LA JOLLA, Calif. – Olivia Utterback and
Jade Light each reached seasons-high kill tallies while
Mia Starr enjoyed the best night of her young career in UC Davis' four-set victory over hosts UC San Diego on Saturday night.
"I thought we played good enough to win, we were certainly sharper than we were last night, and served tougher than we did last night," said Head Coach
Dan Conners. "It was her [
Mia Starr] first match running a 5-1 and I thought she did a great job stepping in and playing aggressively."
The attacking duo of Utterback and Light was a force to be reckoned with, combining for 36 kills in the match and nearly 70 percent of the team's total on the night.
UC Davis (10-8, 5-3 Big West) snaps a three-game losing streak with the win and UC San Diego falls to 11-9 (3-5 Big West) and sees its three-game winning streak come to an end.
Utterback led the way with a season-best 19 kills while hitting an astounding .405. The junior committed just four attack errors and made a huge impact defensively, posting four blocks and four digs.
Coming through with a breakout performance was Light, notching a season-high 17 kills. She tallied 19.5 total points in an excellent display from the Sloughhouse native.
Stepping into the new 5-1 system was freshman setter
Mia Starr, who looked as if she had years of experience under her belt, dishing out a career-high 41 assists. This marks the best setting performance of the season for the Aggies. Starr also impressed on the defensive end as she registered 15 digs to earn third double-double of the year.
"It was definitely fulfilling. I went into this game saying – I'm going to go for it and play as best as I can," Starr said. "I think we all really stepped up tonight and it was an amazing feeling. I really went in depth with [Conners] to understand what I needed to do to help this team and luckily it worked out."
Set 1
Reese Diersbock got off to a hot start with two early kills to give her team an early 6-4 advantage in the first set. After the hosts pulled it back to 6-6, the Aggies rallied for a 4-0 scoring run that was punctuated by a big stuff from Starr and Chandler.
Utterback and Light started to find rhythm as each recorded four kills in the set to lead UC Davis to the 25-18 win in the opening frame.
Set 2
Sparked by Light's fifth kill of the match and a service ace from Starr, the Aggies raced to a 5-0 lead to start set number two. UC San Diego closed the gap, but Davis' team replied with a 7-1 run to extend the advantage to 17-11.
Utterback finished with five kills in the set, including a stretch of three straight points, to lead her team to the 2-0 lead in the match following a second straight 25-18 set victory.
Set 3
The hosts forced a fourth set after closing the frame on a 7-2 run. The Tritons started get things going offensively, hitting .323 in the set to take it 25-22.
Set 4
Much like the third set, the fourth frame would go back-and-forth in a tight battle between the two squads. The two teams found themselves in an 11-11 tie before a kill from Light sprung a 3-0 run for UC Davis. The Tritons replied with a run of their own, however, to take the lead.
The Aggies won four of the next six points when Light slammed down yet another kill to keep the momentum alive, but UC San Diego would not go away, whittling the lead to just one.
In crunch time, UC Davis turned to its All-Big West recipient, Utterback, who delivered in the clutch by knocking down three straight kills to clinch the victory for the Ags.
"[Utterback] was her normal self," Conners said. "She shows up and she competes."
Up Next
The Ags return to the University Credit Union Center on Oct. 17 to play host to Hawai'i. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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