DAVIS, Calif. — After a long offseason and the grind of fall camp, UC Davis volleyball is back in action this weekend as the team takes the trip to the Rocky Mountains for three games from Aug. 28-30. Competition begins with a matchup with brand new Pac-12 member Colorado State on Friday, Aug. 28 before making the short trek to Greeley to play Northern Colorado on Saturday, Aug. 29. The weekend wraps up with a neutral site match hosted by Colorado State against No. 11 SMU on Sunday, Aug. 30.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Aug. 28  — at Colorado State | Watch on YouTube | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)

Aug. 29  — at Northern Colorado | Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)

Aug. 30  — vs. #11 SMU | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)


GAME NOTES

• A 2025 To Remember: Entering the season in a new conference for the first time since 2008, the Aggies swan song in the Big West was one to remember during the 2025 season, posting a league-best 16 wins while winning the conference title for the first time ever. With the team success came a number of individual accolades as well, as the program took home four of five Big West yearly awards at season's end. These included All-American Jade Light becoming the Player of the Year, Mia Starr being named Setter of the Year, Ximena Cordero Barr earning Libero of the Year, and Dan Conners becoming the Coach of the Year.
• Preseason Nods: Ahead of the team's inaugural Mountain West season, the Aggies felt the love from their new conference after being picked to finish second in the annual preseason poll, garnering 80 points and four first place points. Davis was also the only team who had two selections in the conference preseason team, with Mia Starr and Ximena Cordero Barr landing on the list.
• Strength In Consistency: Despite the loss of All-American Jade Light to graduation, UC Davis returns much of their production from the last two seasons in 2026. In addition to Starr and Cordero Barr, all-conference players Ally Chandler and Brooke Hibino also return for their fourth season. 100+ blocker Allie Caldwell is also back along with 2023 Big West All-Freshman player Reese Diersbock, who makes her return after missing all of last season to injury. Rounding out this talented group of seniors is Breeze Czapinski, who ranked second in kills on the team last year.
• A Talented Group of Freshmen: With back-to-back hugely successful seasons under his belt, Conners has brought in arguably one of his best recruiting classes to the Aggies for the 2026 season, with six freshmen joining the team. Among the class includes Ana Stojanovic from Canada, who has competed internationally for her country in FIVB and Norceca over the last couple years, Jada Johnson, the No. 1 opposite from Oregon, and Isabella Umpierre, the No. 2 right side from Florida. 
• Jumping Up The Rankings: After consistently rising through the Division I RPI rankings last season, Davis ended the year as the 49th ranked team in the nation.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS

• Colorado State enters their first year in the Pac-12 following 15 wins in the Mountain West a season ago and an appearance in the conference championship match.
• Ahead of their first year in the new conference, the Rams have been picked to finish first. Additionally, players Eve Wilson, Erin Debiec and Halle Jameson were named to the Pac-12 Impact Players List.
• All three players had big seasons a year ago, with Debiec leading the way with 1179 assists to rank 23rd in the nation in that category.
• UC Davis is 0-2 all-time against Colorado State, last playing the Rams in an 1-3 loss on Nov. 25 2017.
• Northern Colorado comes into the season after a 17-16 campaign a year ago that included an 11-5 mark in Big Sky play.
• The Bears were also picked to finish first in their conference, receiving four first place votes. The team also had two players, Alayna Tessena and Nerea Alvarez Jorge, selected to the preseason all-conference team. They were one of four teams to have multiple players on the team.
• Tessena earned Second Team All-Conference honors after leading the Bears with 476 kills a year ago, while Alvarez Jorge recorded 923 assists to go along with 14 double-doubles.
• Davis is 5-4 all-time against Northern Colorado, last playing in a five set thriller on Sept. 20, 2014.
• SMU comes into the season ranked No. 11 in the AVCA preseason poll. The team has already swept No. 8 Texas A&M in the annual AVCA Jeep First Serve last week to open their season.
• Transfer Suli Davis led the Mustangs with 15 kills against the Aggies, while setter Hannah Beauford won tournament MVP with 33 assists, five digs, and two blocks.
• Sunday will mark just the second time SMU and UC Davis have faced off. The Aggies won the first matchup 3-1 in Dallas on Sept. 4, 2010.

SEASON NOTES

• 2026 marks year 13 for Aggies head coach Dan Conners. Last season, Conners made team history by passing Aggie Hall of Famer Kathy DeYoung with his 170 career win. He currently sits at 172 wins and counting.
• The staff now includes three new assistant coaches, all with a treasure trove of collegiate volleyball experience. Grace Doyle comes to Davis after five seasons as a player at Fresno State, where she led the team to the NCAA Tournament in 2023. Eric Beebe played as a setter for Long Beach State's men's team, competing in two NCAA Championship games. Rounding out the group is Greg Harasymowycz, who played three years at CSUN and has a long history of coaching for legendary UCLA head coach Al Scates, who Conners played for during his college career.
• The roster brings back a large number of contributors from last season, including Starr, Cordero Barr, Chandler, Caldwell, and Czapinski.
• Additionally, the coaching staff has brought in plenty of highly talented freshmen, including Stojanovic, Johnson, Umpierre, Gianna Bogan, Katelyn Sentous, and Khloe Wong.
• Following a record breaking 2025 season, Davis enters the Mountain West Conference in 2026 with the goal remaining to win another conference title and qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS: 

UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked No. 1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as No. 1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27. 

For more information, visit https://ucdavisaggies.com/.