Aug. 28, 2010
Final Stats
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Junior outside hitter Liz McArthur tallied a match-high 19 kills and hit .500 to lead Utah State to a 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 sweep of UC Davis at the Utah Classic women's volleyball tournament held at Utah's Crimson Court Saturday.
The UC Davis Aggies drop to 0-2 for the season. The Utah State Aggies open their year at 1-0.
Senior outside hitter Kayla Varney led UC Davis with 12 kills, seven digs and two service aces, while senior opposite Melanie Adams added 4-for-12 hitting with five digs. Junior middle blocker Katie Denny chiped in five kills and a pair of block assists.
For USU, senior middles Katie Astle and Shantell Durran combined for 13 kills against just three errors in support of McArthur's team-leading offense. As a team, USU hit .370, including a 15-2-26 (.500) second set. Libero Christine Morrill led all players with 11 digs.
UC Davis took an early lead in the first set, with Varney drilling four kills in her team's 12-8 start. Utah State took the lead for good when McArthur's back-to-back kills sparked a 4-0 run to a 22-18 edge. The USU Aggies' comeback stood in contrast to the second set, during which they stromed to a 10-5 lead only to have UC Davis rally back to a one-point deficit. Adams managed game-tying kills at 18-18 and 19-19 to give her team a chance to take the lead, but Josselyn White scored two kills and an ace to send Utah State to a 23-19 edge. McArthur scored two kills down the stretch to close out the second set, sending USU to the break with a 2-0 match lead.
UC Davis sophomore Allison Whitson tallied three of her 10 kills in the early going of the third set, helping the Aggies craft an 11-7 lead. A Morrill ace and UC Davis hitting error later allowed Utah State to equalize at 14-14 before Denny and freshman setter Jenny Woolway teamed up on a block to restore the UC Davis lead to three. However, UC Davis committed three more hitting errors in allowing Utah State to score seven of the next eight en route to a 21-18 lead. Emily Korsten's kill established a USU match point, then McArthur put away her 19th kill for the victory.
UC Davis hit just .184 as a team after compiling a .247 efficiency rate the night before against the host Utes.
Junior middle blocker and team co-captain Betsy Sedlak was subsequently voted to the all-tournament team. She compiled 18 kills and hit .516 to go with a team-best seven blocks during the weekend.
The UC Davis Aggies continue preseason tournament play at the SMU Doubletree Invitational on Sept. 3. They will face Texas State and Texas Tech on that Friday, then take on the host Mustangs on Saturday.
