SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The UC Davis women's volleyball team went toe-to-toe with the two-time defending Big West Conference champions, digging out from an 0-2 hole to force a decisive fifth set, but the Aggies were unable to hold off homestanding Cal Poly, as the Mustangs posted a, 25-21, 25-21, 15-25, 18-25, 10-15, victory on Saturday night at the Mott Athletic Center.
UC Davis, which ended a run of 19 consecutive set losses to Cal Poly with their victory in the third, fell to 10-7 overall and 2-2 in league play. The Mustangs won their seventh straight in the series and their 27th consecutive home contest, improving to 12-5 overall and 5-0 in the Big West.
Senior
Lauren Matias and sophomore
Mahalia White finished with a team-high 13 kills apiece to lead a quartet of Aggies in double figures, joined by sophomores
Leonie Strehl and
Josephine Ough, who had 10 kills apiece. Ough did not commit an error in 17 swings, hitting .588 for the night, and adding a career-high 10 blocks — five of those of the solo variety — the latter besting her previous high of nine set against UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 10.
Meanwhile, sophomore setter
Jane Seslar collected her sixth double-double of the season thanks to 47 assists and 12 digs, while freshman
Shira Lahav added a team-high 14 digs.
Cal Poly scored the first four points of the decisive fifth set and led 7-3, forcing UC Davis to use both their timeouts. Trailing by four at the changeover, and down by as many as six midway through, the Aggies fought back and climbed back to within 13-9 to force a Mustang timeout, but were unable to hold back their hosts as a service error and a kill by Maia Dvoracek ended the marathon contest, 15-10.
Dropping the first two sets of the night, UC Davis tied the third set at five-all before rallying behind the serve of Matias, scoring seven straight points to lead 12-5 and begin to swing the momentum back in its favor. The Aggies never led the Mustangs to come closer than seven points the rest of the way, closing out the win by scoring five of the final seven points and capping the victory on a kill by Strehl.
Set four was nip-and-tuck before a 4-0 run midway through the period gave the Aggies a 16-9 lead. UC Davis kept Cal Poly at arms length and finally put the hammer down following a timeout after the Mustangs made it a five-point contest at 23-18, capitalizing on a service error to gain possession and closing out the fourth on another kill by Strehl to force the fifth, and deciding, set.
Dvoracek finished with a match-high 21 kills, but UC Davis out-hit Cal Poly, .271 to .190, while collecting 13 team blocks to just eight for the Mustangs.
UC Davis returns home for a pair of matches next week at The Pavilion, hosting Long Beach State on Thursday (Oct. 10) at 7 p.m., before CSUN comes to town for a Sunday matinee (Oct. 13) at 2 p.m.
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 Times Higher Education, and among the top 15 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
Launched 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.
MARYA WELCH INITIATIVE
Named after the former physical education instructor, coach and Dean of Women who founded women's sports on the campus 25 years before the passage of Title IX, the Marya Welch Initiative for Women's Athletics provides comprehensive support for UC Davis' 16 women's athletics programs. Through the support of the Marya Welch Initiative and its group members, student-athletes are provided the best possible opportunity to succeed inside the classroom, and in competition, through special project gifts and by increasing visibility and participation at women's events throughout the year. All gifts to the Marya Welch Initiative are matched 1:1, doubling the impact on our women's programs. Visit https://give.ucdavis.edu/ATHG/324041 for more information.
