 24-22 margin on kills by Paschetta and McPheeters. However, the Mustangs again finished on four straight points, getting two more block assists by Kayla Mulder in the final stretch.

Cal Poly had to rally late in Game 4 to prevent a fifth game as freshman Michelle Nelson's serving helped UC Davis pull away from an early 8-8 tie. She served up an ace to Gilliam, then forced the Mustangs to send a free ball to an uncontested Astruc at the net, who put down the kill.

The Aggie lead fluctuated from two to four points for most of Game 4 until Gilliam's ace lopped the margin to just 26-25, then Kayla Mulder's kill tied the score for the first time since the 8-8 knot early in the frame. Atherstone hit two cross-court kills to push the Mustangs to a 28-27 lead, then Mulder, Houston and Atherstone all teamed up for a three-player block to set up a 29-28 match point two serves later. Atherstone finished off UC Davis with her lone ace of the match, giving Cal Poly its third win.

UC Davis returns to action on Tuesday, November 15 for a road match at Nevada.

CAL POLY (kills-aces-blocks) - Vanessa Gilliam 16-2-3, Kylie Atherstone 17-1-5, Candace Milton 5-0-1, Jaclyn Houston 10-0-14, Cheslea Hayes 1-1-7, Kayla Mulder 9-0-5, Sarah Riviere 1-0-1, Kristin Jackson 0-0-0, Cari Olsovsky 0-0-0, Courtney Holman 0-4-0. Totals 59-8-19.5. Assists - Chelsea Hayes 50. Digs leaders - Kristin Jackson 15, Chelsea Hayes 14.

UC DAVIS (kills-aces-blocks) - Michelle Nelson 0-1-0, Katelyn Astruc 8-2-1, Katie Wilson 4-0-0, Jenny Pierce 6-5-3, Rachel Keener 13-0-0, Nicole Read 1-1-0, Chantal Paschetta 14-2-1, Jill McPheeters 8-0-2, Nichole Brown 0-2-0. Totals 54-13-6.0. Assists - Katelyn Astruc 39. Digs leaders - Nichole Brown 14, Katelyn Astruc 12, Rachel Keener 11.