Oct. 1, 2010
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Freshman setter Jenny Woolway tallied 52 assists and a career-high 25 digs while engineering an Aggie offense to 65 kills, helping UC Davis claim a four-set 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20 win over Cal State Northridge in a Big West Conference women's volleyball match Friday at the Pavilion.
The Aggies improve to 11-4 overall and remain undefeated at 3-0 in Big West play. The Matadors dip to 6-11 for the season, 0-3 in conference matches.
Sophomore outside hitter Allison Whitson led all players with 16 kills on 38 swings. She also had three service aces, 10 digs and three blocks. Senior Melanie Adams a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs, while redshirt freshman Devon Damelio sparked UC Davis off the bench with 12 kills and a .375 efficiency rate. Junior Betsy Sedlak continued to boost her conference-best hitting average, scornig nine kills against one error for a .476 clip. As a team, the Aggies out-killed their guests by a 65-39 margin while hitting .253 for the match.
Senior Janet Alvarado knocked out 12 kills on 32 attempts to pace the Matadors offensively. Sophomore Monica McFarland and freshman Natalie Allen each contributed 10 kills. Sophomore libero Cindy Ortiz led CSUN with 14 digs.
Adams scored back-to-back kills and a service ace to boost UC Davis to four unanswered points early in the first set, stretching a close 8-7 battle to a 12-7 lead. McFarland helped close the gap to a 14-12 deficit with a pair of aces, but the Matadors never cut further into the Aggie lead. Junior middle blocker Katie Denny landed a kill and block assist to help UC Davis score five of six points, bringing the tally to 18-13. Aggie freshman Morgan Borch knocked down two kills down the final stretch to close out the first-set win.
In the second set, Sedlak teamed with Adams for a block, then sent a kill through the Matador defense to help craft a 12-7 edge. However, CSUN hung tough, eventually closing the gap to a 19-18 margin behind McFarland's offense. Later in the frame, Sedlak and Whitson combined for a block to put UC Davis up 22-20, then Adams closed the game with two kills and an ace.
Northridge managed to hold off a three-set sweep by taking the third set by two. Alvarado hit 6-for-9 and the Matadors posted three blocks for the set, but it was largely 11 Aggie hitting errors that delivered the win to CSUN. After crafting a 22-18 lead, UC Davis committed six offensive miscues down the final stretch. Senior Lynda Morales had two blocks in that run, helping the Matadors pick up seven of the final eight points en route to the win.
The Aggies stormed to 19 kills and 28 digs in the fourth frame to complete the match win. Denny and Damelio each had five kills in the final set. UC Davis broke loose for an early 10-6 lead before McFarland served her team back to a 10-10 tie. Sam Orlandini picked up a spectacular dig in a late rally to provide CSUN with a 19-18 lead, but the Aggies responded with four straight. Denny's kill and ace brought the score to 22-19, then Damelio tacked on her 11th and 12th kills in a match-winning 3-0 run.
Woolway spread her sets such that four Aggies averaged six or more swings per game, while two others (Borch and Sedlak) had double-figure attempts.
UC Davis continues its home weekend with a 7 p.m. match against UC Irvine on Saturday evening.
