Sept. 19, 2009
UC Davis 3, SIUE 0
Saint Louis 3, UC Davis 0
SAINT LOUIS - Junior right-side hitter Melanie Adams totalled 21 kills and hit a combined .333 to earn all-tournament honors as UC Davis split its Saturday matches at the Billiken Invitational collegiate women's volleyball tournament at Chaifetz Pavilion. The Aggies swept SIU Edwardsville by scores of 25-11, 25-22, 25-19; then lost to host 22nd-ranked Saint Louis in a three-set, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 match.
UC Davis moves to 9-5 for the season, completing its fourth tournament in as many weekends.
Senior libero Avreeta Singh joined Adams as the two Aggies on the all-tournament, mostly on the strength of her 17-dig performance in Saturday's nightcap. Adams hit 10-2-22 with two aces and nine digs in the morning win against SIUE, then posted a similar 11-2-29 hitting line with eight digs versus the Billikens.
UC Davis stormed to victory in the opening set against the Cougars, capitalizing on nine SIUE hitting errors in a 17-6 start. Adams pounded out four kills, Denny had three blocks and senior setter Carson Lowden tallied 2-for-2 hitting with five digs in the frame. As a team, the Aggies hit a robust .391 in contrast to the minus-.061 across the net.
However, UC Davis had to come from behind in each of its second- and third-set wins. Cougar freshman Brianne Graunke had three kills to ignite her team to a 12-9 lead, then Brittni Birkey scored a block assist and kill to extend that advantage to 17-12. The Aggies eventually battled back to a 22-22 tie thanks to two kills and a service ace by junior Kayla Varney. Freshman Allison Whitson added two kills to complete a run of seven unanswered points to finish the second set.
In the third, Varney served up a six-point run that transformed a 17-16 deficit to a 23-17 UC Davis lead. Adams and Whitson scored the final two kills to seal the sweep, combining for seven kills in the finale.
Against SLU, junior Megan Boken and senior Sammi McCloud each posted two kills in a 10-2 run that allowed the Billikens break out to a 20-11 lead in the first set. The Aggies managed to close the gap to 22-18 on a Denny/Lowden block, but Fonke helped SLU claim the lead with a kill and ace down the stretch.
In the second set, senior setter Whitney Roth's kill and block allowed the Billikens pull away from a 13-13 tie to a 19-14 lead. Adams hit 5-1-13 for the Aggies in that stanza, but McCloud and senior Alyssa Deno combined for 10 kills on 25 swings to keep their guests at bay. That SLU tandem matched its 10-kill total in the third set, while three Fonke kills erased the Aggies' 15-13 lead. UC Davis battled back to ties of 20-20 and 21-21 in an effort to spoil the Billiken sweep, but Whitney Behrens served up three straight points in a 4-0 finish.
The Aggies finished 2-1 in the tournament, playing a total of nine sets in two days. Whitson finished with 30 kills in the three matches, with Varney close behind at 28 kills and 33 digs. Middle blockers Denny and sophomore Betsy Sedlak combined on 22 kills and 22 blocks during the weekend.
UC Davis hosts both its home opener and Big West Conference premiere against Pacific on Friday, September 24. The match will take place at Upper Hickey Gym as the Pavilion, the volleyball program's normal home venue, continues its upgrades.
