Oct. 23, 2015
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Senior outside hitter Kaylin Squyres totaled 20 kills, including six in a final comeback stretch in the fifth set, but junior Fabiana Rosas outdueled the Aggie standout with 22 kills and the match-winner as UC Riverside picked off the split-set win over UC Davis in Big West Conference women's volleyball action at Student Recreation Center Friday night. UCR won by scores of 21-25, 25-21, 25-15, 23-25 and 19-17.
The Aggies fall to 9-13 for the season and even their league mark to 4-4. The Highlanders improve to 7-14 overall, 2-6 in Big West play, and snap a seven-match series losing streak to their guests.
Squyres committed only four hitting errors on 51 swings for a .314 average on the attack, and added two service aces, 14 digs and two blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Aima Eichie posted 8-2-21 offensively while matching her season best of eight stuffs at the net. Freshman libero Malia Bolko led UC Davis with 20 digs.
Rosas' 22 kills, 54 attacks and .315 hitting are mark season highs. Alex Gresham added 13 kills with just two errors for a .379 average while Helena Peric turned in another 18 kills and a .268 success rate. Overall, UCR hit .250 as a team for its best clip in a Big West match this season.
UC Davis escaped an early 5-2 hole in the opening set, then later pulled from a 12-12 tie to a 17-13 lead thanks to kills by Squyres and freshmen Emily Allen and Nicola Moore. Junior outside hitter Kendall Walbrecht later put down three kills in a four-point span to help the Aggies pull ahead to 23-17, then an Eichie kill made it 24-18. The Highlanders fought off three set points before eventually giving up the final point on a service error.
Heavy offense from Rosas and Peric helped UCR pull from a 12-9 deficit to 23-17 lead in the second. The Highlanders stumbled on three straight points to see their lead wither to three, then Walbrecht's ace made it just 23-21. However, UCR scored the last two points to tie the match at 1-1 heading into the break. When the teams returned from the locker rooms, the Highlanders continued to roll: a 6-1 start became a commanding 15-5 edge. Sophomore middle blocker Meg Graham tallied two kills and a solo stuff in that run, with UC Davis never approaching by closer than eight the rest of the way.
Both teams traded leads throughout the early going in the fourth set, then battled to a sixth straight tie at 19-19. Eichie and Moore both scored kills to give UC Davis a 22-19 lead, then later teamed up for a block to set the board at 23-21. UCR fought back to within 24-23 and had a free-ball opportunity to tie the set at 24-24, only to miss wide for the Aggies' 25th point.
Squyres tallied nine kills and a service ace to give UC Davis its best chance to claim the match in the fifth. Riverside scored three straight to craft a 10-7 edge, then a Gresham kill put the Highlanders to an 11-8 edge. Again, Squyres caught fire, knocking down four kills in the next five points to equalize at 12-12. Her own zero block helped set up another kill and put herself at the service line, resulting in her second ace at 14-13. However, that proved to be the Aggies' final lead of the match. They tied the score four times from 14-14 through 17-17, the last of which on an Eichie/Moore block. UC Riverside established their fourth match point on a UC Davis attack that missed just long of the baseline, then Rosas scored the match-winner when her roll shot slipped through the Aggie block.
Friday's setback marked the first time UC Davis has lost to UC Riverside since a 3-0 road sweep back on November 5, 2011.
The Aggies return to action at Cal State Fullerton Saturday night at 7 p.m.
