Oct. 31, 2013
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Senior Devon Damelio, junior Valerie Brain and junior Mary Schroeder each recorded 12 kills to help UC Davis hit a season-best .377 in a 25-15, 25-15, 25-19 sweep of UC Riverside in Big West Conference women's volleyball action Thursday night at the Pavilion.
The Aggies improve to 13-9 overall and 5-4 in conference play. The Highlanders slip to 1-20 for the year and remain winless at 0-9 in the Big West standings. For UC Davis, the 3-0 win represents the first sweep of the conference slate in 2013, while the two wins over UCR stands as the first series sweep of the year.
Schroeder, the reigning Big West Conference Player of the Week, committed just two errors on a team-leading 30 swings to finish at .333. Brain committed just one error -- a crosscourt shot that just missed the sideline in the third set -- to hit .423 on the night. Damelio posted a 12-4-25 night to hit .320. Junior middle blocker Victoria Lee contributed 6-0-12 (.500) on the attack, but a big storyline belonged to sophomore Jillian Johnson. A reserve middle who had seen action in just two sets prior to Thursday night, Johnson hit 5-for-9 with five block assists in her first collegiate start.
At the center of an offense that had only seven attacking errors was senior setter Jenny Woolway, who distributed 43 assists to go with a match-high 14 digs. Woolway also tallied four blocks, most of which came in a 7-1 run late in the second set. Brain and junior libero Megan Lancaster added another 10 digs apiece. Senior Lindsay Dowd provided four of her team's eight service aces.
For UCR, sophomore Ashley Cox posted 10 kills while freshman outside Fabiana Rosas supplied another eight. Freshman libero Maddie Hubbell matched Woolway's total of 14 digs.
UC Davis rocketed to a 7-1 start in the first set, with Damelio posting a pair of kills in the run. The Highlanders stormed back with eight straight points to claim a 9-7 lead. Cox scored three kills and a block assist during that stretch while Hubbell served up an ace in her run behind the back stripe. The two teams eventually battled to three ties until 13-13, after which Woolway served up six straight points in a run of seven unanswered. Brain, who hit 7-for-9 in the opener, had five kills in the final 15 points of the set.
In the second set, Cox and freshman outside hitter Cristina Maietta helped keep Riverside within arm's reach until back-to-back Dowd aces pushed UC Davis up to a 16-11 lead. Woolway scored her lone block assist when Aggie freshman Allie Wegener's serve forced Rosas to take an off-balance swing near the left side. Woolway anicipated the shot perfectly and knocked it down. The UC Davis setter and team captain combined with Johnson on two more stuffs during a 7-1 run that effectively wrapped up the second set.
Coming out of the 10-minute break, Schroeder scored five kills in the Aggies 10-6 start, after which they never trailed again. Annishia McKoy tallied four kills through the middle portion of the set, and a surge of offense from Rosas helped UCR make a late charge to within a 23-19 deficit. However, UC Davis called a timeout, then regrouped with kills by Lee and Damelio to finish the sweep.
The Aggies' .377 average is the highest since hitting .385 at Cal Poly late in 2012. The program's highest average in the Division I era was a .396 against Portland back on Sept. 18, 2010; they flirted with a .400 average as late as the 15-9 mark in the third frame.
UC Davis concludes its three-match homestand with a noon match against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
