DAVIS, Calif. -- After three grueling weeks of training capped by a successful scrimmage with former California Collegiate Athletic Association rival Sonoma State, UC Davis women's volleyball opens its 2018 season at home with the five-team Aggie Invitational. The tournament consists of four matches on Friday, four on Saturday, with a finale on Sunday.

WHAT: 2018 Aggie Invitational

WHO: UC Davis, Holy Cross, Nevada, Northern Arizona, Utah Valley.

WHEN: Friday, Aug. 24 through Sunday, Aug. 26 (full schedule below)

WHERE: The Pavilion.

LAST WEEK: UC Davis ended its preseason camp with a scrimmage with Sonoma State on Saturday, with 16 of the 19 roster players seeing action... Senior OPP Nicola Moore returned after a two-year absence due to injury, hitting 7 kills on 11 swings... Junior OH Lauren Matias (10 kills), sophomore MB Alexa Rockas (3 aces), freshman MB Josie Ough (4 blocks) were the Aggies' statistical leaders... Senior Maddie Merlino and freshman Jane Seslar split up setting duties, guiding UC Davis to a .341 hitting average.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: Holy Cross went 5-24 with a 2-14 record in the Patriot League in 2017... Katie Kerins led the Crusaders as a freshman with 294 kills, while then-junior Kristen Somerville averaged 0.89 blocks per set... Nevada returns nine players from its 10-20 team in 2017, including junior setter Dalyn Burns (9.30 apg, 27 aces)... Northern Arizona was picked second in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll, between favorite Idaho and No. 3 Sacramento State... Kaylie Jorgenson (391 kills, 376 digs) and Abby Akin (.364 hitting, 106 blocks) were All-Big Sky first-teamers, while Heaven Harris (287 kills, .355 hitting) was the league's Outstanding Freshman last year... Utah Valley went 9-5 in the Western Athletic Conference last year, with sophomore OH Kristen Allred (220 kills, 175 digs, 21 aces, 50 blocks) earning preseason All-WAC acclaim for 2018.

SWAN SEASONS: OH Emily Allen, DS/L Malia Bolko, MB Lauren Jackson, OH Brianna Karsseboom, S Maddie Merlino and OPP Nicola Moore each enter their fourth years in the program... Bolko, a 2017 All-Big West Conference honorable mention, ranks fourth in school history with 1,414 career digs, needing 49 to pass Kayla Varney (2007-10) for second... Avreeta Singh holds the Aggie benchmark at 1,831, putting her 417 ahead of Bolko... Allen is 365 kills and 297 digs away from reaching the 1,000 club in those respective categories... Only three other UC Davis players appear on both lists: Candy Lench (1989-92), Jill Changaris (1993-96) and Kelly Gaudino (2000-03)... Lench and Changaris are enshrined in the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame.

NEW FACES: The 2018 roster features four true freshmen: DS/L Rose Holscher, MB Josie Ough, S Jane Seslar and OH Demari Webb... At 6-foot-6, Ough is the tallest player in program history, supplanting teammate Jackie Graves (6-4)... Additionally, OPP Leonie Strehl and OH Chelsea Maeglin are redshirt freshmen, while DS/L Rachel Churilla joined the program during the spring... Finally, 6-2 OH Claire Jackson transferred to the program after a freshman year at Big Ten Conference member Rutgers.

2017 AGGIE HONORS: UC Davis had four players on the 2017 All-Big West Conference rolls... OH Mahalia White captured both first-team honors plus Freshman of the Year... L Malia Bolko and MB Kelechi Ohiri snared honorable mention... S Paloma Bowman joined White on the Big West All-Freshman team... Ohiri, who graduated last June in organizational studies, was later announced as one of four inaugural recipients of the Big West Service and Leadership Award... UC Davis went 16-14 overall and finished fourth in the league at 8-8.

2018 AGGIE INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
August 24-26 • The Pavilion

Tournament Central: http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/2018/8/1/2018-Aggie-Invitational.aspx

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
10 a.m. - Holy Cross vs. Utah Valley
Noon - Nevada vs. Northern Arizona
5 p.m. - UC Davis vs. Utah Valley
7 p.m. - Holy Cross vs. Nevada

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25
10 a.m. - Utah Valley vs. Northern Arizona
Noon - UC Davis vs. Holy Cross
5 p.m. - Northern Arizona vs. Holy Cross
7 p.m. - UC Davis vs. Nevada

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26
2 p.m. UC Davis vs. Northern Arizona

Home team listed first. 

ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 6-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

AGGIE EVO: Established in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.