TUCSON, Ariz. – UC Davis made a statement in the season opener, earning a convincing 3-1 win over Arizona to begin their 2023 campaign.
This marks the team's first win over a PAC-12 opponent since 2021 when the Aggies defeated Cal in September of that season.
"I thought the team performed well enough to win," said Head Coach
Dan Conners. "It was the first match for both teams, so it wasn't sharp on either side, but it feels good to win. We've got a lot to work on, but it was great to see the freshmen get their feet wet. Reese [Diersbock] had a great match which was great to see, and a lot of our other freshmen stepped up for us. We have to learn from this win and we have to stay on this path without getting ahead, while improving and getting better."
The Aggies got a massive performance from
Olivia Utterback who racked up a game-high 17 kills at an unbelievable .438 clip. The junior made just three attack errors in her sparkling season debut while she made an impact on the defensive end as well, getting involved in four blocks.
"I think we knew that we would have to come out sharp against a team like Arizona," Utterback said. "There were some rough patches, but we focused on our system and how to play Aggie volleyball. I was visualizing and looked over the scouting report which helped a lot today. Our passing was really good, and we communicated really well, so I was overall really satisfied."
Reese Diersbock was stellar in her UC Davis debut, reaching double-digit kills (10) while hitting .267 on the day. The Hawai'i native stood firm defensively with two solo blocks in the match.
Casi Newman was just one dig shy of a double-double but enjoyed a fantastic all-around showing with her team-high 24 assists to go along with her nine digs.
Mia Starr impressed in her collegiate debut with 17 assists and four digs while
Julia Ng posted a game-high 14 digs.
Megan Lenn's devastating serve was on full display in the season opener as she tallied five aces on the day, the most of any player on the floor.
Set 1
Diersbock got the Ags started in her first collegiate set, racking up six kills on eight swings as the freshman shined early on. The opening set would go back-and-forth but UC Davis would trail by two before back-to-back kills from
Ally Chandler and Utterback evened things up at 13-13. Diersbock stayed in rhythm with two more kills before an ace from Lenn made the score 17-15, forcing an Arizona timeout.
The Wildcats whittled the lead to one, however, a 3-0 scoring run sparked a huge kill from Utterback extended the lead to 22-18. Another short rally from the hosts closed the gap to just one point but Utterback delivered a crucial ace before Lenn slammed the final kill to clinch the 25-21 victory.
The Aggies tallied 14 kills and just six attack errors, hitting .258 as a team to snatch set number one.
Set 2
Arizona controlled set two from the beginning, opening up a 12-7 lead to force a timeout from the UC Davis bench. The Aggies gained some momentum following the timeout but a 6-0 run from the hosts put the Wildcats out of sight as they won the set 25-17, leveling things up at a set apiece.
Set 3
Two service aces from Lenn – her fourth and fifth of the match – allowed the Ags to race to an early 4-2 lead in the third set. Utterback got involved with two more kills, causing Arizona to call another timeout after UC Davis had built a 10-5 advantage.
Chandler started to grow into the game when she delivered her fourth and fifth kills of the match before coming up with two blocks on the other end to extend the Aggies' lead to 18-11. After the Wildcats cut the lead to four, two freshman linked up –
Mia Starr and
Allie Caldwell – to win a pivotal point down the stretch. UC Davis picked up the 25-19 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set 4
Breeze Czapinski capped off a 3-0 scoring run with her second kill of the match as the Ags took control early on the fourth set. By reaching double-digit kills, Utterback pushed the UC Davis lead to 7-2 to force yet another Arizona timeout. Diersbock continued her excellent night by providing back-to-back blocks on the defensive end, leading the Aggies to an 11-4 lead.
Arizona did not go down without a fight, clawing within four points to force UC Davis to regroup. The hosts eventually cut the lead to two, but the Aggies turned to their All-Big West recipient, Utterback, to come up with four huge kills down the stretch. Diersbock also wrapped up her incredible debut by reaching double figures.
UC Davis fully dominated the fourth and final set, cruising to the 25-18 win, clinching the program's first win over a PAC-12 opponent since 2021.
Up Next
The Ags look to make it back-to-back wins to start the season when they face North Carolina tomorrow at 12 p.m. to conclude the Cactus Classic.
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