Aug. 28, 2009
Final Stats
PULLMAN, Wash. - UC Davis freshman Allison Whitson made her collegiate debut with 16 kills and junior Kayla Varney posted double figures on offense and floor defense, but Washington State defended its home court with a 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 25-18 win over the Aggies on the first day of the Nike Cougar Invitational women's volleyball tournament Friday night at Bohler Gymnasium.
UC Davis opens its season at 0-1. WSU moves to 1-0 for the year.
Whitson had eight kills with no errors on 12 attempts in the Aggies' third-set victory, helping UC Davis pound out 21 total kills in that frame. Varney had seven of her 12 kills in the first two sets, while sharing the team lead of 15 digs with senior setter Carson Lowden and senior libero Avreeta Singh.
Senior outside hitter Jackie Albright posted 18 kills on 55 swings to lead the Cougars. Middle blockers Cassie Robbins and Brittany Tillman combined for 21 kills and .410 hitting, while Robbins led the net defense with six block assists.
WSU pulled away from a 15-15 tie in the opening set, helped by a block and kill by Tillman in that run. Robbins later delivered a pair of kills to push the lead to 23-19, then Rachel Todorovich set up set point at 24-19. Robbins game the Cougars the 1-0 set lead with her side-out kill two points later.
Albright and Todorovich each recorded five kills in the second set, during which WSU never trailed. The Cougars led by as much as 19-12 before UC Davis capitalized on a WSU service and hitting error that cut the margin to 21-18. The Aggies never approached any closer, hitting into six Cougar blocks to fall behind by a 2-0 match score.
The Aggies exploded for 21 kills in the third set - eight from Whitson and four from sophomore transfer Betsy Sedlak -- to hit .318 as a team. Whitson posted three kills in the span of four serves to push UC Davis up by a 13-11 edge, then Lowden and sophomore Katie Denny teamed up for a block and Whitson added a side-out strike to stretch that advantage to four. Varney had three kills down the stretch to finish the third-set win.
Tillman opened strong for WSU in the fourth and final set, posting two kills out of the gates and three within the first five points. She hit 4-0-4 for the game, teaming with Albright's seven total kills. UC Davis managed to stay within a two-point reach before solo blocks by Tillman and Todorvich stretched the Cougar lead to 19-15. The Aggies hit just .029 in the fourth, their lowest for the contest.
UC Davis actually outhit its host by a 54-51 margin in kills and held a 61-51 overall edge in digs. However, WSU totalled half as many hitting errors (16 to 31) while combining on 12 blocks for the match.
The Aggies continue tournament play against Portland on Saturday morning, then complete their weekend with a 4:30 p.m. match against Montana State.
