DAVIS, Calif. — After going 4-0 at home over the last two weeks, UC Davis volleyball goes back on the road for matches against Cal State Bakersfield and CSUN. The match against the Roadrunners will be on Friday, Oct. 17, at 10:30 a.m. PT, while the game versus the Matadors is set for Saturday, Oct. 18, at 6:00 p.m. PT.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Oct. 17  — at Cal State Bakersfield | ESPN+ | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)

Oct. 18  — at CSUN | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)


GAME NOTES

• Season Record: The Aggies are 10-4 on the season and 6-0 in conference play. In two matches last week, the team bested UC San Diego in a reverse sweep on Thursday and outlasted Long Beach State on Saturday to claim the top spot in the Big West Conference.
• Among The Best In The Nation: Off to their best start in conference play, UC Davis has climbed the NCAA RPI rankings, now sitting at 68th in the nation, up from 82nd last weekend. 
• Gunning Towards Aggie History: Cal Aggie Hall of Famer Kathy DeYoung set the precedent for UC Davis volleyball with 169 career victories, a program record that has stood for nearly 40 years. Now, head coach Dan Conners is closing in on that milestone, currently at 161 career wins — just 9 shy of becoming the winningest coach in program history. 
• Big West Standings: With a 6-0 start to conference play, the Aggies sit alone at the top of the Big West standings. After a five-set win over UC San Diego on Thursday, the team is off to its best-ever start in conference history.
• Weekly Awards: For the second straight week, UC Davis has taken home two of the four Big West Player of the Week awards, with Breeze Czapinski being named the conference Offensive Player of the Week and Mia Starr named the Setter of the Week. In two matches played last week, Czapinski led the team with 31 kills, while Starr recorded her fifth double-double of the season against Long Beach State with 46 assists and 15 digs.
• Road to 1,000 Kills: All-Big West Preseason attacker Jade Light has had another high-powered season after being named to the All-Big West Second Team in 2024. Currently, she leads the Aggies with 212 kills and 4.08 kills per set, also leading the Big West in the latter category. Now up to 935 kills in her career, Light looks to become just the 13th player in program history to hit 1,000 kills this season.
• Block Party: Middle Blockers Ally Chandler and Allie Caldwell have set the Aggies up for success on the defensive side of the net, with Chandler leading the team in total blocks with 52 and Caldwell ranking second with 49. Each player also ranks in the top ten in the conference in blocks per set, with Caldwell sitting in first and Chandler ranking ninth.
• Super Setter: Senior Haden Bones has taken a step up at the setter position in 2025, leading the Aggies with 21 service aces on the season, also ranking third in the conference in aces per set (0.40)
• A Starr On The Court: After being named an All-Big West Honorable Mention a year ago, Mia Starr continues to impress in her junior season, already putting up 530 assists. Among Big West setters, she ranks first with 10.19 assists per set.
• Breakout Season: After spending last season battling injuries, third-year player Brooke Hibino has started to shine for the Aggies, currently ranking fourth on the team with 104 kills on the year. Against Hawai'i on Sept. 27, she set a new career-high with 15 kills, leading all players on the court in Davis' second-ever win on the Islands.
• 2024 Recap: UC Davis went 19-10 and finished third in the Big West.
• 2025 Poll: Aggies were picked third in the Big West preseason coaches' poll, receiving 75 points.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS

• Cal State Bakersfield is 4-14 on the year and 1-5 in conference play, beating UC Irvine and losing to Cal State Fullerton last week.
• Offensively, the Roadrunners are led by four 100+ kill players, with Nicole Zake leading the way with 206, ranking sixth in the conference in kills per set.
• Libero Julia Udell bolsters the backcourt with a team-high 3.92 digs per set, also ranking fifth in The Big West in that category. Meanwhile, Nele Broszat defends the net with 60 blocks.
• UC Davis is 8-9 all-time over Cal State Bakersfield, winning both matches last season with a home sweep and a four-set victory in Bakersfield.
• CSUN volleyball is 10-7 and 3-3 in conference. The Matadors will face UC Riverside on Friday night before their showdown with the Aggies.
• Northridge is led by its defense, with three players being ranked in the top 20 in the conference in blocks. Iye Okolo leads her team with 59 total blocks, while Tatiana Turgeon sits close behind with 57, also sitting second in conference with 1.21 blocks per set. Hayley Ogden rounds out the 50+ blockers for CSUN, coming into the weekend with 55.
• The Aggies are 21-17 overall against the Matadors, sweeping the team in the 2023 and 2024 seasons while winning the last five contests overall.

SEASON NOTES

• 2025 marks the 12th season for UC Davis head coach Dan Conners.
• Conners' 2024 was one of historic significance, leading the Aggies to a career high 19 wins and a program best 13 conference wins. His 161 career wins put him in second place on the all-time Aggie wins list.
• The staff features two new assistants: Prima Glorioso, a former assistant at Menlo College and founder of Core Volleyball in Sacramento, serves as the team's director of operations, and Lana Radakovic, a former professional and collegiate player under Conners, coaches the team's middle blockers.
• Returning from last season is assistant coach Danielle (Dee) Davis, who leads recruiting while also serving as a mental performance coach.
• The roster blends a strong returning core of players, including Ally Chandler, Jade Light, Allie Caldwell, Mia Starr, and Ximena Cordero Barr.
• In addition, the 2025 squad includes three new players for the Aggies. Maike Bertens Deckart, a former NJCAA national champion, joins the team for her graduate season after two seasons with the Manhattan Jaspers. Freshmen Laela Burgess and Faith Rabb-Patterson also come to the Aggies after successful high school careers.
• This is UC Davis' final season in the Big West before joining the Mountain West in 2026, and the goal remains to qualify for the Big West Tournament and play Aggie volleyball into December.