DAVIS, Calif. — Freshman
Amara Aimufua finished with a match-high 14 kills to lead two other teammates in double figures and the UC Davis women's volleyball team hit a robust .382 on the night, lifting the Aggies past visiting California, 3-1, on Thursday night at the University Credit Union Center.
UC Davis improved to 4-6 overall on the year, posting its second straight win in the series with the Golden Bears and the first since a four-set victory back in 2013. California, which was held to .116 hitting on the night, fell to 7-4 overall.
Aimufua was joined in double figures by teammates
Lana Radakovic and
Olivia Utterback, who finished with 13 kills apiece and hit .419 and .440 on the night, respectively.
Josephine Ough added eight kills on 14 swings without an error, hitting .571 on the night and adding four block solos.
Defensively,
Shira Lahav finished with 23 digs to lead all players, while setter
Jane Seslar posted a double-double with 25 assists and 10 digs.
UC Davis ran away with the first two sets to take an early 2-0 lead in the match, opening the first by scoring nine of the first 10 points and keeping the Golden Bears at bay before a kill by
Perri Starkey ended a 3-0 run by Cal and gave the Aggies a 25-16 win.
Neither team was able to pull away by much in the second, with UC Davis leading by as many as three points only to watch the Golden Bears rally to tie the match at 11-all. From that point on, it was all Aggies, using a 5-0 run to break the tie and closing the set on an 8-0 burst — a run that included three kills from Utterback and two more for Radakovic — and clinched the set on an ace by Seslar, 25-13.
Both teams traded points to open the third, but a 6-0 Cal run late broke a 17-all tie en route to a 25-20 win, but UC Davis wasted no time to open the fourth, scoring five of the first six points and using another 5-0 burst midway through the set to build a commanding 13-5 lead.
The Golden Bears clawed back to within five points at 17-12, but the Aggies quickly shut the door, scoring seven straight points to set up match point and clinching the contest with a kill be Utterback.
A quick turnaround sends UC Davis on the road on Friday (Sept. 17), as the Aggies travel to Saint Mary's for a 6 p.m. first serve in Moraga, Calif.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO System helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.
