Score: UC Davis 3, Cal State Fullerton 0
Set Scores: 25-21, 25-12, 25-11
Location: Davis, Calif. (University Credit Union Center)
Records: UC Davis 14-5 (9-1), Cal State Fullerton (4-16, 0-10)
The short story: Hitting nearly .400 and absolutely dominating the serve game led UC Davis volleyball to another Big West victory, sweeping Cal State Fullerton back to Orange County in a Saturday matinée.
FIRST SERVE
- The Aggies held the Titans to .125 hitting over the three sets, holding Cal State Fullerton to under 10 kills in each set
- Three Aggies, junior Jade Light (13), sophomore Ally Chandler (11) and senior Olivia Utterback (10) all finished with double-digit kills
- Chandler was on fire all match, hitting a lights out .529, while Light smashed at a clip of .476 over the three sets
- Sophomore Mia Starr again ran the Aggie offense with ease, recording 40 assists, while adding seven digs
- Senior libero Julia Ng led the Ags with three service aces, and she added 10 digs and two assists in the match
- Chandler and Starr were also strong at the net, each recording three blocks in the match
- When it was over, the Ags had only allowed 18 kills while smashing home 53 of their own
WHAT HEAD COACH DAN CONNERS HAD TO SAY
"We had to find our rhythm at the start and once we did, we played clean for the rest of the match. We played great defense to hold Fullerton to .125 attacking. And our offense was really clicking tonight, hitting .380 as a group. Mia [Starr] did a great job distributing to get our hitters in great situations. We are looking forward to the next match, and the fact that things are lined up for us to finish the season with home matches is something we are certainly looking forward to."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The opening set would be the lone competitive set of the match, with the Aggies needing to comeback through the middle of the set to take it home
- Cal State Fullerton had the lead at 17-13, but over the next four points on service held by freshman Ximena Cordero Barr, the Aggies stormed back, tying things at 17-17 and eventually taking the lead for good at 22-21
- Utterback's kill to make it 22-21 sent the Aggies on a four-point run to finish the set and when sophomore Allie Caldwell sent home the set-winning kill the Ags had locked up a first-set comeback, 25-21
- Ng held serve to open the second set, taking the Aggies to a 7-2 lead on five served balls
- The Aggies maintained control throughout the remainder of the set, putting the Titans on the run each time they sent the ball over the net
- Cal State Fullerton scored its final point of the set at 17-12, meaning that the eight points would go the way of the Aggies
- Cordero Barr recorded an ace on the eight-point service, but it was Chandler who led the way. Sending home four kills, scoring half of the Aggies final eight points to help secure a 25-12 second set victory
- Starr took the service line with the Aggies leading 7-5 early in the third set and over the next 11 points UC Davis built out a lead while crushing the Titans on their way to a third set win
- Over the 11-point stretch, that eventually put the Aggies at 18-5 before Cal State Fullerton would score again, Starr had a pair of aces while Light sent home four kills
- A service error from Cal State Fullerton, on match point for the Ags, wrapped things up at 25-11, giving UC Davis a straight-set victory over another Big West foe
GAME NOTES
- Utterback now has 1,145 career kills, that places her seventh all-time in program history
- Utterback's 134 career aces places her second all-time in program history
- UC Davis now sits at 9-1 in the Big West, and with that they own first place in the conference
- The Ags held Cal State Fullerton to under 20 kills as a team, that's the first time since 2017 that UC Davis has held a team to under 20 kills in a match
- UC Davis successfully received or read properly every Cal State Fullerton serve, not allowing a single ace. That's the first time since 2016 UC Davis has not allowed a service ace in a match
UP NEXT: UC Davis hits the road for its final road trip of the regular season, when on Nov. 1 they visit UC San Diego before finishing the weekend on Nov. 2 at Long Beach State.
