TUCSON, Ariz. – UC Davis was firing on all cylinders in the opening weekend, defeating two Power 5 teams in its first two games of the season following its dominant 3-1 (26-24, 13-25, 25-17, 25-18) win over North Carolina on Saturday afternoon inside McKale Memorial Center.
The Aggies impressed in yesterday's four-set victory over hosts Arizona, and went on to continue their outstanding form with another win in four sets, this time against North Carolina of the ACC.
"I think we started to settle in today," said Head Coach
Dan Conners. "It was nice to have a scouting report so we could be more tactical, and we executed the scouting report really well. We played a very calm and composed style, which was fun to watch, and we passed well in sets that we won. That was a big part of our success."
Amara Aimufua and
Reese Diersbock found their way into double figures with 10 kills apiece to pace the Aggie offense. Both outside hitters also got involved on the defensive side, as each recorded three block assists on the day.
Olivia Utterback finished with seven kills, four block assists, and a service ace in a good showing for the junior.
Along with Diersbock, UC Davis got some massive contributions from the freshman class on Saturday afternoon as
Ally Chandler was terrific at middle blocker, hitting .385 and racking up seven kills while matching her classmate
Allie Caldwell for a game-high six blocks.
Mia Starr also put in a decent shift with 14 assists and three digs.
"Our freshman came in hot and ready to go during the preseason, and it's exciting to see our freshman class add on to what we have, they've showed us some great stuff," said junior
Casi Newman.
Newman was one dig shy of double-double in her 25 assists, nine-dig display at the setter spot and fellow junior
Megan Lenn delivered a solid all-around performance with seven kills and three service aces while snuffing out a team-high 11 digs.
"We did a really great job communicating, it's something we've been working on and the work has really been paying off," Newman said. "There are some big smiles on our faces right now and its very exciting. We want to enjoy this win but there is still more to come."
Set 1
Aimufua and Chandler slammed down two quick kills to give the Aggies an early lead, but North Carolina would respond with four consecutive points to gain the advantage. The Tar Heels kept momentum on their side of the court despite back-to-back kills from Chandler, forcing a UC Davis timeout after building a 16-10 lead.
The Aggies regrouped and battled all the way back to knot things up at 23-23 in the first frame when a kill and block from Utterback on successive points sparked a 6-1 scoring run. The Plainfield, Ind. native came through with another clutch kill on a North Carolina set point, and following a service ace from
Mia Starr and the finishing blow by
Reese Diersbock, UC Davis pulled off the exceptional comeback to win the set 26-24.
Newman was fantastic in the opening set with her 12 assists and Chandler enjoyed a wonderful start with her five kills.
Set 2
The Aggies couldn't find a rhythm in their second set defeat, hitting negative (-.148) as a team and tallying just three kills. The Tar Heels took advantage of the miscues and evened things up at 1-1 following their 25-13 win in set two.
Set 3
UC Davis regained its footing early in the third set when back-to-back service aces from Lenn sparked a 4-0 scoring run to give her team a quick lead. Following a timeout, North Carolina started to climb back into the set but two blocks and a kill from Aimufua would propel UC Davis to a commanding 14-8 advantage. The Tar Heels would use another timeout but Aimufua and Lenn continued to take over set number three with consecutive kills, extending the lead to seven points.
The Aggies would completely flip the script from the second set by winning the third 25-17 behind their outstanding .429 hitting percentage, committing just two attack errors.
Set 4
After dropping the first two points, UC Davis put together a 4-0 run to take a lead they would not surrender. North Carolina struggled in the fourth and final set by committing 13 attack errors, but the Aggies made the most of the opportunity with Diersbock's four kills down the stretch to clinch the four-set victory.
Up Next
The Ags return to California for a midweek matchup at Pacific on Aug. 29 at 6 p.m.
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