DAVIS, Calif. — After playing four matches in two days, spring break has been anything but for the UC Davis beach volleyball team, which continues play with a trip down the coast this weekend for five more contests against Big West Conference rivals over two days hosted by Cal Poly at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Formerly known as the "Big West Challenge," the Aggies will take on the other five league opponents beginning with No. 10 Hawai'i, No. 5 Cal Poly, and CSU Bakersfield on Friday (March 26) beginning at 12:30 p.m., before taking on CSUN and No. 19 Long Beach State on Saturday (March 27) beginning at 10:30 a.m.
THIS WEEK…
WHAT: UC Davis vs. Big West opponents at Cal Poly
WHEN: Friday, March 26, 2021
TIMES: UC Davis vs. #10 Hawai'i, 12:30 p.m.; UC Davis vs. #5 Cal Poly, 3 p.m.; UC Davis vs. CSU Bakersfield, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: San Luis Obispo, Calif.
STADIUM: Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex
WHEN: Saturday, March 27, 2021
TIMES: UC Davis vs. CSUN, 10:30 a.m.; UC Davis vs. #19 Long Beach State, 1 p.m.
WHERE: San Luis Obispo, Calif.
STADIUM: Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex
IN THE RANKINGS…
Three of the six teams competing this weekend are ranked in the most recent AVCA Collegiate Beach Coaches Poll released on March 23… Host Cal Poly is ranked No. 5, Hawai'i stands at No. 10, while Long Beach State is No. 19.
SERIES NOTES…
Hawai'i: The Rainbow Wahine lead the all-time series with the Aggies, 3-0, posting 5-0 sweeps in all three meetings…
Cal Poly: The Mustangs have won the only meeting with UC Davis, posting a 5-0 victory back in 2019 at this same event…
CSU Bakersfield: The Aggies posted a 3-2 win over the Roadrunners in the only meeting between the two programs at this event in 2019…
CSUN: The Matadors have won the previous two meetings with UC Davis, posting a 3-2 win at this event in 2019 and a 5-0 victory at the 2019 Big West Championships…
Long Beach State: The Beach have won the only two meetings with the Aggies by the scores of 5-0 at this event and the conference championships in 2019.
ABOUT THE RAINBOW WAHINE…
Hawai'i opened its regular season at UC Davis earlier in the week, posting a pair of wins over the Aggies, while falling to then-No. 19 Stanford and No. 11 California… The pair of Kylin Loker and Riley Wagoner finished 3-1 in those four matches at UC Davis, splitting time between the fours and fives and winning their last three… The duo of Harlee Kekauoha and Brooke Van Sickle are 2-2 at the ones.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS…
Cal Poly enters the weekend with an 8-3 record, having won its last five, including victories over No. 8 Pepperdine and No. 15 Arizona… Six of the team's 11 matches have come against ranked opponents… The pairing of Macy Gordon and Emily Sonny are a team-best 7-3 at the ones, while Jayelin Lombard and Amy Ozee have won six times at the twos… Fourteen different teams have seen action in the Mustangs' starting lineup this season.
ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS…
CSU Bakersfield is 1-2 overall on the year, posting a win over The Master's University in its season opener before falling to No. 6 Cal Poly (4-1) and No. 1 USC (5-0)… The duo of Brooke Boiseau and Anna Unke lead the team with a pair of wins at the fours.
ABOUT THE MATADORS…
CSUN enters the weekend with a 5-4 record, winning its last two contests against The Master's University (4-1) and Colorado Mesa (5-0)… The tandem of Lauren Eknoian and Meagan Maughan have won three times at the ones, while the duos Darbi Huneycutt and Mikaela Maughan at the threes and Kailey Klein and Lauren McMurray at the fours lead the team with five wins overall.
ABOUT THE BEACH…
Long Beach State enters the week with a 6-6 overall record, winning its last four over Boise State, Utah, Colorado Mesa, and Concordia — the final three via 5-0 sweeps… The duo of Skyler Germann and Alice Pratesi lead the team with eight wins at the fours, while Mari Molina and Tyler Spriggs are 7-5 at the ones.
AGGIE STORYLINES…
• The Aggies' gauntlet continued last weekend, facing three more opponents ranked among the top 25 in No. 6 Hawai'i, No. 11 California, and No. 19 Stanford.
• UC Davis has faced an opponent either ranked or receiving votes in every dual this season, continuing this week with contests against No. 10 Hawai'i and No. 5 Cal Poly.
• The duos of
Paloma Bowman and
Colleen McGuire, as well as
Savanah Schroeder and
Alexa Rockas, became the second and third pairings to take the Cardinal to three sets this year.
Jane Seslar and
Ashlee Goycoochea did the same later in the day against No. 6 Hawai'i.
• Twenty-four hours later, not only did the Aggies take a set off No. 11 California for the first time in the history of the program, UC Davis won matches at the ones and the threes, the former in straight sets behind Bowman and McGuire, the latter in three sets thanks to
Rose Holscher and
Madelin Smith.
• The wins marked the second and third times that UC Davis has won a point against a nationally ranked foe this season, joining Seslar and
Alexa Rockas' win against No. 15 Arizona on March 12 in the team's home opener.
• Holscher and Smith lead the team with two wins at the threes this season, while Bowman and McGuire have won matches at both the ones and twos.
• Aggie duos have gone to three sets eight times this year, with
Alexa Rockas and
Jane Seslar, as well as
Rose Holscher and
Madelin Smith, playing two apiece.
• Head Coach
Ali McColloch is in her third season at the helm of the UC Davis program.
• Of the 16 student-athletes who saw action in 2020, 13 of those return for the Aggies in 2021, including the duo of
Rose Holscher and
Alexa Rockas, which shared the team lead with four victories last season.
• Holscher and Rockas' four wins last year at the fours were the most in a single-season at that position.
• Returning graduate student
Heather Reed is the Aggies' all-time leader in career dual wins with 13, and is also in the process of obtaining her master's degree at UC Davis in public health after graduating with her bachelor's degree in psychology in 2020. (Read more:
https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2020/9/4/aggie-evo-reed-resets-down-the-road-to-career-launch.aspx)
• Junior
Claire Jackson also talked about her virtual summer internship with PepsiCo as part of the Aggie EVO program (Read more:
https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2020/8/25/aggie-evo-jackson-the-right-one-for-unique-pepsico-intern-experience.aspx)
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Over 700 student-athletes across 25 intercollegiate athletics teams, following the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.
Centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and the Napa Valley, UC Davis is known nationwide as a leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, ranks annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
