SERVICE!: Nearly 5,000 miles worth of travel and a five-set battle was just the start of a busy week for the UC Davis women's volleyball team, which returns to the unbeaten comforts of The Pavilion for a pair of matches against the top two teams in the Big West Conference this week. The Aggies, who are 8-0 at home this season, host UC Santa Barbara on Thursday (Oct. 24), before welcoming Cal Poly to Northern California on Saturday (Oct. 26). Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

THIS WEEK…
WHO: UC Santa Barbara (16-2, 6-1 Big West) at UC Davis (12-8, 4-3 Big West)
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 at 7 p.m. PT
WHERE: The Pavilion in Davis, Calif.
STREAMING VIDEO: Big West TV
LIVE STATS: UCDavisLiveStats.com

WHO: Cal Poly (13-6, 6-1 Big West) at UC Davis (12-8, 4-3 Big West)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 at 7 p.m. PT
WHERE: The Pavilion in Davis, Calif.
STREAMING VIDEO: Big West TV
LIVE STATS: UCDavisLiveStats.com

COACHES CORNER: Dan Conners (UCLA '01) is in his sixth season at UC Davis (88-78 Overall, .530)… Nicole Lantagne Welch (Maryland '94) is in her seventh season at UC Santa Barbara… Caroline Walters (Santa Clara '08) is in her first season at Cal Poly.

SERIES NOTES
UC Davis vs. UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara leads, 19-9 (since 2004)
Last Meeting: Oct. 4, 2019 - UC Santa Barbara, 3-0
Current Streak: Lost 2
at The Pavilion: UC Santa Barbara leads, 11-4 (since 2004) (UCSB, Won 3)

UC Davis vs. Cal Poly
Cal Poly leads, 18-12 (since 2004)
Last Meeting: Oct. 5, 2019 - Cal Poly, 3-2
Current Streak: Lost 7
at The Pavilion: Series Tied, 8-8 (since 2004) (Cal Poly, Won 3)

IN THE POLLS: Both UC Santa Barbara (18 votes) and Cal Poly (two votes) are both among those receiving votes according to the latest AVCA coaches poll released on Monday morning (Oct. 21)… It will mark the fourth and fifth times this season that UC Davis will meet a team either ranked or receiving votes at the time of the match: No. 19 Utah (Sept. 6), receiving votes UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 4), and No. 22 Hawai'i (Oct. 20).

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA: The Gauchos enter the week tied for first place in the Big West Conference standings with Central Coast rival Cal Poly following a 3-1 win over the Mustangs on Oct. 19… UC Santa Barbara is 16-2 overall and 6-1 in league, winning 14 of its last 15… The Gauchos have lost only to Colorado (3-1) and Hawai'i (3-0) this season… Senior Lindsey Ruddins paces the Big West's best offense, averaging 4.32 kills per set (first in the league), while hitting .262 on the year… She also ranks 10th in the league in digs (2.68 per set - third on the team) and has 45 blocks (0.75 blocks per set)… Junior Rowan Ennis leads the team with 84 blocks (1.33 per set - first in the league), while Zoe Fleck ranks third in the Big West at 3.93 digs per set.

SCOUTING CAL POLY: The Mustangs fell from the ranks of the Big West's unbeaten with their loss to UC Santa Barbara last week, entering this week's contests with a 13-6 overall record and a 6-1 mark in league play… Cal Poly, which had won eight straight prior to the Gaucho loss, travels to UC Riverside on Thursday before heading north to take on UC Davis… Junior Maia Dvoracek paces the offense, averaging 3.89 kills per set (fourth in the league) and is hitting .226 on the year — accounting for nearly a third of the team's kills (280 of 873) this year… She also has 45 service aces (0.62 per set)… Sophomore Meredith Phillips leads the Mustangs at the net with her 70 blocks (0.97 per set), while senior Mika Dickson paces the squad with 255 digs (3.54 per set).

MATIAS MILESTONE WATCH: Thanks to her performance over the weekend at nationally ranked Hawai'i, senior Lauren Matias has racked up 269 kills in 20 matches thus far this season — the second highest single-season total for the Santa Cruz, Calif., native, trailing only the 292 kills during her freshman year — pushing her to within 100 kills of 1,000 for her career. Should she reach the milestone, she would be just the 11th player in the history of the program to reach the milestone and the first since Emily Allen (1,014) did so last year.

CONNERS COMMENTS…
Takeaways from the Hawai'i match…
"My takeaways were that we can play with the best teams in this conference. We're right there with them, we're in the mix. I think, for the players, it's now about how do we get over the hump against the top teams."

On jumping out to the early lead…
"My thought process didn't change. It was always focused on how do we win the next point? What do we have to do to do that? It's about staying in the moment, it's about executing our skill set to the best of our abilities one point at a time."

