Sept. 19, 2016

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis freshman Lauren Matias and redshirt freshman Heather Reed claimed Big West Conference Freshman Player and Defensive Player of the Week awards, respectively, for the week ending September 18 as voted by the league's sports information directors Monday.

Both players won their honors mostly for their contributions in Saturday's four-set upset of No. 17 Santa Clara at the Boise State Invitational tournament. That victory marked just the third time the Aggies have beaten a team ranked in the AVCA Division I Top 25, and the first time since 2013. Matias, a 6-foot-2 pin hitter from Santa Cruz and Harbor High School, recorded a career-high 22 kills and hit .405 in the win over the Broncos, earning her a spot on the BSU Invite all-tournament squad. For the week, she averaged 3.07 kills and 0.79 blocks per set.

Reed, originally from Brentwood and an alumna of Heritage High School, averaged 5.14 digs per set in UC Davis' four matches during the week. She had 20 digs in the Aggies' three-set sweep of Causeway Cup rival Sacramento State on Tuesday, had 14 and 13 against Boise State and Portland State, respectively, then finished the tournament with 25 digs in the win over Santa Clara. Hawaii's Nikki Taylor was the overall Big West Conference Player of the Week, posting per-set averages of 3.86 kills, 2.71 digs, 0.86 blocks and 1.57 aces in her team's two wins over Pepperdine. Reed and Matias are the Aggies' first Big West Conference weekly honorees for 2016. UC Davis begins league play at home against Long Beach

State Thursday night. First serve at the Pavilion is 7 p.m.