IRVINE, Calif. – For the second straight night, UC Davis rallied from two sets down to complete the improbable comeback, taking down hosts UC Irvine in five frames on Saturday afternoon.
The Aggies will begin Big West Conference play with a perfect 2-0 record after the opening weekend, marking their best conference start in over a decade.
"Again, it took us some time to find our rhythm tonight," said Head Coach
Dan Conners. "But the team stayed steady and confident. They never got too low when things weren't going our way. Once we started to sharpen up defensively, things started to open up for us. Collectively we had 81 digs and 18 blocks. Those are some big numbers. When we play that disciplined on defense, it can be very tough to score on us. Overall, I'm very proud of the team's willingness to grind out points throughout tonight especially after having done that last night as well."
The Aggies were excellent on the offensive end, hitting .253 as a team with only 12 attack errors across the five-set match.
Olivia Utterback starred in the win yet again, posting 17 kills with some crucial swings down the stretch to get her team across the finish line. She hit .289 on the night and tallied double-digit digs with 12 to her name.
Amara Aimufua put in another solid effort with 13 kills at a .324 clip while freshman
Reese Diersbock racked up 13 kills of her own.
The dynamic setting duo of
Casi Newman and
Mia Starr impressed with a pair of 20-assist performances. Newman delivered 22 assists and Starr notched 21.
Set 1
The hosts opened up the match on a 3-0 scoring run to take control early in the first set.
Reese Diersbock replied with back-to-back kills to get UC Davis going on the offensive end. Light came through with a pair of kills before Utterback knocked down two of her own to give the Aggies their first lead.
However, a short UC Irvine run in the closing stages of the set allowed the Anteaters to snatch set one, 25-21.
Set 2
Despite committing and posting a team hitting percentage of .500 in the second set, UC Davis couldn't overcome an early deficit and the hosts would take a two-set lead in the match. Utterback and Aimufua each tallied three kills but UC Irvine managed the 25-22 win to put the Aggies under pressure.
Set 3
UC Davis started to turn things in the third set when two consecutive kills from Diersbock sparked a 9-3 run to start the frame. The Anteaters closed the gap to just three points near the end of the frame, but
Allie Caldwell and Light combined for a massive block to lead the Aggies to the 25-19 win to force a fourth set.
Set 4
It was another fantastic start to the frame for UC Davis, boasting a 10-4 advantage when it connected on six of its first eight swings. Just like Friday night, Utterback started to find her rhythm in the fourth set, exploding for seven kills in the frame to lead the Aggies to a decisive fifth. The Anteaters threatened and took the set to deuce, but UC Davis hung on to send the match to five for the second straight night.
Set 5
It was all Aggies in the final frame, as an important Utterback service ace helped propel UC Davis to the victory. Diersbock and Aimufua knocked down a couple more kills in the closing stages and the Aggies would walk away with the 15-12 win.
Up Next
The Ags complete the first weekend of conference play tomorrow afternoon when they take on UC Irvine. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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