Aug. 25, 2007
Albany 3, UC Davis 0
New Mexico State 3, UC Davis 1
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Freshman Kayla Varney posted 28 kills and 14 digs in seven total games but UC Davis lost two matches at the Hilton Garden Inn NAU Invitational women's volleyball tournament Saturday. The Aggies lost the day's opener in four games to New Mexico State, with game scores of 30-21, 29-31, 37-35 and 30-20. UC Davis then lost its nightcap in a three-game sweep to Albany, falling 30-21, 30-27, 30-23.
The UC Davis Aggies, competing in their season-opening weekend, start the year at 0-3. The NMSU Aggies improve to 2-0 overall, while Albany moves to 1-2. Both of UC Davis' Saturday opponents qualified for last year's NCAA tournament.
UC Davis overcame a 29-26 triple game point to claim Game 2 against New Mexico State. Varney had back-to-back kills to cut the lead to 29-28, then NMSU committed three straight hitting errors to even the game score to 1-1.
A total of four NMSU players had double-figured kills, including Amber Simpson's 17 kills and .467 hitting average. Varney had 16 kills while another freshman, right side hitter Melanie Adams, chipped in 12. Sophomore Tori Hooper enjoyed another strong match, posting three blocks and hitting 7-0-17 for a .412 success rate.
Varney was the only Aggie in double-figured offense against the Great Danes, slamming 12 kills in 27 swings. Senior Kelly Patterson added six kills and hit .417 for UC Davis, while sophomore libero Avreeta Singh paced the floor defense with 13 digs.
Albany's senior middle Ashley Crenshaw totalled 17 kills and hit .500 overall, while Amanda Cowdrey and Kamisha Kellem combined for 21 kills on 41 attempts for the match.
Singh was the lone UC Davis player on the all-tournament team. She recorded 36 digs and four aces in 12 games for the weekend. NMSU's Lindsey Yon was named tourney MVP while her teammate Krystal Torres was selected as Best Libero.
UC Davis returns to action at Fresno State on August 31, then travels to Bakersfield for matches against Idaho State and Cal State Bakersfield later that weekend.
