Nov. 6, 2009

Final Stats

FULLERTON, Calif. - Freshman outside hitter Kayla Neto posted 19 kills en route to a .400 hitting average to help Cal State Fullerton hang on to a four-set, 25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 28-26 victory over UC Davis in a Big West Conference women's volleyball match at Titan Gym Friday evening.

The Aggies end their winning streak at six matches, moving to 18-8 overall and 9-3 in conference action. The Titans improve to 14-10 for the season and 5-6 in Big West play.

Sophomore middle blocker Betsy Sedlak tallied 13 kills against just two errors toward a .458 success rate, while contributing on five of UC Davis' 12 team blocks. Fellow sophomore middle Katie Denny hit 8-1-24 with six blocks. Senior libero Avreeta Singh paced the Aggie floor defense with 19 digs.

For Cal State Fullerton, junior Erin Saddler led all players with 23 kills and 64 swings. Junior libero Cami Croteau picked up 28 digs, including 11 in the second set and 10 in the fourth.

UC Davis fell behind by a 2-0 deficit, capitalized on Fullerton's third-set hitting woes to hold off the sweep, then held a 25-24 lead in the fourth frame before losing the offensive battle down the stretch. Saddler was 7-for-10 with just one error in the opener, while Neto had a kill and block to help the Titans transform a 10-10 tie to a 17-12 edge.

The Aggies also made a strong comeback run in the second set, slipping behind by a 15-7 deficit before Sedlak's offense and net play helped UC Davis chip away to just a two-point margin at 22-20. However, an Alex Wolinsty kill prevented the Aggies from closing the gap any further, and Saddler and Neto scored kills down the stretch to complete the win. UC Davis committed just one error in the second set, but 25 Titan digs kept the Aggie offense at bay.

Despite just nine kills in the third set, UC Davis prevented the sweep with its first-contact play. The Aggies converted 68 percent of their side-out opportunities, while Fullerton committed 11 hitting errors and five service errors. A Sedlak kill tied the stanza at 8-8, then setter Carson Lowden served up three straight points to give the Aggies the lead they would not relinquish. Neto scored a pair of kills to cut into UC Davis' 24-19 set-point advantage, but freshman Allison Whitson completed the victory with her side-out kill.

The Aggies threatened to tie the match in the fourth set, taking a 14-10 lead on Kaitlyn Plum's ace, then holding a 20-17 margin on a Whitson kill. Andrea Ragan's service ace lit up a run of four unanswered to put CSF up, 21-20, only to have UC Davis answer with three straight points to reclaim the edge at 23-21.

Varney's kill put UC Davis into a 25-24 set point, but Titan sophomore Torrie Brown converted a side out to tie the match. Brown later struck again to lift CSF to a 27-26 match point, and an Aggie hitting error completed the win for the match hosts.

UC Davis hit just .142 for the match. Cal State Fullerton managed just a .204 average, but held a .300 efficiency rate in its first two sets.

The Aggies return to Big West volleyball action on Saturday at Long Beach State.