Sep 7, 2013
Final Stats
RENO, Nev. - Senior opposite Devon Damelio powered UC Davis with 19 kills and a .410 hitting average while junior Katie Quinn added 15 kills and a .480 success rate, but the Aggies fell in five sets to Illinois State in what became the Wolf Pack Invitational championship match Saturday night at Virginia Street Gym. The match scores went 22-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-22, 15-12 in the Redbirds' favor.
Both Damelio and Quinn were selected to the all-tournament team after the match. The Aggies, who earlier defeated Grand Canyon in four sets, move to 3-4 for the season.
Damelio and Quinn committed just three hitting errors each in posting their .400-plus efficiency rates. Damelio also had 13 digs and four blocks while Quinn led UC Davis with six blocks in the match. Four Aggies had double-figure digs: besides Damelio, Valerie Brain, Jenny Woolway and Megan Lancaster each had 12.
For ISU, tournament MVP Stacey Niao posted 14 kills, Ashley Rosch added 13 and Brooklyn Hlafka supplied 12 kills with a .400 avearge. Rosch also led all players with 16 digs.
UC Davis overcame a 7-3 early deficit in its first-set victory. Quinn had a kill and a block during a 4-0 comeback run to tie the set at 7-7, then sophomore outside hitter Kaylin Squyres posted two kills and an ace to propel the Aggies to 12-10 lead. A 5-1 run later pushed UC Davis by as much as 21-15, Damelio and Hlafka traded kills to send the score to 24-19. ISU fought off three set points before Quinn hit the winner.
The Redbirds led wire-to-wire in the second, hitting 16 kills with a .500 average to the Aggies' 10 kills and .103 rate. ISU never had a run of more than three straight until after a Lindsay Dowd service ace helped UC Davis pull within a 20-15 deficit. Rosch recorded a block and a kill while Kaitlyn Early served up an ace in a 4-0 flurry down the stretch. Two points later, Early posted a solo stuff to close out the set and tie the match at 1-1.
The Aggies recovered to claim an eight-point victory in the third. Damelio had three kills and three blocks, most of which helped UC Davis break away from a tight 14-12 battle midway through. She scored the winner with a kill from well off the tape, and the Aggies took a 2-1 lead in the match.
In contrast to the first set's heavy offense, the two teams locked in a defensive struggle during the fourth, combining for 45 digs. Lancaster led that charge with eight pickups but UC Davis suffered from 10 hitting errors and three service errors. The Aggies managed to pull within a single point at 19-18 and 20-19 before ISU responded with four straight. Quinn scored a kill and teamed up with Squyres on a block to hold off three Redbird set points before Rosch's tool finally delivered the set win for Illinois State.
The Aggies jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the fifth on kills by Quinn, Damelio and Squyres, but Hlafka's consecutive kills sparked a 4-0 run that gave the Redbirds the lead for good. Quinn helped UC Davis scrap back to a single-point deficit on two occasions: her block with Damelio made it 8-7 after the changeover and big kill on a one set brought the score to 9-8 two serves later. Squyres and Lee later combined for a block at 11-10 but the Aggies never did equalize. LeighAnn Hranka scored two kills in the final five points to complete ISU's comeback.
Quinn's 15 kills marks the first time in 2013 that she has broken double figures on offense. It surpasses her previous best of 14, set against Cal State Northridge last November.
In Saturday's morning match, Squyres posted team highs of 21 kills and 12 digs to lead UC Davis to a four-set, 25-22, 25-23, 14-25, 25-19 victory over former Division II rival Grand Canyon. Damelio recorded a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs while Lee offered up 11 kills and a .417 hitting average. Quinn added 6-0-13 attacking and a pair of block assists.
Squyres hit 6-for-9 without an error in the opening set, helping the Aggies compile a .368 hitting average. However, the Antelopes held their own at .333, as the two teams engaged in five ties. UC Davis took leads of 10-7 and 13-9 early in the stanza before GCU pulled to within one on a Megan Davis ace at 15-14. The Aggies scored four of the next five, mostly behind Quinn's serving, to take a 19-15 lead. Squyres knocked down two kills in that run, then later scored her sixth to make it 21-16. The 'Lopes called a timeout and regrouped with five straight points, tying the set at 21-21. But Brain had a block assist and a kill down the stretch to complete the set victory.
The Aggies had to bounce back from an early deficit to take the win in the second. Early kills by GCU junior Shannon Dugan put UC Davis in an 11-8 hole, and three Kaitlynn Ausmus kills in a span of six points held the 'Lopes lead at 14-12. However, Grand Canyon stumbled to two hitting errors and a missed set, allowing the Aggies five straight points and surrending the advantage. Brain's ace later cushioned the UC Davis edge to 20-16 before the Antelopes fought all the way back to 22-22 thanks to consecutive aces by setter Jessica Posse. As they did in the first set, the Aggies dug in for the final stretch: Squyres had two kills in the final four points to send her team to the break with a 2-0 match lead.
UC Davis struggled on both ends in its third-set loss, hitting just .067 and converting less than a third (7 of 24) of its side-out opportunities. Meanwhile, Dugan hit six kills on 14 swings in leading GCU to .349 hitting in the frame. The 'Lopes never trailed after scoring five unanswered to start, while a pair of Ausmus kills sparked a 7-0 run midway through.
However, the Aggies settled down in the fourth, breakin loose from a close 8-8 early battle with a 6-1 stretch. Squyres put down two kills and Lindsay Dowd served up an ace in that run, setting the board at 14-9 in UC Davis' favor. Freshman defensive specialist Kendall Frisoli helped pad the lead with an ace at 18-11, then Woolway dumped a pair of kills to make it 21-14. Lee then followed with two kills, each time extending the lead to eight. The Aggies led the rest of the way, erasing the memory of their third-set woes with .429 hitting and an 80 percent side-out conversion.
Damelio totaled 48 kills with a .305 average in 15 sets during the weekend tournament. Quinn tallied 32 kills and hit .414 while tallying 15 blocks at the net. Woolway posted 155 assists to go with 8-for-20 attacking numbers and 33 digs. Lancaster led the Aggies with 40 digs in 13 sets for a 3.08 average.
The Wolf Pack Invite is the second of three tournaments for UC Davis. The Aggies host Sacramento State for the annual Causeway Cup matchup on Tuesday night, then head north for the UP/OSU Challenge on Sept. 13-14.
