DAVIS, Calif. — With the non-conference schedule wrapped up, UC Davis volleyball moves into its first Mountain West conference slate with a road doubleheader against UNLV on Thursday, Sept. 24 and Saturday, Sept. 26. Action begins at 6:00 pm PT on Thursday and 1:00 pm PT on Saturday.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW

Sept. 24  — at UNLV | Watch on MW+ | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)

Sept. 26  — at UNLV | Watch on MW+ | Live Stats | @ucdaviswvb (X/Instagram)


GAME NOTES

• Last Time Out: The Aggies are 4-7 on the season following a win against UC Santa Barbara in Los Angeles last Saturday. The offense was a balanced attack with six different players having seven or more kills. Isabella Umpierre led the way with 13 on the afternoon. Umpierre was also deadly on the serve, collecting three aces for the most in a game so far in her career. Ally Chandler and Allie Caldwell were close behind with 10 kills each, rounding out the double-digit attackers for the Aggies. For Caldwell, it was her first contest this season she's collected 10 or more kills. 35 assists and 10 digs gave Mia Starr a double-double for the third straight game. Defensively, the Aggies were on fire throughout the match with 17 total blocks. Starr and Chandler led the way with six each.
• A Look Back On Non-Conference Play: The 2026 non-conference schedule may go down as one of the most challenging and rewarding for UC Davis volleyball in the team's 50+ year history, featuring three matches against top 25 teams and four tournaments. After pushing No. 11 SMU to five sets during the opening weekend of play, Davis then pulled off the biggest win in program history two weeks later, beating No. 7 Arizona State in four sets. These performances led to a number of awards for the Aggies, including two Mountain West defensive player of the week awards for Ximena Cordero Barr, and two freshman of the week honors for Isabella Umpierre, along with one offensive player of the week award.
• 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 917 career digs entering the week, she sits at just under 100 digs from becoming just the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs.
• Climbing Up The All-Time List: As the team's primary setter her entire career, senior Mia Starr has been slowly climbing the all-time rankings for assists in a career. During the season opener against Colorado State, she became just the sixth player in program history to collect 3,000 career assists. Now up to 3,412 assists and third on the all-time list, she sits just over 100 assists from 3,550 to surpass Denise Bilbaeno for second on the list.
• 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 OPPONENT

• UNLV currently sits at 4-7 on the year, going 3-0 at last weekend's home tournament, the Rebel Challenge.
• The Rebels house two 100+ killers with Basia Latos (169) and Jaida Harris (119). Harris, the MW Preseason Player of the Year, has impressed so far with eight contests with 10 or more kills, while Latos has collected over 20 kills three separate times, including a career-high 23 vs. UC San Diego on Sunday.
• Ranking fifth in the conference with 3.58 digs per set, libero Caleigh King leads the Rebel defense. A five-set matchup with Fresno State on Sept. 12 saw King go for a season-high 26 digs in a win for UNLV.
• Davis is 2-2 all-time against UNLV, winning in four sets in Vegas during the 2017 season.

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 176 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/.