Sept. 4, 2009
Final Stats
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Freshman outside hitter Allison Whitson provided 16 kills and a .484 hitting average while Kayla Varney and Tori Hooper added 23 more kills between them, leading UC Davis to a 25-12, 25-19, 25-18 sweep of Mississippi State during action at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational women's volleyball tournament at Missouri State Friday evening.
The Aggies improve to 3-2 for the year. The Bulldogs slip to 1-4.
Whitson committed just one hitting error in 31 swings to pace UC Davis offensively. Varney, another outside hitter, tagged 13 kills with 12 digs while Hooper added 10 kills against just two errors for a .444 success rate. As a team, the Aggies hit .294 overall, including .325 in the first set and .359 in the third. Seniors Carson Lowden and Avreeta Singh each served up three aces for UC Davis.
For Mississippi State, sophomore middle Ashley Newsome and senior outside hitter Ioana Demian each had eight kills and four blocks.
Singh had all three of her aces in consecutive fashion as UC Davis stormed to a 16-8 lead in the opening set. Whitson and Hooper each turned in a pair of kills to extend the lead to 21-11, then Lowden posted back-to-back aces to set up a 24-12 set point. Junior right side Melanie Adams scored the winner to give the Aggies the 1-0 match lead.
The second set proved to be a more closely fought battle, with two Chanelle Baker kills pulling the Bulldogs to within a one-point deficit at 17-16. However, Varney's kill and a solo block from sophomore Betsy Sedlak helped UC Davis pad its lead to 20-16. The Aggies protected that margin for the remainder of the frame. Varney hit 5-0-11 with four digs in the second set.
Whitson recorded a block and a solo stuff in UC Davis' 6-1 start to the third set, but MSU managed to scrape back to an 11-11 tie in support of Demian's serving. Sedlak knocked down a side-out kill, then registered a second solo block to lift the Aggies to a 13-11 lead, then hot hitting from Varney and Hooper enabled UC Davis to pull away to a 21-14 advantage. Varney's final kill set up a 24-18 match point, then Lowden served up her third ace for the winner.
The Aggies' 50 kills is the highest total for a three-set match since late in the 2007 season, and marks the fourth time this season the team has outkilled its opponent.
UC Davis faces Memphis and Stephen F. Austin in Saturday's action at the Wynn Invitational.
