Oct. 10, 2013
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Senior opposite Devon Damelio tallied a team-high 16 kills and was one of three Aggies with 20 or more digs as UC Davis claimed a five-set, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-12 win over UC Irvine in Big West Conference women's volleyball action at the Pavilion Thursday night.
The Aggies, posting their first five-set win in six tries in 2013, improve to 10-7 overall and 4-4 in league play. The Anteaters slip to 9-9 for the year and 0-4 in Big West Conference matches.
Damelio tallied 16 kills, including 5-for-11 hitting in the finale, to go with 21 digs. Junior Megan Lancaster matched her career high of 20 digs while senior setter Jenny Woolway matched that total. Freshman Allie Wegener also sparked UC Davis defensively with 16 digs, a personal best in her young career. Offensively, junior middles Victoria Lee and Katie Quinn combined for 18 kills while committing just two attack errors each.
For UCI, senior outside hitter Aly Squires posted a double-double of 17 kills and 13 digs, sophomore Marisa Bubica added 13 kills and seven blocks, and freshman libero Arden Davis led all players with 26 digs.
The two teams combined for 206 digs and 26 blocks in a match largely marked by defense.
UC Davis flipped a 9-8 early deficit into a 16-9 lead as Woolway served up an ace and Lee scored two kills amidst the 8-0 run. The Aggies led the rest of the way although Irvine managed to scored three straight in fighting off a 24-18 set point. Damelio eventually put down the winner as she, Lee, Mary Schroeder and Kaylin Squyres each tallied at least three kills in the frame.
The fortunes turned in Irvine's favor in the second as UC Davis stumbled from a solid .220 hitting average in the opener to minus-.083 in the next set. A strong serving run by setter Lindsay Dowd gave the Aggies a 15-12 lead midway through but Bubica and Squires each recorded two kills down the stretch to help the 'Eaters pull away to the victory.
UC Davis and UC Irvine exchanged leads four times in the third. The Anteaters suffered through a net violation and three straight attack errors to squander their 9-7 edge into a 12-10 UC Davis advantage. Lee later scored two kills and a block assist to extend the Aggie margin to 16-12. Shannon Fleming scored a kill and a block assist in a 4-0 run that reversed the tide to a 19-18 Anteater lead, but Quinn quickly responded with consecutive blocks to restore the UC Davis edge to 20-19. Quinn served up an ace and Schroeder hammered out three kills through the final stretch to push the Aggies to the three-point win and the match lead.
The Anteaters took control of the fourth early on as a Cassidy Pickrell ace and a Fleming kill put up five unanswered en route to a 12-6 lead. UCI held a lead as large as seven on three separate occasions before the Aggies began to whittle away at the deficit. Brain stepped in for a pair of kills late in the frame to close the gap to just 24-21 but Bubica's crosscourt kill ended the Aggie comeback effort and forced the fifth set.
Neither team could manage a lead of more than a single point until after the changeover, when Bubica overshot a crosscourt swing to put the Aggies ahead by a 10-8 margin. Damelio made a spectacular pursuit on an errant pass that sent her past her own bench; then came back to the court to deliver the kill, making it 11-8. Woolway and Quinn then combined for a block on their right side to bump the edge to four. Irvine twice closed the gap to two in the waning points of the match but could not equalize. A Woolway/Lee stuff provided the Aggies with a 14-11 match point, then Damelio put away the winner two points later.
Quinn led the UC Davis net defense with six blocks while Lee added five. Woolway and Damelio chipped in another four assists as part of their team's 11-block total.
The Aggies had previously lost in five sets in road or neutral matches against San Diego State (Aug. 30), Illinois State (Sept. 7), Oregon State (Sept. 14), Cal State Northridge (Sept. 28) and Cal State Fullerton (Oct. 4). Thursday's win was UC Davis' first five-set victory since taking down Cal State Northridge at home on November 16 of last season.
The Aggies return to action for an 8 p.m. match against Long Beach State on Saturday. Fans who attend that afternoon's Homecoming football game may use their ticket stub for a discounted $3 ticket to volleyball.
