Sept. 30, 2006

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Freshman outside hitter Dominique Cowling posted a match-high 20 kills while junior Angie Mitchell contributed on 10 of her team's 18 blocks, leading UC Riverside to a 30-19, 23-30, 15-30, 36-34, 15-9 win over UC Davis in non-conference women's collegiate volleyball action at the Student Rec Center Saturday.

The Aggies, coming off a four-game win against Cal State Fullerton Friday, drops to 2-14 for the season. The Highlanders pick up their second win of the season, improving to 2-13.

Sophomore outside hitter Chantal Paschetta led UC Davis offensively with 16 kills, including six in the pivotal Game 4. Freshman Britt Erickson had 14 kills, 13 digs and five service aces while sophomore Kelly Patterson had seven kills and a team-high seven blocks. Senior Nicole Read also posted a double-double, finishing with 10 kills and 11 digs.

Freshman libero Avreeta Singh, who had 40 digs in the win at Fullerton the night before, added a match-high 21 in Saturday's action.

Riverside hit .317 in its Game 1 win, using a 5-0 run midway through the frame to take a 16-8 lead, then stretching the advantage to double digits on a block by Mitchell and setter Brittney Murrey. However, UC Davis found its stride offensively in Games 2 and 3, hitting a combined .311 in the two wins. Senior Rachel Keener enjoyed the best start offensively for the Aggies, hitting 7-0-15 through the first two games. Erickson had four kills in each of the Game 2 and 3 victories for UC Davis.

The Highlanders stormed out to an 8-0 lead in Game 4, getting two kills each from Murrey and senior Ashley Halperin in that stretch. Aggie senior Jenny Pierce provided a pair of blocks during her team's comeback to a 15-12 deficit, but three straight UC Davis attack errors allowed UCR to bump their lead back out to 19-12.

Halperin teamed up with Janiece Manuel for a block against Keener to take a 27-21 lead, then added another kill to move ahead by 28-21. Pierce's kill stopped an immediate game-point situation and ignited a run of eight unanswered UC Davis points. Patterson had three blocks during the turnaround, with her assist with Read providing a 29-28 match point for the Aggies. Halperin tied the score at 29-all with a kill, then her hitting error game UC Davis a 30-29 edge. The Aggies also held match-point opportunities at 32-31 and 34-33, but the Highlanders managed to tie the score each time.

Cowling's kill knotted Game 4 at 34-34, then the Benicia, Calif. native served up two straight points for UCR, tying the match and forcing a fifth game. Cowling, who had five kills in Game 3 and seven in Game 4, added two more in the decisive fifth. The Highlanders never trailed in the finale, claiming the final two points on an Aggie service error and attack error.

UC Davis returns home to host Pacific on October 5, then returns to Southern California for a road match at Cal State Northridge the following Saturday.

UC DAVIS (kills-aces-blocks) - Katelyn Astruc 7-1-4, Britt Erickson 14-5-2, Chantal Paschetta 16-1-2, Carson Lowden 1-0-0, Rachel Keener 10-0-1, Nicole Read 10-1-3, Michelle Nelson 0-0-0, Kelly Patterson 7-0-7, Avreeta Singh 0-1-0, Tori Hooper 0-0-0, Renee Ibekwe 0-0-0, Katie Wilson 1-0-0, Jenny Pierce 1-0-3. Totals 67-9-12.5. Assists - Katelyn Astruc 53. Digs leader - Avreeta Singh 21.

UCR (kills-aces-blocks) - Amy Read 7-1-3, Ashley Halperin 14-0-4, Brittney Murray 6-1-5, Dominique Cowling 20-1-2, Angie Mitchell 9-0-10, Janiece Manuel 11-16, Kayla Roth 0-0-0, Kelley Quinn 0--0, Tonbi Youpele 0-0-0, Amanda Nilsson 0-0-0. Totals 67-4-18.0. Assists - Brittney Murray 52. Digs leader - Ashley Halperin 20.