Nov. 12, 2011
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Senior outside hitter Caitlin Ledoux posted 20 kills with 16 digs to lead Long Beach State to a four-set, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21 victory over UC Davis in a Big West Conference women's volleyball match at the Pavilion Saturday night.
The Aggies drop their fourth straight match, moving to 20-10 for the season and 6-9 in conference. The 49ers, who clinched the conference title in Friday's sweep of Pacific, improve to 19-6 overall and 13-2 in Big West play.
Junior libero Caroline Mercado posted a career-high 27 digs while outside hitter Allison Whitson matched Ledoux's total of 20 kills to highlight UC Davis' side of the boxscore. Redshirt freshman Valerie Brain added 13 kills on 37 attempts. Junior defensive specialist Kaitlyn Plum proved crucial in the Aggies' second-set win, serving up six straight points to help erase a 23-17 deficit.
For LBSU, sophomore middle blocker Haleigh Hampton chipped in eight kills with just one error to go with eight blocks, Delainey Aigner-Swesey tallied nine kills nd senior libero Lauren Minkel led her team with 19 digs.
Long Beach State had three of its 13 total blocks within an 8-4 start to the first set. However, Whitson scored three kills in a steady comeback to help equalize to 11-11. Devon Damelio gave UC Davis its first lead when she planted a down ball into the deepest end of the 49er back court, then delivered a tool for a 13-12 edge. Ledoux served an ace amidst three straight LBSU points in restoring her team's lead to 15-13, only to have UC Davis reclaim the edge at 18-17 on a block by Betsy Sedlak and Jenny Woolway.
After Mercado's ace on a float serve gave UC Davis a 22-21 lead, Ledoux posted two kills in a 4-0 49er finish to the first set. Whitson managed eight kills on 19 swings in the first-set effort while Woolway tallied nine digs.
Although the Aggies mounted a 7-3 start, the second set seemed to belong to Long Beach State when four Ledoux kills and a Hampton ace turned a 10-9 UC Davis edge to a 19-14 49er advantage. Hampton's kill later set LBSU to a commanding six-point lead before Whitson's side out put Plum at the service line facing a 23-18 deficit. Plum served up two aces and forced two more Long Beach attack errors, almost single-handedly completing a run of eight Aggie unanswered.
Both teams locked horns in the early going after the break, battling to seven ties and three lead changes before settling to a 12-12 tie. Ledoux and Serna both scored tools for LBSU and Hampton served up her second ace of the match to lift the 49ers to a 15-12 lead. Although UC Davis promptly closed the gap to a single tally, the 49ers never relinquished the lead. They scored five of the last six points, with Hampton and Erin Juley combining on back-to-back blocks for the 24th and 25th points.
Ledoux knocked down three kills to send Long Beach to a 7-4 start in the fourth before hitting woes allowed UC Davis back into an 8-8 tie. Aigner-Swesey fired three kills in a span of six points to put the 49ers on top by a 16-11 margin until Damelio provided a kill and a block assist in a stretch of four straight Aggie points. However, as in the third, UC Davis never fully erased its deficit: Serna scored two kills in a span of six points to lift LBSU to a 23-20 edge. Janisa Johnson's kill set up match point for the 49ers, then Hampton and Bre Mackie teamed up on the match-winning block.
Mercado proved to be a steady presence on floor defense throughout the match, tallying six digs in the first set, seven in the second, then five and nine in the final two frames, respectively. Woolway chipped in 18 digs and hit 3-for-9 on the attack.
UC Davis concludes its 2011 season with a home match with Pacific on Saturday, November 19.
