Sept. 29, 2006

Box Score

FULLERTON, Calif. - Freshman libero Avreeta Singh posted 40 digs while senior Rachel Keener had 15 kills and a .444 hitting average, leading UC Davis to a 30-27, 30-23, 24-30, 33-31 victory over Cal State Fullerton in non-conference women's collegiate volleyball action at Titan Gym Friday evening.

With the win, the Aggies end an 11-match losing streak and improve to 2-13 overall. The Titans, enjoying their best start in program history, drop to 13-3.

Singh's dig total is just two shy of the school record she set at Fresno State on September 16, and the highest total for a four-game match. Freshman Britt Erickson added 16 kills to lead five UC Davis hitters with double-figured offensive totals: sophomore Chantal Paschetta had 14 kills, senior Nicole Read posted 10, and sophomore Kelly Patterson also had 10 kills to go with six blocks.

Freshman Deven Bukoski led CSF with 16 kills and added 21 digs on defense. Libero Vanessa Vella and outside hitter Mounia Nihipali each picked up 23 digs to share the match lead. The Titans also recorded 20.5 team blocks, getting nine assists from senior middle Amanda Pfielschiefter and seven each from junior Julie Geissert and sophomore Brittany Moore.

Both teams battled in a tight first game that saw late ties of 17-17, 20-20, 24-24 and 25-25. The Titans suffered a stretch of serving and hitting errors to fall behind by a 23-20 deficit, but battled back to a 24-23 lead with the help of two Alex Wolnisty blocks. Paschetta had four kills down the stretch to help UC Davis pull away from the 25-25 deadlock, including one that set up a 29-26 game point and another for the game-winner at 30-27. Keener had five kills with no errors in the opener, while Singh launched her match with 10 digs in Game 1. Bukoski scooped 13 digs to pace CSF defensively.

Aggie setter Katelyn Astruc helped serve up a run of six straight points that pushed her team out to a 14-8 lead in the second game, and assisted on back-to-back Paschetta kills. The Titans never approached any closer for the balance of Game 2, while Patterson led UC Davis offensively with 4-0-8 offense.

The Aggie momentum carried into the early stages of Game 3, as consecutive Kelly Patterson blocks pushed UC Davis out to a 13-9 start. Bukoski guarded the net with two block assists of her own, then added a kill to tie the game at 14-14. Later in the frame, Danielle Hitzeman's kill and Cari Bailey's ace put CSF ahead by an 18-16 edge, then two more Hitzeman kills stretched the advantage to 20-16. The Titans pulled away for a 30-24 win, getting six total Game 3 kills out of Bukoski.

CSF again had to battle back from a hot UC Davis start in Game 4, cutting a 10-5 Aggie lead to a 12-11 Titan edge on Barbara Thierjung's ace. The lead was short-lived, as both teams tied and retied the score four times in the next seven points. The Aggies gained traction when Read and Paschetta scored kills to send UC Davis up by a 20-17 edge. Astruc and Patterson combined for a block to push the lead to 21-17, then Singh served up one of her team's five total aces to make it 22-17.

Moore got her team back in the race with a run of three kills, while the Titan net defense scored a pair of blocks against the UC Davis attack, tying the game at 26-26 and again at 27-27. Keener ended a brief Fullerton lead to tie the game at 28-28, then spoiled a 29-28 game point with another kill. UC Davis then held a 30-29 match-point spot, but Hitzeman and Pfielschiefter stufffed a Nicole Read swing to tie the game at 30-30. Read avenged the block with a kill that gave UC Davis a 32-31 match point, then promptly served up the winner.

Friday's win is the first for UC Davis since sweeping Montana at the Cal Molten Classic in August. The Aggies return to action at UC Riverside on Saturday at 7 p.m.

UC DAVIS (kills-aces-blocks) - Katelyn Astruc 3-1-5, Kelly Patterson 10-0-6, Britt Erickson 16-1-1, Chantal Paschetta 14-1-1, Rachel Keener 15-0-3, Nicole Read 10-0-3, Michelle Nelson 0-0-0, Avreeta Singh 0-1-0, Carson Lowden 0-01-0, Tori Hooper 0-0-0, Renee Ibekwe 0-0-1, Katie Wilson 0-0-0. Totals 68-5-10.0. Assists - Katelyn Astruc 55. Digs leader - Avreeta Singh 40.

CSF (kills-aces-blocks) - Julie Geissert 5-0-7, Brittany Moore 12-0-7, Amanda Pfielschiefter 5-0-9, Danielle Hitzeman 8-0-3, Breanna Trudeau 3-0-2, Deven Bukoski 16-0-5, Alex Wonisty 0-0-4, Cari Bailey 0-1-0, Jennifer Francisco 1-0-0, Kellyanne Kirby 1-0-0, Vanessa Vella 2-2-0, Barbara Thierjung 0-1-0, Mounia Nihipali 9-1-1. Totals 62-5-20.5. Assists - Julie Geissert 46, Digs leaders - Mounia Nihipali 23, Vanessa Vella 23.