Oct. 16, 2009

Final Stats

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Freshman outside hitter Allison Whitson hammered a match-high 20 kills while junior Kayla Varney provided 14 kills and 17 digs to lead UC Davis to a five-set, 19-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-12 victory over Cal Poly in a Big West Conference women's volleyball match at Mott Gymnasium Friday evening.

The Aggies improve to 14-7 for the season and 5-2 in conference matches. The Mustangs, who have won two of the last three Big West titles, dip to 6-14 overall and 2-5 in league play.

Other key UC Davis contributors included sophomore middle blocker Katie Denny, who delivered 10 kills on 18 swings for a .444 hitting average; and senior libero Avreeta Singh, who served up two aces and led all players with 21 digs on floor defense.

Junior middle blocker Dominique Olowolafe boosted Cal Poly with 11 kills and .524 hitting to go with her match-high eight blocks at the net. Another middle, Jennifer Keddy, hit 13-3-29 (.345) with six block assists. Freshman Megan McConnell added team highs of 18 kills and 19 digs.

Keddy and setter Anuhea Keanini teamed up for consecutive blocks to spark a pivotal run in the first set. Their net play erased a 13-11 deficit, then McConnell scored four kills in the span of six points to push Cal Poly to a 19-15 lead. Keddy's ace sent the Mustangs to a 23-16, their biggest lead, and Olowolafe hit two kills down the stretch to give her team the match lead.

In the second set, UC Davis tested its mettle in avoiding a 2-0 match deficit. After a Keddy kill put Cal Poly in a 24-23 set point, Whitson scored the side out to tie the frame at 24-24. Keddy struck again, this time combining with McConnell for a block to put the Mustangs up by 25-24. Whitson fired another kill -- her 10th of the set -- to knot the score at 25-25, the 12th tie of the frame. Finally, Cal Poly committed a hitting error to give UC Davis its first lead of the set, then Denny knocked down the game-winner to tie the match at 1-1.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 6-2 start in the third and never trailed the rest of the way to reclaim the match lead at two sets to one. The Aggies struggled with hitting errors to surrender five straight points, sending Cal Poly to a 13-6 lead, but managed to close the gap to within 17-15 on a Denny/Lowden block. Whitson also had four late kills to cut a 23-18 Mustang lead to 24-22, but Keddy finished the task with a side out on the next point. Keddy was 5-for-9 in the third, helping Cal Poly to .312 hitting. Meanwhile, UC Davis hit just .147 and converted just 56 percent of its side-out opportunities.

Olowolafe recorded a kill and block assist to lift Cal Poly to a 15-11 lead in the fourth, but this time the Mustangs stumbled offensively, committing four hitting errors to allow their guests back to a 15-15 tie. The two teams battled to six more ties (of 13 in the fourth set) before a Whitson kill and two more Cal Poly hitting miscues put UC Davis at a 24-21 set point. A 10th Mustang hitting error forced the fifth set.

Redshirt freshman Kaitlyn Plum served up an ace and Varney had one of her three fifth-set kills during a 6-3 Aggie start to the rubber game, although Olowolafe and McConnell each scored kills to cut the deficit to a single point. UC Davis never surrendered its lead the rest of the way. Sophomore middle Betsy Sedlak hit 2-for-2, Singh served up an ace, and Varney scored the winner in defense of Plum's serving as UC Davis completed its marathon win.

The match, which lasted two hours and 16 minutes, marks the second time UC Davis has won a conference match in five sets. The Aggies picked up a 3-2 win over Cal State Northridge three weeks earlier.

UC Davis is next in action at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night.