Oct. 26, 2006

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Senior outside hitter Nicole Read had a match-high 21 kills while setter Katelyn Astruc posted a career-best 29 digs and four service aces to lead UC Davis to a 24-30, 29-31, 30-20, 30-15, 15-13 comeback win over Cal State Fullerton in women's collegiate volleyball action at the Pavilion Thursday evening.

With the win, the Aggies improve to 3-19. The Titans drop to 14-8. This is the first time in 2006 that UC Davis has come back from a two-game deficit to win the match, having lost two matches in such fashion this season.

Read was one of four Aggies in double-figured kills, with sophomore Chantal Paschetta adding 18, sophomore Kelly Patterson hitting 13 and senior Rachel Keener chipping in 11. Freshman libero Avreeta Singh led the Aggies' floor defense with 35 digs, while Read picked up 18. Michelle Nelson came off the bench to post 12 digs, although her greater contribution was serving up 14 straight points in the Aggies' Game 4 win.

Senior outside hitter Breanna Trudeau had 14 kills to lead the Titans, while sophomore Brittany Moore hit 12 kills to go with her .314 hitting average and eight total blocks. Libero Vanessa Vella led all players with 37 total digs.

Fullerton stormed out to an 11-5 lead early in Game 1, helped by a 4-0 run that included a pair of UC Davis setting miscues. The Aggies began a comeback effor later in the frame, first when Astruc covered a Fullerton block then recovered in time to team up with Keener for a block, cutting the Titan lead to 25-20. UC Davis approached to within four points on two occasions, first when Paschetta found the deep court at 26-22, then on Keener's tool at 27-23. Trudeau's tip established a 29-24 game point, then Wolnisty and Hitzeman teamed up for their second block for the game-winner.

Keener had seven kills against no errors in 10 swings during the opener, including three kills on Titan overpasses. Trudeau led CSF with seven kills and just one error for a .545 success rate in Game 1.

The Titans again opened strong in Game 2 as back-to-back Moore kills crafted a 5-1 start. CSF extended its margin to as much as 20-12 later in the second before the Aggies began yet another comeback. Trailing 23-18, UC Davis scored four unanswered points, capped by a Kelly Patterson kill that closed the gap at 23-22.

Astruc tipped a shot into the open Fullerton court to tie the game at 25-25, then Keener punished another Titan overpass to give UC Davis a 26-25 edge, its first lead of the match. Fullerton briefly regained the lead, then Keener struck again on a crosscourt kill that tied Game 2 at 27-27.

Trudeau's shot through the Aggie block put Fullerton ahead by 28-27, but Read later responded with a kill into the midcourt to again knot the second game at 29 apiece. Hitzeman sent a kill down the right sideline for a 30-29 game point, and Moore knocked down Geissert's one set for the game-winner, giving Fullerton a 2-0 edge in games. Moore and Hitzeman each had five kills in the second frame, while Paschetta matched that total for UC Davis.

UC Davis claimed the momentum after the 10-minute break, using an 8-0 run to take an 18-11 lead. The Titans had three of their 10 Game 3 hitting errors in that run, but it was key digs from Read and Nelson that also aided the Aggie rally. UC Davis protected that lead the rest of the way, never allowing Fullerton closer than six points back during the remainder of Game 3. Read had five kills in the frame, while Patterson hit 5-1-8.

Early in the fourth game, a Titan hitting error broke an 8-8 tie and sent Nelson to the service line. Nelson continued to serve the Aggies to a 23-8 lead, picking up three aces along the way, and capitalizing on five more Titan hitting errors. Astruc later served another ace to set up a 29-13 game point, then Read finished it off at 29-15, sending the match to its fifth game. UC Davis posted 31 digs in Game 4 alone, with Astruc and Singh each scooping nine.

In the fifth game, Aggies ran out to an 8-2 lead at the changeover, and back-to-back kills by Paschetta established an 11-5 margin later in the set. The Titans began to creep back, getting a kill by Hitzeman and a Trudeau ace to cut the margin to 12-9. Hitzeman and freshman Deven Bukoski successfully tooled the UC Davis block to close the gap to 12-11. Paschetta then responded by firing a shot down the right sideline, and later hit a shot that clipped the Titan block for a 14-12 match point. After a Titan side out, Keener and Patterson teamed up for a block that finished the win.

Thursday's win is the fourth five-game match for UC Davis in the 2006 season, and the team's second season sweep of a team since beginning its transition to Division I. The Aggies had swept Cal State Northridge in a home-and-home series in 2005.

UC Davis returns to action Saturday against UC Riverside.