Box Score Sept. 16, 2014 Final Stats
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Senior libero
Megan Lancaster picked up a career-high 30 digs while the net defense posted a total of 16 blocks to lead UC Davis to a five-set 24-26, 25-18, 25-13, 20-25, 15-6 victory over Sacramento State in women's collegiate volleyball action at Colberg Court Tuesday night.
The Aggies improve to 4-6 for the year. The Hornets fall to 4-8 overall.
Lancaster's floor total represents the first time a UC Davis player has surpassed the 30-dig milestone since Avreeta Singh recorded 36 in a four-set match against Cal Poly on October 27, 2007. She currently leads the Big West Conference in both total digs and digs per set.
The blocking crew of middles Katie Quinn and Aima Eichie plus opposite Kendall Walbrecht won the lion's share of the 16 team stuffs for the night. Walbrecht tallied a career-best nine, Quinn added eight and Eichie matched her personal best of seven. Eichie and Quinn also put up strong numbers on the attack: Eichie with an errorless 6-for-10, Quinn providing nine kills and a .316 average.
Junior Kaylin Squyres led all Aggies with 17 kills and 53 swings. Sophomore Allie Wegener finished just behind with 14 kills and just three errors for a .314 success rate. They chipped in 14 and 17 digs, respectively.
For Sacramento State, the trio of Shannon Boyle, Madeline Cannon and Morgan Stanley posted respective kills totals of 15, 13 and 12. Cannon also had nine blocks, five of which came in a hot Hornet start to the fourth set.
Both teams struggled offensively in the opening set, hitting a combined 20 attack errors. The Aggies opened with three straight points, only to surrender that margin just as quickly and fall behind by a 10-8 margin on Lauren Aikels' tool by the left pin. UC Davis later battled back to a lead of 17-16 on a Wegener kill, then again to 19-18 on back-to-back blocks by Eichie. Squyres had a kill and Walbrecht and Quinn combined for consecutive blocks in a 3-0 run that restored the Aggie advantage to 22-20, only to have Courtney Dietrich fire a cross-court kill and a block in a Hornet comeback to 23-22. UC Davis managed to tie the set at 23-23 and 24-24 but could not regain the lead. A wide shot and an errant down ball shipped the final two points to Sacramento State.
The Aggies fell behind briefly at the start of the second, trailing 8-6 when Stanley and Cannon combined for a left-side block. UC Davis took its first lead of 10-9 on a missed line shot, then ballooned that edge to 14-11 when Eichie scored four blocks in the span of six serves. Squyres fired a pair of kills to pad the lead to five, and UC Davis never looked back, holding at least a four-point lead the rest of the way. The Aggies hit a robust .395 on 17 kills and just two errors in the second frame. Lancaster, who had nine digs in the opener, added another 10 in the second.
UC Davis continued to hit well in the third, never trailing en route to its 12-point victory. Squyres served up two aces in a 7-2 start, each time finding the far 1 corner while the Hornet passing line looked on. Wegener put down two kills and an ace in a 7-1 run that stretched the lead to 16-6, and Quinn and Squyres each pushed the deficit to as much as 12. The Aggies scored three straight to shut the door on the set. Quinn ripped a slide through the defense for the 23rd point, Eichie knocked down a 1 set for the 24th, then Wegener's tool clicked the scoreboard to 25 to give UC Davis a 2-1 match lead.
As dominating as the Aggies had been in the third, Sacramento State stormed to an equally decisive fourth-set win. Cannon had five blocks in a 9-1 start to the frame. Quinn and senior Valerie Brain combined for consecutive stuffs and Squyres put down two aces in a brief comeback to 11-7, but the Hornets immediately rattled off three straight to extend their lead to seven. UC Davis pulled to within two points on three separate occasions but never equalized. After two sets of .300-plus hitting, the Aggies stumbled to minus-.100 in allowing the Hornets to force the rubber set.
However, UC Davis flipped the switch in that fifth set, tallying nine kills on no errors. Squyres, who struggled in the fourth, was 4-for-5 on the attack while scooping up three digs on defense. She had three of her kills in 6-2 start, and the Aggies maintained a cushion for the remainder of the match. Brain, Walbrecht, Wegener and Squyres each scored kills in a run of five unanswered to close out.
This is the fourth straight win by the Aggie volleyball in the series with Sacramento State, and the second UC Davis victory in the 2014-15 Causeway Cup race. Combined with women's soccer's win to start the school year, the Aggies hold a 15-0 lead in the multi-sport competition.
UC Davis returns to action at the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic on Sept. 19-20, taking on Wyoming, Hampton and host UNC.
