DAVIS, Calif. -- After enjoying maximum success in its homestand – five wins in five matches – UC Davis women's volleyball returns to Southern California for continued Big West Conference action, taking on Cal State Fullerton on Friday followed by UC Riverside the following night. Both matches start at 7 p.m.
Who: UC Davis at Cal State Fullerton
When: Friday, November 2 • 7 p.m.
Where: Titan Gym (Fullerton, Calif.)
Live Stats: Presto Sports (http://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/w-volley/2018-19/boxscores/20181102_yu7o.xml)
Live Video: Big West TV (http://bigwest.sidearmstreaming.com/watch/?Live=1398)
Who: UC Davis at UC Riverside
When: Saturday, November 3 • 7 p.m.
Where: SRC Arena (Riverside, Calif.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats (http://www.sidearmstats.com/ucr/wvball/)
Live Video: Big West TV (http://bigwest.sidearmstreaming.com/watch/?Live=1446)
UC Davis claimed four-set victories against Long Beach State and CSUN over the previous weekend. Senior outside hitter Brianna Karsseboom posted a career high on each night: 18 kills against the 49ers, then 20 digs against the Matadors. The Aggies hit .305, and more specifically .30496, in Thursday's win for their most efficient offense since the season-opening weekend.
"I think we're playing as good as we have all year," said head coach Dan Conners. "We were in a good groove to start the season. With the loss of some personnel, with got out of that groove, then we found a new groove with the current personnel. It takes time to figure it out, but this group figured it out."
ABOUT THE AGGIES: Senior OH Emily Allen enters the upcoming weekend with 972 career kills and 972 career digs... Only three Aggies have hit the 1,000 club in both categories... Kaylin Squyres (1,197 from 2012-15) was the ninth player to reach the threshold in kills, while Malia Bolko (1,770) became the ninth to join the digs club... Allen ranks fifth in the Big West Conference at 3.81 kills per set... Bolko ranks fourth in the league in both digs (356) and dps (4.62)... She needs just 62 ups to surpass Avreeta Singh (2006-09) for the career record, despite missing 12 sets due to injury in September... Friday's match marks the final hometown return for senior MB Lauren Jackson, who not only grew up in Fullerton but graduated from Troy High School – which is located across State College Boulevard from the Cal State Fullerton campus... Jackson played in front of her hometown crowd in 2015 and 2017, totaling 10 blocks in the two visits.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: Cal State Fullerton (6-17, 0-10) and UC Riverside (7-14, 2-7) faced each other on Saturday, with the Highlanders coming away with a five-set win... Freshman MH Ashlyn Blotzer hit 14-0-27 (.519) with seven blocks for UCR, roughly a fifth of her total production for the year (65 kills, 35 blocks)... UCR senior OH Kaiulani Ahuna ranks second in the Big West at 5.07 kills per set... For the Titans, senior OH Madeline Schneider leads her team with 3.22 kps.
ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO: Established in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
