Aug. 26, 2006

Box Score

BERKELEY, Calif. - Sophomore outside hitter Chantal Paschetta had a match-high 20 kills while freshman Britt Erickson and senior Rachel Keener combined for a .411 hitting average to lead UC Davis to a 30-25, 32-30, 30-24 sweep over Montana in each team's final match of the Cal Molten Classic women's volleyball tournament at Haas Pavilion Saturday.

The Aggies earn their first win of the season, improving to 1-2. The victory also represents the first for Steve Walker as a collegiate head coach. The Grizzlies drop to 0-3 overall.

UC Davis had to come from behind in each of the final two games to complete the sweep. The Aggies trailed by a 27-23 deficit late in Game 2 before Erickson pounded out four kills in a span of five points, putting her team up by 28-27. The Aggie freshman also scored the winning point of Game 2 as her serve caught the tape and rolled untouched into UM territory for an ace.

The Aggies trailed by an 18-15 margin midway through Game 3, then Erickson fired out three consecutive aces during a stretch of six unanswered points. Montana sophomore Micaela Parker rapped out two cross-court kills to help her team to within a single point, but a kill by UC Davis sophomore Kelly Patterson and a block by Keener and senior Nicole Read helped the Aggies stretch their edge to 24-20. Paschetta had eight kills in the final frame, including six of her team's first nine points. As a team, UC Davis hit .366 in the clincher.

Keener and Patterson had provided offensive spark in Game 1, combining for seven kills and no errors. Patterson had back-to-back kills to push UC Davis up by 20-17 in that frame, then Paschetta added consecutive kills to help seal the victory.

Freshman libero Avreeta Singh led all players with 19 digs. Erickson finished with four aces to go with her 12 kills, while Keener ended the match with a 13-1-22 offensive line and a .545 success rate. Incidentally, Erickson and Keener both came to UC Davis from the Berkeley-based Golden Bear Volleyball Club.

Senior Claudia Houle led the Grizzlies with 15 kills and 12 digs, while Parker added 14 kills and a .407 hitting average. Junior middle Jessica Petersen contributed 7-1-12 numbers on offense for a .500 clip.

This is UC Davis' first-ever victory over Montana. The Aggies lost a five-game match at home in 2004, then lost in three games in tournament action last season.

The Aggies lost to host Cal in three games earlier on Saturday, falling by scores of 30-16, 30-19 and 30-19. The Golden Bears are ranked 17th by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

UC Davis returns to tournament action at Washington State, competing in the Baden Cougar Challenge from Sept. 1-2. The Aggies will open with Boise State, then face UNLV and the host Cougars.