Aug. 29, 2008
Final Stats
FRESNO, Calif. - Sophomore outside hitter Megan York posted a match-high 18 kills and a .319 hitting average to lead Saint Mary's to a 25-15, 26-24, 23-25, 25-17 win over UC Davis in the opening match of the Fresno State Invitational women's volleyball tournament Friday evening at the Save Mart Center.
The match represented the season-opening contest for each team. It was also the first match for first-year UC Davis head coach Jamie Holmes.
Sophomore Kayla Varney scored 13 kills and had two service aces and 11 digs to lead the Aggies. Senior Renee Ibekwe came off the bench to provide 6-0-14 hitting on offense and seven digs on floor defense. Junior libero Avreeta Singh led UC Davis with 14 digs.
Senior Taylor Groess contributed 15 kills for the Gaels, which combined for 8.5 team blocks and eight service aces in the winning effort.
After Saint Mary's dominated its first-set win with a .481 hitting average and four service aces, UC Davis battled in the second frame. The Aggies took a 14-12 lead midway in the second set when Varney's kill and block assist cracked a 12-12 tie. The Gaels later pulled ahead by as much as a 20-15 edge, by a block assist and kill from junior middle blocker Megan Burton, then took a 24-21 set point on Shannon Lowell's kill.
Varney scored a side-out kill to cut the SMC lead to 24-22, then junior setter Carson Lowden delivered back-to-back kills to tie the score at 24-24. However, Groess scored consecutive kills to close out the set and push the Gaels to a 2-0 match lead.
The third set again featured a valiant UC Davis comeback after Alita Fisher's ace put SMC up to a commanding 15-7 lead. Varney ended the Gael run with a side-out kill then served up six straight points to cut the deficit to just 15-14. Saint Mary's stretched its lead back out to a 20-17 and held a 22-20 footing late in the set, but the Aggies again fought back to tie the score at 22-22. This time, however, the Aggies were able to capitalize on the comeback: Varney posted a kill to provide UC Davis with a 23-22 lead, then Ibekwe knocked down the set-winning kill.
In the fourth set, Saint Mary's broken open a 9-9 tie, getting four kills from York down the stretch to claim a 25-17 win. The Gaels hit 16 kills to the Aggies' eight in that finale.
UC Davis continues tournament action at Fresno State with a noon match against the host Bulldogs, then concludes the weekend against Cal State Bakersfield at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
