Sept. 24, 2011
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Junior outside hitter Allison Whitson tallied 19 kills while opposite Devon Damelio provided 13 kills and a career-high 22 digs in helping UC Davis to a five-set, 25-17, 18-25, 25-18, 18-25, 15-9 victory over UC Irvine in a Big West Conference women's volleyball match in front of 1,070 Saturday night.
The Aggies have now won 11 straight, improving to 16-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. The Anteaters slip to 6-6 for the season and 1-1 in Big West matches.
Whitson, who also had 15 digs and five total blocks on defense, increases her career kills total to 989. She looks to become the seventh player in school history to break the 1,000 mark. In all, five UC Davis players recorded double-figured digs: Damelio, Whitson, libero Caroline Mercado with 21, setter Jenny Woolway with 16 and defensive specialist Kaitlyn Plum with 10.
For UCI, freshman Marisa Bubica amased a team-best 15 kills on 52 swings, while sophomore outside hitter Aly Squires had 13 kills and 22 digs.
UC Davis dominated the first set, with Whitson hitting an errorless 4-for-5 and senior middle Betsy Sedlak recording three block assists to seize an 8-4 start. Overall, the Aggies hit .333 in the opener: Whitson finished with a 6-1-11 attacking chart while Valerie Brain added 4-for-8 offense. Damelio provided five digs and three block assists on defense during the first-set victory.
However, UC Irvine righted its ship in the second set, scoring seven of nine points to claim a 16-9 lead midway through the frame. Whitson had a block assist followed by a kill to highlight a 4-0 Aggie run back to 16-13, but UC Davis never closed the gap to less than three. Bubica had three of her four second-set kills down the final stretch, and Squires and Alexandra Hauser teamed up for a stuff block for the 25th point, sending the two teams into the break with a 1-1 match tie.
The Anteaters hit just .111 in the opening set but reduced their hitting errors by half in the second. Meanwhile, the Aggies took the opposite trend, going from two attack errors in the opener to nine errors and .051 hitting in the second.
The Aggies regrouped in the third set, opening to a 6-0 start. Squires hit back-to-back kills and sophomore Shaina Olsen recorded a kill and block to rally UC Irvine back to a 7-all tie. Olsen later gave the Anteaters an 11-10, again with a block assist and kill, but UC Davis battled back. Senior Katie Denny hit a pair of kills to push the Aggies to a 17-14 lead, then Sedlak and Whitson teamed up on a block to set the score at 20-15. Damelio figured on the final two points of the set, scoring the 24th on a tool and the 25th on a block assist with Denny.
The fourth set brought the closest battle, with neither team surrendering more than a two-point lead until an Aggie attack error put UCI up to a 20-17 lead. The Anteaters scored five straight points to finish, getting two Bubica kills and capitalizing on a pair of missed Aggie line shots in the final stretch. UC Davis hit just .019 in the fourth, committing 11 hitting errors with 12 kills in forcing the fifth set.
Nonetheless, the Aggies finished strong as they have in three previous matches this season. Damelio pounded two kills from the back row to boost UC Davis to a 6-3 start. Then after an Olsen kill brought UCI to within an 8-6 deficit, the Aggies scored four straight to increase their edge to 12-6. Woolway's dump shot represented the 13th point and a key Damelio dig fueled Whitson to a kill for the 14th. With a 14-9 match point, Sedlak's attack caromed off the 'Eater block toward the student section for the match-winner.
UC Davis hit just .172 for the match, but converted side outs at rates of 82 and 88 percent in the first and fifth sets, respectively.
The Aggies continue Big West play on the road, traveling to Cal Poly on Friday.
