Sept. 24, 2010
Final Stats
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Sophomore outside Allison Whitson slugged 16 kills and a .333 hitting average while senior libero Kayla Varney matched her career high of 27 digs, helping UC Davis to a four-set, 25-20, 25-19, 19-25, 25-22 win over UC Riverside in Big West Conference women's volleyball action at the Student Rec Center Friday evening.
The Aggies improve to 10-4 for the year and remain undefeated in conference matches at 2-0. The Highlanders fall to 1-12 overall, opening their Big West schedule at 0-1.
Whitson was one of two UC Davis players with double-figured offense. Redshirt freshman Devon Damelio responded to her first collegiate start with 12 kills on a team-high 39 attempts. Junior middle blocker Betsy Sedlak provided nine kills and nine blocks, while freshman setter Jenny Woolway posted two aces, 13 digs and three blocks to go with the 45 assists she tallied from running the offense.
For UC Riverside, sophomore outside hitter Amanda Vialpando recorded a double-double of 14 kills and 15 digs.
Despite hitting .474 for the frame, UC Davis had to rally back from an early deficit to take the first-set win. Whitson had two kills and Sedlak contributed on two blocks to flip an 11-8 deficit into a 13-11 Aggie lead. Highlander senior Kelly Simpson reclaimed the lead for her team with three straight kills, only to see Whitson put down back-to-back points, sending the score back to 15-14 in favor of the Aggies. Sedlak struck again at the net, teaming with Damelio and Woolway on consecutive stuffs to spark a 4-0 run that put UC Davis ahead by a 21-18 edge. The Oregon transfer then notched three kills down the stretch to seal the victory and match lead.
The Aggies spotted their hosts a 6-2 lead to start the second set, committing three hitting errors and two net violations out of the gates. However, the offense of Whitson and senior opposite Melanie Adams helped right the ship with seven of the next nine points, mostly behind Varney's serving. Though Vialpando's hitting briefly put UCR ahead by a 11-9 margin, Sedlak tallied two kills and three more block assists during a 6-1 stretch that gave the Aggies an 18-13 lead. The Highlanders never crept back by less than three as UC Davis took a 2-0 match lead into the break.
For the third straight set, UC Riverside stormed out of the gates, amassing a 10-3 lead on three blocks and two Vialpando kills. Woolway served up a pair of aces amidst a four-point push that helped the Aggies rally back to a 14-11 deficit, and a Damelio kill later cut the Highlander lead to as narrow as 18-17. But Savannah Thomas struck down back-to-back kills to pad the UCR lead to four, then planted two more scores in her team's 4-0 finish to the frame. The Highlanders hit .382 in the third, committing just two errors -- compared to 21 in the other three sets.
UC Davis put away the match in the fourth, with Varney and sophomore defensive specialist Kaitlyn Plum serving up a 12-6 lead. The Aggies never relinquished their advantage the rest of the way despite hitting just .105, serving no aces and blocking no shots in the final frame. Varney had 12 of her team's 20 digs to cool the UCR hitting after its third-set emergence. Damelio scored kills for the Aggies' 23rd and 24th points and the Highlanders held off three straight match points before Adams converted the winning side out.
This is the second straight year UC Davis has opened Big West Conference play at 2-0. Last year's Aggies beat Pacific and Cal State Northridge during a home weekend to launch its league slate. The 2010 squad will continue conference action against the Matadors on Friday.
