DAVIS, Calif. — The start of the fall quarter is still a little over a month away, but the UC Davis women's volleyball team is already passing one of its biggest tests of the young season.

Entering the year having lost half the names on his roster from a season ago, Head Coach Dan Conners has the challenge of folding seven new faces — not to mention returning redshirts Mahalia White and Demari Webb — into the rotation for the 2019 campaign, which begins with an exhibition against California on Friday (Aug. 23) at 6 p.m. at The Pavilion.

A difficult task, for sure, but the early grades on team chemistry? A-plus.

"The chemistry has been very good," said Conners, who enters his sixth season on the sidelines at The Pavilion. "The group has been willing to push each other, to challenge each other, but also do it in a way that's healthy and supportive of one another."

UC Davis returns eight letter winners and a pair of starters off last season's squad that finished 16-12 overall and 8-8 in Big West Conference play, good for a tie for fifth in the league standings. It was the program's second-straight year with 16 victories, while the eight conference triumphs also matched its total from last season.

"What stands out is our potential for this season," Conners said. "We have a lot of room for improvement, but we have the athleticism, the skill level, and the ability to get there. The gap is just our lack of experience, which will take time to develop, but I have no doubt that we will get there."

Gone are graduated seniors Emily Allen (3.58 kills per set) and Brianna Karsseboom (2.34 kills per set), leaving the bulk of the offensive load on the shoulders of senior human development major Lauren Matias, who finished the 2018 campaign ranked third on the team with 194 points and averaging 2.28 kills per set.

Matias is part of a core group of three seniors, along with nutrition science major Ally Reyes and political science major Jackie Graves, whom Conners credits with quickly bringing the newcomers into the fold.

"They bring that sense of being willing to push each other and grow but, also, making sure that everyone feels welcome and included, and that we're all in this together," Conners said. "They've done a really good job at integrating our large group of new student-athletes into that culture and catching everybody up."

Sophomore opposite Leonie Strehl also averaged 1.70 kills per set and hit .203 for the year, while White — the 2017 Big West Freshman of the Year, All-Big West first-team selection, and league all-freshman team honoree — looks to return to the form that saw her lead the team and set a school rookie record with 398 kills (3.55 per set) before a December diagnosis of stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma that forced her to miss all of the 2018 season.

However, the cancer is in remission and the organizational studies major is back to her old tricks.

"She's a lot stronger now than she was her freshman year and I'm definitely seeing a difference there," Conners said. "Freshman year, there were no expectations and, now, she has some expectations of herself so I'm interested to see how she works through that. She's looking really good, hitting the ball hard, and is as dynamic as ever."

Quarterbacking the offense, the Aggies will also have a new face at setter as sophomore art history major Jane Seslar takes over for the departed Paloma Bowman (417 assists) and Maddie Merlino (457 assists), who combined for two-thirds of the team's assists a season ago. Seslar, who appeared in 26 of the team's 28 matches and 87 sets overall, finished with 235 assists (2.70 per set) in her debut Division I season.

"Jane has taken on a much bigger leadership role this season," Conners said. "She understands the game at a very high level so having her on the court as much as we can is a great thing for us."

Just two weeks into fall practice, progress has been made in that short amount of time, but Conners and his staff are still tinkering with rotations, trying to find the right fits, and seeing what works best for his team.

"I think we've got a good floor defense right now with all the liberos and defensive specialists are playing at a high level," Conners said. "Beyond that I think it's a little early to see. We may have some strengths emerge that we're just not seeing right now and there are a lot of opportunities for those to develop. I think we have the potential to be really good offensively, we just haven't found the consistency in that area yet. Same with our block."

Following Friday's exhibition, UC Davis hosts the four-team 2019 Aggie Invitational at The Pavilion on Aug. 30-31 to officially kick-off the season. Montana, San Jose State, and Pacific, join the host Aggies in the two-day event.

A complete tournament schedule is available here: https://ucdavisaggies.com/sports/2019/8/12/2019-Aggie-Invitational.aspx.

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 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
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.