IRVINE, Calif. - Sophomore outside hitter Emily Allen posted a double-double of 15 kills and 11 digs while senior opposite Kendall Walbrecht made her return to action with 10 kills on 25 swings, helping UC Davis secure a four-set, 25-17, 17-25, 25-22, 28-26 win over UC Irvine in Big West Conference women's volleyball action at the Bren Center Saturday.

The Aggies pick up their first league win, improving to 1-2 in Big West play and evening their overall record to 8-8. The Anteaters fall to 6-12 for the year and 1-3 in conference.

A 2015 All-Big West honoree, Walbrecht had been sidelined with injury since the season-opening tournament in North Dakota. She committed just three hitting errors against her 10 kills for a .280 average, while supplying nine digs and three blocks on defense. Walbrecht also hit 5-for-10 in the fourth, including the overall match-winner.

Sophomore Malia Bolko led UC Davis with 19 digs in her return to the libero position. Senior Aima Eichie hit eight kills with three blocks while serving up her first two collegiate aces. Fellow middle blocker Kelechi Ohiri posted a similar offensive chart to Eichie at 8-3-14 for a .357 average.

"Defensively, we had a good plan and we played well," said Aggie head coach Dan Conners. "I thought this was a good team victory. Defense is a team skill, and the whole group put a lot of effort this week. We made some changes in practice, and I thought we did a better job preparing for Irvine than we did for Long Beach and Northridge. We were in the right spots and we made plays."

For UCI, sophomore opposite Harlee Kekauoha was the lone hitter in double figures with 12 kills. Junior libero Luna Tsujimoto picked up a match-high 20 digs. The Anteaters hit just .176 for the match although most of that stemmed from a first set in which they had just seven kills.

UC Davis hit well in its first- and third-set victories, compiling respective attack averages of .308 and .283. Allen had two kills while Matias added an ace to help the Aggies pull from a close 12-11 battle to a 17-13 lead. Sophomore Brianna Karsseboom and Aima Eichie scored back-to-back to boost the score to 22-17 before UCI committed three straight errors to hand UC Davis the win in the opener.

The offensive tide switched in the next frame, with the Anteaters improving from minus-.029 in the first to a solid .269 in the second. The Aggies held a 10-7 edge early on before UCI managed six unanswered to claim a 13-10 advantage. That margin increased to as much as 18-12 on a block by freshman Makayla Wolfe and setter Shelley Anderson, and UC Davis never recovered. The two teams went to the break with a 1-1 match tie.

The Aggies regrouped from their nine-kill, eight-error effort in the second to explode of 19 kills in the third, five by Allen. UCI crafted an initial lead of 8-5, and later held an 11-9 edge on sophomore Haley DeSales' kill. Eichie and Allen then scored consecutive kills to equalize the match, then Eichie -- who normally rotates out before heading to the service line -- posted her first collegiate aces to boost the Aggies to a 14-12 lead. UC Davis never relinquished that margin, pulling to a 22-16 lead on a Lauren Matias kill. The `Eaters held off three set points to close to a 24-22 deficit but Ohiri responded after a timeout to finish the game at 25-22.

The two teams combined for 35 kills in the fourth-set slugfest, with UCI threatening to force a rubber set throughout. Harlee Kekauoha had three kills to boost the Anteaters to a 11-8 start, and a Victoria Dennis kill later held her team's lead at 16-13. However, UC Davis responded with six of the next seven points to snare the lead at 19-17. Sophomore setter Maddie Merlino had two aces in that run while Walbrecht scored a kill and a block assist.

UCI fought back with three straight points to take a 20-19 lead before Eichie could tie up the proceedings at 20-20. A missed tip and a block by Eichie and Walbrecht restored the Aggie lead to 22-20, then Allen made it a three-point margin with her tool at 23-20. Kekauoha converted the side out then served up an ace to help UCI take four of the next five points, while a Danielle Geiger kill even gave the `Eaters a 25-24 set point. The two teams battled to ties at 25-25 and 26-26 before Allen and Walbrecht put down kills to close out the match.

The fourth set featured nine total ties and five overall lead changes, including the two shifts in the final five points.

Walbrecht's last action was at the UND Classic in late August, during which she earned all-tournament honors. The human development major from La Cañada, California averaged 3.27 kills and hit .263 in three matches before an in-practice injury sidelined her for the remainder of the preseason.

"It was a great having Kendall back," said Conners. "It gives us a bigger block, we can spread the ball out and be more diverse. She scored some big points for us in the fourth."

Saturday's match marked the first of four straight road Big West Conference contests. The Aggies return to action at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday.