SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Jackson hit 9-for-10 with eight block assists while redshirt freshman Heather Reed scooped up a match-high 20 digs, leading UC Davis to a 25-23, 25-22, 25-18 sweep of Sacramento State in collegiate women's volleyball action at Colberg Court Tuesday night.

The Aggies even their record to 5-5 overall. The Hornets slip to 5-6 for the season.

Jackson contributed on eight of UC Davis' 11 total blocks while Reed's floor defense accounted for nearly a third of the team's 65 total digs, all of which contributed to Sacramento State hitting just .119 for the match. Defensive specialist Malia Bolko had another 18 digs while outside hitter Emily Allen recorded 11 to go with her team-best 12 kills. At the net, sophomore Brianna Karsseboom added another five blocks while Allen, redshirt freshman Anna Donald and sophomore Kelechi Ohiri were credited with three each.

"I thought the defensive effort was fantastic tonight. They were really dialed in to execute the game plan," said head coach Dan Conners, who is now 2-1 all-time against the program's Causeway Cup rival. "We also stayed calm. When they went on a few runs, we just stayed calm through the whole thing instead of getting frantic or overreacting. I was proud to see that. It was a nice step in the right direction for our mentality and the way we want to play."

The Aggies fell into an early hole as Hornet junior Shannon Boyle posted four of her 11 total kills in a 13-8 start. Conners called a timeout to settle down his team. The Aggies came out with five of the next six points to close the gap to a single point, then eventually took a 19-17 lead on what amounted to a 11-4 run after the timeout.

"It looked like we had some nerves to start the match, which is normal. I told them to find their groove, settle into the match, play hard and leave it out there."

UC Davis ended up hitting 13 kills with just three errors for a .286 average in the opening set, with Jackson rotating in for a perfect 4-for-4 attacking and four stuffs. Then in the second set, Reed and Bolko combined for 15 digs while Karsseboom broke loose for four kills. The Aggies saw a 10-6 start slip to a 10-10 tie, but again, responded after a timeout. A kill by freshman Lauren Matias ignited an 8-3 run that set the board at 18-13.

Sacramento State again fought back, erasing a 21-16 deficit with six straight points to take a 22-21 lead after senior Madeline Cannon's winner. However, the Hornet run ended there: a service effort put the ball into the hands of Reed, who served up three straight points to lift UC Davis to a 25-22 set win and a 2-0 match lead.

The Hornets came out strong after the break with a 7-3 lead, getting two kills from Boyle and a kill and block assist from middle blocker Courtney Dietrich in that run. Once again, UC Davis gathered for a timeout and came out with a big scoring run: flipping the four-point deficit to a 15-10 edge on contributions throughout the court. Jackson scored two kills with a block in that span, Allen had two kills, while setters Maddie Merlino and Sophia Mar each served up aces.

The Aggies extended their lead to as much as 22-13 before Sacramento State mounted a brief comeback run to 23-18, thanks to four straight UC Davis attacking errors. Sophomore middle Brie Gathright highlighted the Hornets with two blocks until Jackson and Donald combined for a block against senior Morgan Stanley to end the run and establish a 24-18 match point. With Karsseboom serving, a Hornet attempt sailed wide of the court for the match-winner.

Jackson's nine kills on 10 swings continues a strong individual streak as an attacker. The psychology major from Fullerton had 11 kills with just one error for a .526 clip against Nevada in the team's previous match, mere hours after hitting .545 against Gonzaga. For the three-match stretch, Jackson has tallied 27 kills with just two errors in 40 attempts for a blistering .625 success rate.

"It's great to see, we knew she was capable of it but now she's getting capable enough to do it at a consistent level," said Conners.
As a team, UC Davis finished with a .202 hitting average for the night, a number pulled down only due to the late stumble in the third set. This marks the third straight match that the Aggies have exceeded the double-century mark in hitting efficiency after failing to do so in all but one of the first seven matches in the season. Tuesday's win also marked the third time UC Davis has averaged better than 20 team digs per set while the 11 blocks matches a season high for a three-set match.

"I think this gives us confidence. Winning is something that we had to learn how to do," Conners said. "We have a very young team: of the 10 players who are playing right now, nine are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores. It takes some learning to play at this level and how to sustain it. They're getting better and continuing to push each other, and I like the way it's progressing for sure."

UC Davis returns to action at the Boise State Invitational this weekend. The Aggies take on the tourney hosts on Friday, then face Portland State and Santa Clara on Saturday. This is the fourth tournament in as many weeks, ending UC Davis' preseason before the beginning of Big West Conference play.