Oct. 8, 2015
DAVIS, Calif. - Junior outside hitter Kendall Walbrecht posted 17 kills and a .406 average while sophomore middle blocker Aima Eichie tallied six blocks and hit 6-for-13, leading UC Davis to a 25-21, 25-10, 25-20 sweep of UC Santa Barbara in Big West Conference women's volleyball action Thursday.
The Aggies pick up their third straight win to improve to 8-11 overall and 3-2 in conference matches. The Gauchos fall to 4-11 for the year and 0-4 in Big West play.
Walbrecht had six kills in the first, five in the second and six in the third to lead UC Davis offensively. Eichie contributed on all but one of her team's seven team blocks, while her counterpart in the middle, freshman Lauren Jackson, added 4-for-5 attacking. Junior outside hitter Allie Wegener and freshman libero Malia Bolko each served up two aces. Senior outside hitter Kaylin Squyres led the Aggie floor defense with 17 digs.
For UCSB, senior opposite Jaylen Villanueva led her team with 10 kills.
The Gauchos controlled the early going, hitting 7-for-15 without an error to take a 13-9 lead. They extended their advantage to 15-10 on a kill by Britton Taylor before the Aggies began to battle back. Walbrecht scored on a tip to cut the deficit to 18-17, then equalized when she sent a stray free ball back into the open UCSB court. Squyres' ace gave UC Davis its first lead at 19-18. In all, the Aggies finished the opener on a 15-6 run. Eichie knocked down a one set to make it 24-21, then Squyres managed her first kill of the match for the winner.
While the Aggies were slow to start in the first set, they came out firing in the second. Eichie had four blocks in a 10-2 start. A setter dump from Sophia Mar extended the lead to 11-2, then Bolko's ace made it 12 unanswered at 12-2. UC Davis never looked back, with Walbrecht pounding out five kills on just six swings. As a team, the Aggies hit .318 and defended against side outs on 17 of 24 opportunities.
Other than surrendering the opening point, UC Davis never trailed in the third set. Two Walbrecht kills and two Gaucho hitting errors set the Aggies to a 14-7 lead. UCSB managed to close the gap to a 17-13 deficit, forcing UC Davis head coach Dan Conners to call a timeout to settle his team. The Aggies responded with six of the next nine points, thanks in part to a Wegener ace and kills from Squyres, Jackson and freshman Emily Allen. Gaucho freshman Emilia Petrachi scored two spectacular digs to hold off a match point down the stretch, and Taylor teamed with senior Ali Barbeau for a block that kept UCSB alive at 24-20. But UC Davis converted the final side out, with Eichie's kill completing the sweep.
UC Davis hit .260 for the match, its highest since compiling a .292 against South Florida on Sept. 12.
The Aggies finish their four-match homestand with a Hickey Gym match against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. First serve is 7 p.m.
