Sept. 14, 2010
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Junior middle hitter Kelsey Elston fired back-to-back kills to finish off Sacramento State's five-set win over UC Davis in non-conference collegiate women's volleyball action at the Pavilion Tuesday evening in front of 438. Elston finished with 11 kills and a .308 hitting average.
The Aggies, playing in their home opener, slip to 5-4 for the year. The Hornets even their record to 6-6 and gain 10 points in the annual Causeway Cup multi-sport competition between the two schools.
For UC Davis, senior opposite Melanie Adams overcame a slow start in the first set to post 17 kills, while junior middle Betsy Sedlak hit 13-1-22 for a .545 efficiency rate to go with seven blocks at the net. Senior libero Kayla Varney scooped up 27 digs and freshman setter Jenny Woolway added 22. As a team, UC Davis tallied 14 blocks and did not surrender a single ace.
Sacramento State overcame a 16-10 deficit in the opening set. Janelle Currey posted two kills and a block assist to help the Hornets score eight of 10 after that point, giving them a 19-18 lead. UC Davis eventually reclaimed the lead on a Sedlak kill at 21-20, but Currey answered with the equalizer. Sedlak struck again to even the score to 22-22, but Sac State won three of the last five to close out the first-set win.
In the second frame, UC Davis had to crawl back from an early deficit, taking a 16-15 lead after having faced a 11-7 hole earlier on. Aggie freshman Morgan Borch supplied kills to hold her team at a one-point advantage, then a Varney ace and two Adams kills pushed UC Davis up 22-19. But Hornet middle Olivia Moss and setter Anna Schoener teamed up on consecutive blocks to help Sac State score five unanswered down the stretch. Moss and sophomore Janelle Currey then combined on a block for the winner, sending the Hornets to the break with a 2-0 lead.
Adams hit an errorless 6-for-10 in the third as UC Davis broke loose from a 9-9 tie. Borch had two kills during the middle portion to lift the Aggies to a 16-10 edge, then Adams scored two kills and a block to bump the lead to 22-14. Junior middle blocker Katie Denny added a block assist and a kill to establish set point, with Allison Whitson's kill preventing the Hornet sweep.
In the fourth, Sedlak had a solo stuff, a block assist and two kills during a 9-0 UC Davis run, transforming a tight 11-10 advantage to a 20-10 lead. The Hornets managed to pull to within six as Erin Kirby twice tooled the Aggie block, sending the tally to 22-16 .However, UC Davis scored three straight to close the frame, forcing the fifth set. Borch and Sedlak were a combined 9-for-12 with no errors in the fourth.
Neither team managed more than a one-point lead for most of the fifth set, playing to 12 ties. Sac State freshman Kayla Beal sent a shot down the line to give the Hornets a 13-12 lead, but then hit her next attempt into the antenna to even the tally at 13-all. However, Elston converted a side out on a tip for match point, then clipped a shot off the UC Davis block for the winner.
Varney, whose 27 digs eclipses her previous career high of 23 during her freshman year, had eight digs in the finale. As a team, UC Davis picked up 102 digs in five sets of play for better than 20 per.
The Aggies remain at home to host the Aggie Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Oregon State, Portland, Nevada and Cal Poly compose the remaining field for the weekend.
