Oct. 30, 2010
Final Stats
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Senior Kayla Varney posted 14 kills and 19 digs while sophomore outside hitter Allison Whitson led the Aggies with 17 kills, but UC Davis was unable to protect a 12-10 fifth-set lead in its 3-2 loss at Cal State Northridge in a Big West Conference women's volleyball match at the Matadome Saturday night. The Matadors won by set scores of 10-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-21 and 15-13.
UC Davis snaps its three-match winning streak, falling to 16-8 overall and 7-4 in the conference race. Northridge improves to 10-16 for the season and 3-8 in Big West play.
The Aggies trailed 10-9 in the fifth, recovered to claim a 12-10 edge, then surrendered five of the last six points in the match. Four different Northridge players struck down kills in that final push to victory.
Varney switched from libero to outside hitter during the break between the second and third sets. All of her offense - 14 kills against four errors on 33 swings for a .303 hitting average - took place in the final three stanzas. Junior middle blocker Katie Denny provided 7-for-16 hitting with two aces, while fellow junior middle Betsy Sedlak tallied 12 kills and eight blocks at the net.
Freshman opposite Natalie Allen led the Matadors with 19 kills and a .425 average. Junior outside hitter Una Siljegovic chipped in 14 kills, helping her team spark its fourth- and fifth-set victories. Sophomore libero Cindy Ortiz matched Varney's match high of 19 digs while serving up a pair of aces.
UC Davis dominated the first set, hitting .407 to its host's .037 average. Adams served up an ace and Whitson hammered out two kills to propel the Aggies to a 9-3 start, then Sedlak delivered two kills and a block assist to extend that margin to 16-6. Sophomore defensive specialist Kaitlyn Plum served back-to-back aces in a run of six unanswered points to balloon the UC Davis lead to 22-8.
The Matadors recovered in the second frame, opening with a 4-1 lead on two kills and a block by freshman Mahina Haina. Sedlak and senior Melanie Adams combined for a pair of blocks to help the Aggies take the lead, with a Jenny Woolway kill bringing the score to 10-8. But Allen connected on three kills in a span of six points to erase the UC Davis advantage and give CSUN a 14-11 lead. The Aggies cut the deficit to a single point on three occasions but never regained the edge. Cindy Ortiz served up an ace to highlight a 4-0 Matador run down the final stretch, then Haina put down the game-winner to tie the match at 1-1.
The two squads engaged in a slugfest during the third set, with UC Davis slamming 17 kills against three errors to a .519 hitting average while Cal State Northridge managed 13 kills with a .385 attack rate. Varney moved from libero to outside hitter for this frame, delivering two kills and an ace to kickstart the Aggies to an 8-4 lead. UC Davis held the lead for the rest of the way, although key kills by Siljegovic helped close the gap to 19-17 and 20-18 margins. Whitson tallied two kills in a final 5-1 Aggie flourish, restoring her team's match lead to 2-1.
Whitson came out firing in the fourth set with two kills, only to have CSUN bounce back to a 6-4 lead. Junior middle Puneet Pataria posted consecutive kills in a 4-0 run, supplying the Matadors with a 12-8 lead. Northridge never surrendered the advantage after that point, although UC Davis managed to approach within a single-point deficit on three instances. Katie Denny's ace cut the Matador lead to just 21-20 late in the frame, but a Siljegovic kill and a block assist by Pataria and Sydney Gedryn sent CSUN to a comfortable 24-20 quadruple set point. Allen finished the victory two points later, sending the match to its decisive fifth set.
Sedlak and Varney each scored a pair of kills to send the Aggies to a 6-4 lead in the fifth. Whitson later put down kills to keep the UC Davis edge at two, both at 8-6 and 9-7 on the board. An Allen kill and Aggie hitting error tied the frame at 9-9, then Morales' kill competed a 3-0 run and put CSUN ahead by 10-9. After a timeout, UC Davis restored its lead to 12-10 only to have the Matadors finish the set with a 5-1 rally.
Saturday's match marked the seventh time UC Davis had taken a match to the full five sets. The Aggies are now 4-3 in such contests. The last time they dropped a five-set match was at Cal State Fullerton on October 9, when the Titans similarly took down the final two sets after UC Davis has built a 2-1 lead.
The Aggies return home to host Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State on Friday and Saturday. Both matches are at 7 p.m. at the Pavilion.
