DAVIS, Calif. — Freshman
Amara Aimufua and junior
Josephine Ough combined for 25 kills en route to all-tournament team honors, while freshman tournament Most Valuable Player
Olivia Utterback hit .467 on the night, helping host UC Davis to a come-from-behind, 20-25, 25-12, 25-23, 25-22, victory over Santa Clara to claim the title of the 2021 Aggie Invitational on Saturday night at the UCU Center.
The Aggies have now won three straight matches, improving to 3-3 overall on the season. UC Davis hit .310 as a team, including .429 in the second and .467 in the third to take its first lead in the match.
Aimufua finished with 15 kills and hit .323 against the Broncos, finishing the tournament averaging 3.40 kills per set and hitting .277 over the three matches. Ough added 10 kills and hit .600 in the de facto championship match, adding five blocks to lead the team with 12.5 points.
Utterback, meanwhile, chipped in nine kills and hit .422 on the weekend, posting only four errors in 45 total swings.
Defensively,
Shira Lahav and
Jane Seslar finished with 10 digs apiece, while Seslar completed her second-straight double-double with 26 assists.
After dropping the first set, the Aggies responded with a big win in the second to tie the match at one apiece. Leading by only three, UC Davis scored 13 of the final 16 points in the set, eventually clinching the set on back-to-back attack errors by the Broncos.
Neither team led by more two points to start a back-and-forth third set as the Aggies closed strong. Trailing, 22-20, Utterback sparked UC Davis' final kick with a pair of kills around a Santa Clara error, and closed out the win with a third for the 25-23 triumph.
In the final set, the Aggies scored the first five points — and six of the first seven — before the Broncos made their comeback, scoring seven of the next eight to erase the deficit and take an 8-7 lead. Santa Clara led 13-11 before a service error led to a run of six straight points for UC Davis and a 17-13 advantage.
The Aggies kept the Broncos at bay from there on out as Santa Clara could come no closer that two points the rest of the way. Santa Clara, which fought off three match points, before
Demari Webb found space for the final kill of the night to clinch the win.
UC Davis hits the road next weekend for its second tournament away from home, heading to Flagstaff, Ariz., to compete at the Lumberjack Classic hosted by Northern Arizona. The Aggies open against the Lumberjacks and Utah Valley on Friday (Sept. 10), before closing tournament play on Saturday (Sept. 11) against Arizona State.
2021 AGGIE INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Shyia Richardson, San Francisco
Sydney Petersen, Nevada
Alex Anthony, Santa Clara
Sophia Tulino, Santa Clara
Amara Aimufua, UC Davis
Josephine Ough, UC Davis
Olivia Utterback, UC Davis (MVP)
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.
