Oct. 26, 2007
Box Score
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Despite a favorable advantage in kills, digs, blocks and hitting percentage, UC Davis came up short in three straight games to drop a 3-0 sweep against UC Santa Barbara in Big West Conference women's volleyball action at the Thunderdome Friday.
The Aggies slip to 3-19 for the season and 0-10 in the Big West standings. The Gauchos, earning their first home win of the year, improve to 8-14 overall and 3-7 in conference.
Junior outside hitter Renee Ibekwe led UC Davis with 14 kills and 14 digs, while setter Carson Lowden and middle blocker Kelly Patterson each paced the net defense with four blocks. Sophomore Britt Erickson provided offensive lift in the second and third games, totalling seven kills and 10 digs in her two frames.
For UCSB, Lauren McLaughlin was the only Gaucho in double-figured offense, leading her team with 11 kills. Freshman Caitlin Saxton served up four of the eight UCSB aces in the win.
The Aggies tallied 47 kills to the Gauchos' 41, outdug their hosts by a 59-48 edge and compiled eight blocks to their opponents' seven, but UCSB found ways to protect late leads in all three games. The Gauchos held as much as a 29-23 advantage in the opener before senior Katelyn Astruc served up two aces and a kill to trim the lead to two. However, McLaughlin scored the game-winner to seal the Game 1 victory, putting UCSB to an early match lead.
In Game 2, UC Davis stormed back from a 15-6 deficit to creep within a one-point margin at 24-23. Erickson had four of her seven kills during the Aggies' comeback run while junior Erin Turner added two late in the stretch. Senior middle Brett Quirarte put down a pair of kills down the stretch to keep UC Davis at arm's length, and the Gauchos took a 2-0 lead in games.
Similarly in the third set, UC Davis recovered to a 22-22 tie after trailing by as much as 17-11 earlier. Ibekwe's 14th kill gave her team a short-lived lead at 24-23 before two more ties at 25-25 and 26-26. Lauren Smith's side-out kill put the Gauchos up for good at 27-26, and the Aggies never equalized the score the rest of the way.
The serving game was the lone category in which UCSB held a substantial edge in the match. The Gauchos served up eight aces against seven errors, while the Aggies managed just three aces with 12 service errors.
UC Davis returns to action at 24th-ranked Cal Poly on Saturday evening.