On the atmosphere, playing in front of 6,500 people…
"They were loud and they were urging on their team. It made it a lot fun. I thought the energy was great, it was an exciting match, and you could really feel the support."

On the approach to this week's matches against the Big West co-leaders…
"I think it's, again, how do we execute our game at a higher level than what we are currently and doing it for an extended period of time against opponents that are hitting back. It's a lot easier to execute your game plan when you're not getting punched. When you're going back-and-forth, it's a little harder, you feel the pressure a little more and it's preparing for that level of competition."

AGGIE CUT SHOTS…
• UC Davis enters the week having played in four consecutive five-set matches and six overall this year, posting a 4-2 mark in those matches
• According to available records, the Aggies have never played four-straight five-set matches in a single season, but last played in four straight contests decided in five sets with the final game of the 1996 season and the first three contests of the 1997 campaign
• UC Davis carries an 8-0 mark at The Pavilion into Thursday night's contest against UC Santa Barbara — its best since an 8-0 start at home in 2011
• A win over the Gauchos would improve the Aggies to 9-0 at home for the first time in the history of the program
• UC Davis has won 13 of its last 15 at home and the Aggies are 16-4 at home in the last two seasons combined
• On the flip side, UC Davis is still looking for its first road win of the season after going 0-6 in true road contests this year, losing its last nine straight away from The Pavilion dating back to last year (Last win: at UC Irvine, 3-0, on Oct. 29, 2018)
• When the Aggies jumped out to a 2-0 lead at Hawai'i on Sunday, it marked only the seventh and eighth times that UC Davis has won a set from the perennial national powers in 15 head-to-head meetings
• Junior Alexa Rockas tied her career high with six blocks against the Rainbow Wahine, a mark she set against New Mexico State back on Sept. 14 of last season and tied earlier this year against Fresno State (Sept. 20)
• With her match-high 17 kills at Hawai'i, sophomore Mahalia White has now reached double digits in each of her last four contests and 13 overall this season
• During her recent run, White has racked up 64 kills overall and is hitting .344 in that stretch
• Not to be outdone, Matias has 69 kills during her own four-match double-digit streak and is averaging 3.45 kills per set in that stretch
• Freshman Shira Lahav has posted double-digit dig totals in 11 of her last 12 matches, including 18 at Hawai'i on Sunday night, and is averaging 3.35 digs per set in that stretch
• With her 52 assists on Sunday in Honolulu, sophomore setter Jane Seslar collected her third career match with at least 50 assists, joining performances of 62 against Wyoming on Sept. 14 (a career high) and 58 against CSUN on Oct. 13
• Seslar ranks No. 39 in the nation with her 755 total assists and No. 73 at 9.93 assists per set
• UC Davis is one of the most efficient hitting teams in the nation, ranking No. 44 in hitting percentage (.248)

DIBS ON DOUBLE-DIGITS
Double-Digit Kills Performances (High)
Lauren Matias - 14 (27 vs. Wyoming)
Mahalia White - 13 (21 vs. Wyoming)
Leonie Strehl - 6 (17 vs. CSUN)
Demari Webb - 4 (15 vs. Sacramento State)
Josephine Ough - 3 (14 vs. Wyoming)
Alexa Rockas - 1 (13 vs. CSUN)

Double-Digit Digs Performances (High)
Shira Lahav - 11 (24 vs. Wyoming)
Lauren Matias - 9 (17 vs. Wyoming)
Jane Seslar - 6 (14 vs. Sacramento State)
Ally Reyes - 3 (19 vs. Sacramento State)
Perri Starkey - 1 (10 vs. Wyoming)

Double-Digit Blocks Performances
Josephine Ough - 1 (10 at Cal Poly)

Double-Digit Points Performances (High)
Lauren Matias - 16 (30 vs. Wyoming)
Mahalia White - 14 (22 vs. Wyoming)
Leonie Strehl - 6 (18.5 vs. CSUN)
Demari Webb - 5 (16 vs. Sacramento State)
Josephine Ough - 4 (17.5 at Cal Poly)
Alexa Rockas - 2 (14.5 vs. CSUN)

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Lauren Matias - 8 (Kills-Digs)
Jane Seslar - 6 (Assists-Digs)
Josephine Ough - 1 (Kills-Blocks)

2019 HONOR ROLL
Lauren Matias - Big West Conference Player of the Week (Oct. 14)
Shira Lahav - Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 23)
Mahalia White - Aggie Invitational MVP; UVU Wolverine Invitational All-Tournament Team; Roadrunner Classic All-Tournament Team
Demari Webb - Aggie Invitational All-Tournament Team
Jane Seslar - Aggie Invitational All-Tournament Team
Josephine Ough - South Dakota Classic All-Tournament Team
Alexa Rockas - Roadrunner Classic MVP