UC Davis Athletics

Score: UC Davis 2, San Diego 3
Location: Tempe, Ariz. (Desert Financial Arena)
Records: UC Davis 3-4, San Diego 3-3

TEMPE, Ariz. — UC Davis volleyball battled the San Diego Toreros to five sets on Friday, Sept. 11. The Aggies fought hard but ultimately fell to USD.

FIRST SERVE

• For the fifth straight game, Isabella Umpierre led the Aggie offense with 13 kills.
• Brooke Hibino and Gianna Bogan also had double-digit kills with 10 each.
• Umpierre also produced at a high level on the defensive front, collecting a career-high 19 digs for her second career double-double.
• 79 total digs in the match was anchored by 18 from Mia Starr, 16 from Ximena Cordero Barr, and 15 from Bogan.
• Starr and Bogan also had double-doubles. Starr collected 39 assists to go along with her digs, while Bogan collected 10 and 15.
• Three solo blocks and seven assisted from Ally Chandler gave her a season-high 10 blocks on the day. 
• Two freshmen made their debut in today's match, with Jada Johnson getting her first college kill and Ana Stojanovic having a block assist.

WHAT HEAD COACH DAN CONNERS HAD TO SAY

"San Diego is a very good team, they put a lot of pressure on us with their serve and attack. I thought we got a little passive throughout different parts of the match and ultimately it didn't allow us to finish the way we wanted to."

 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Down 4-12 to start set one, Davis began to rally their offense with a service ace from Starr and a kill from Hibino.
• Coming out of the media timeout still down 7-15, the team put together a 6-1 run capitalized by a block from Chandler and Bogan.
• Off service from Khloe Wong, the team rattled off four straight to tie things up at 17 apiece.
• As the set wound down, both clubs exchanged blows and remained tied at 24, forcing the frame to go to extras.
• Following a double block from Chandler and Umpierre, Starr closed things out with a solo block to give Davis a 26-24 win in the first.
• Set two began similar to the first, with the Toreros building a 5-13 lead.
• But the Aggies rallied back once again, with kills by Umpierre and Demi Cole putting them within arms reach of the lead.
• Down 15-21 late, the Ags made another push with a 5-1 run, but San Diego answered back with a 25-21 win to tie the match at one apiece.
• After seeing the Toreros take an early 8-4 lead to begin set three, a 6-1 Aggie rally capitalized by an ace by Chandler gave them the lead back at 10-9.
• San Diego was the first to 20, but a timeout from Davis allowed their offense to work with six straight points, with a kill by Hibino making it 22-20.
• The Toreros tied it at 22, but the Ags wrapped things up on an ace from Starr and two kills by Umpierre, putting them up 2-1 in the match.
• UC Davis carried that momentum into the fourth set, building to a 6-2 lead to begin the frame.
• Using a timeout, SD would climb back into the game on an 8-2 run to take their first lead.
• Both teams battled point-for-point, heading into the final stretch tied at 17.
• From there, the Toreros would build another lead off a 5-2 advantage and wouldn't let it go, eventually winning 25-23 to send things into a decisive fifth set.
• After seeing the opposing team grab the first three points of the fifth, the Aggies would take advantage of opposing errors to grab a 5-3 lead.
• Both clubs exchanged runs down to the wire, but 5-0 from San Diego late made the difference in a 15-11 win, giving the Toreros a 3-2 victory.

UP NEXT: UC Davis wraps up the Synder-Park Classic on Saturday, Sept. 12 when they take on No. 24 Oregon at 1:00 pm PT.

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 #1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as #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/.