Oct. 31, 2009
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Junior outside hitter Kayla Varney scooped up 17 of her match-high 18 digs in the first two sets, then sophomore middle blocker Betsy Sedlak contributed on six of her team's eight third-set blocks to lead UC Davis to a 25-19, 25-23, 25-11 sweep of UC Riverside in Big West Conference women's volleyball action Saturday night.
The Aggies, who took over sole possession of first place in the conference with Friday night's upset of No. 23 UC Irvine, wins their sixth straight match to improve to 18-7 for the year, 9-3 in league play. The Highlanders fall to 4-17 overall, 2-9 in Big West matches.
Freshman Allison Whitson led all hitters with 11 kills on 28 attempts, while assisting on five blocks at the net. Sedlak had two solos and five assists for seven total stuffs, supplementing her 4-0-8 hitting numbers. Junior Melanie Adams added nince kills and an ace, and senior setter Carson Lowden hit 5-for-7 for additional highlights on the UC Davis boxscore.
For UCR, senior Tonbara Youpele led her team with 10 kills on 33 swings.
Fitting for the Halloween festivities, the Aggies survived an early scare in the first set after their 10-6 start gave way to a 14-12 deficit. Highlander freshman Shelby LeDuff hit back-to-back kills in a run of five straight points, then Youpele scored two more kills to provide the two-point edge. Down 17-15, UC Davis countered with a 5-0 run of its own, highlighted by a block and kill by sophomore Katie Denny. The Aggies never trailed the rest of the way, as Adams' ace put the score at 22-19 and Lowden's tap on a UCR freeball finished the win.
Varney had 10 digs in that first set, while Whitson led the Aggies offensively with five kills.
Whitson pounded out four more kills in UC Davis' 7-1 start to the second set. The Aggies never fell behind in the frame, but on multiple occasions had to cool off Highlander offensive outbursts. Most notably, Adams scored her fifth kill of the second set to put the Aggies in a 24-20 set-point advantage, only to have UCR fight off three straight match points. With the score at 24-23, the Highlanders appeared to tie the set with a solo stuff. But Varney made a diving save to cover it, then Denny and Whitson teamed up for a block of their own, sending the Aggies into the break with a 2-0 match lead.
UC Davis dominated the third set with its net play. Sedlak six blocks in the final stanza, helping limit UCR to minus-.167 hitting. Meanwhile, the Aggies took only 19 swings in their 25-11 win, tallying 10 kills to go with the eight team blocks.
The six straight wins represents the longest streak for UC Davis volleyball since earning seven consecutive victories to open the 1999 season. The Aggies return to action in a road match at Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
UC Davis 3, UC Riverside 0
(25-19, 25-23, 25-11)
UC RIVERSIDE (kills-aces-blocks) - Tonbara Youpele 10-0-0, Bianca Endersby 6-0-3, Dominique Cowling 6-0-3, Shelby LeDuff 6-0-0, Kelley Quinn 3-0-2, Brittney Murrey 1-1-1, Savannah Thomas 1-0-0, Amanda Nilsson 0-0-0, Katherine Castillo 0-0-0, Shannon Moyneur 0-0-0. Totals 33-1-5.0. Assists leader - Brittney Murrey 30. Digs leader - Katherine Castillo 9.
UC DAVIS (kills-aces-blocks) - Allison Whitson 11-0-5, Melanie Adams 9-1-1, Kayla Varney 6-0-2, Carson Lowden 5-0-2, Betsy Sedlak 4-0-7, Katie Denny 4-1-5, Avreeta Singh 0-2-0, Kaitlyn Plum 0-0-0, Lindsey Dowd 0-0-0. Totals 39-4-12.0. Assists leader - Carson Lowden 24. Digs leader - Kayla Varney 18.
Attendance - 121.
