DAVIS, Calif. — Coming off of an historic win against ASU last weekend, UC Davis volleyball finishes up its non-conference schedule this week with a trio of games against fellow California clubs. Action starts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at home against California. The Aggies then travel down to USC to match up against the Trojans on Friday, Sept. 18 and the Gauchos on Saturday, Sept. 19.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW

Sept. 16  — vs. California | Watch on MW+ | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)

Sept. 18  — at No. 19 USC | Watch on Big Ten Plus | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)

Sept. 19  — vs. UC Santa Barbara | Watch on Big Ten Plus | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)


GAME NOTES

• Last Time Out: UC Davis sits at 3-5 on the season following a three game stretch in the desert last weekend at the Snyder-Park Classic. Against No. 7 Arizona State on Thursday, the Aggies shocked the volleyball world by beating the Sun Devils in four sets in the highest ranked win in program history. The win was capitalized by a total team effort from Davis, featuring three players in double-digit kills, a double-double from Mia Starr, and 26 total blocks from the team.
• Umpierre Atop The Mountain West: Following an historical upset of then-No. 7 Arizona State, Aggie freshman Isabella Umpierre was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week and Co-Freshman of the Week on Sept. 14. This honor was given after Umpierre collected 40 total kills across three matches the previous weekend along with a career-high 19 digs against San Diego that powered her way to her second career double-double.
• The Road To 1,000 Digs: Breaking out for the Aggies as starting libero last season, Ximena Cordero Barr has taken the volleyball world by storm for her high level of play on the defensive side of the net. With 858 career digs entering the week, she sits at just under 150 digs from becoming just the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs.
• Back-to-Back Awards: 39 digs across two home games last weekend gave Cordero Barr her second straight Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week award. Her play in the backcourt protected her team in two tough matchups. Against RV Cal Poly, she had 20+ digs for the first time this season with 22.
• One Week, Two Awards: Following their first week of competition in the Mountain West, the Aggies saw two of three conference weekly awards go their way, with Umpierre winning the Freshman of the Week and Ximena Cordero Barr grabbing the Defensive Player of the Week. Umpierre made a large impact in her first three collegiate games, totaling 33 kills and 20 digs, while Cordero Barr led the defense with 43 total digs.
• 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

• Cal sits at 7-1 on the season, riding a five-match winning streak and wins at the Santa Clara Mission Classic last weekend.
• Leading the offense is freshman Abby Zimmerman with 102 kills. Zimmerman made her impact felt just two games into her college career against UC San Diego, when she collected 24 kills in a four-set win against the Tritons.
• Fellow freshman Anna Flores has been one of the top setters in the ACC, with 336 assists through the first three weeks of the season. The 2025 MaxPreps First Team All-American has already collected 45+ assists three times this season, including a career-high 47 at South Carolina in the Bears Showdown at the Net event last week.
• UC Davis is 9-6 all-time against California, winning in five sets last season in Haas Pavilion.
• USC is 4-3 in 2026, losing to No. 23 Colorado on Saturday before bouncing back with a sweep against Oregon State on Sunday.
• The Trojan offense has been evenly spread out throughout the season, with three players collecting over 50 kills and none over 100. The leader of the offense has been Abigail Mullen with 82. Mullen collected a season-high 17 kills versus No. 23 Colorado.
• Defensively, sophomore Taylor Deckart has served as starting libero the last two seasons. Against Big 12 opponent Arizona on Friday she had a team-high 18 digs. Deckart has collected double-digit digs in five of the seven Trojan matches so far this season.
• UC Davis is 0-1 against USC, losing 0-3 back in 2023.
• UC Santa Barbara sits at 4-4 on the year, last winning at home against Utah State on Sept. 5.
• Last season's Big West Freshman of the Year Gabi Martinez has had another great start to her season, leading the Gauchos with 105 kills. In eight matches, she's had double-digits in six of them, including 17 kills against Wyoming on Thursday.
• Martinez has also been very effective on the defensive end, ranking second on the team with 68 digs. In front of her is libero senior Cortni Youngblood, who had a 20-dig performance against Utah State.
• The Aggies are 16-28 all-time against the Gauchos, currently riding a four-game winning streak. The last time both clubs played, the Aggies won 3-1 in the 2025 Big West Semifinals.

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 175 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/.