Sept. 19, 2003

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. -

Senior outside hitter Kelly Gaudino compiled 23 kills against just two errors while junior teammate Kate Wilton added 20 kills and four aces as UC Davis beat Sonoma State in a four game, 31-29, 30-25, 16-30, 30-27 win in a California Collegiate Athletic Association women's volleyball match at Upper Hickey Gym Friday.

The Aggies, who remain unbeaten at home, improve to 6-4 on the season and 1-2 in conference. The Seawolves drop to 6-4 overall and 1-2 in CCAA play.

With her team-best output, Gaudino became just the sixth player in school history to surpass the 1,000-kill milestone. She hit .420 for the match and added 14 digs defensively. As a team, UC Davis hit .439 and .514 in the first two games, respectively, recording 39 total kills en route to building a 2-0 lead in games.

Libero Mary McClelland posted a match-high 20 digs for UC Davis while Wilton followed with 18. Freshman middle Nicole Read had seven kills and hit .300 to go with her four block assists. Opposite Mary Gaber landed seven kills and posted a .385 hitting average for the match. In all, twelve different Aggie players saw action in the match. Defensive specialist Christina Ng and opposite Ellen Fitzpatrick came in during crucial situations late in the game to spark UC Davis.

"People were ready to contribute off the bench and the starters did their keep," said Aggie head coach Stephanie Hawbecker. "It's just really enjoyable when people understand that it's a team effort. In key moments, they can all help us.

"It was a total team effort in a big emotional match. Like I always say, you have to take care of business on your home floor."

For SSU, Christine Shiba hammered a match-high 27 kills and led her team with 17 digs. Sandy Tuttle hit 10-0-17 for a .588 clip. Lindsay Smith enjoyed a double-double for the match, adding 12 kills and 15 digs.

UC Davis trailed 25-20 late in Game 1 before Wilton led a late Aggie charge. She put down five of her nine Game 1 kills after that point, helping her team battle back to a 29-28 lead. Shiba countered with a side-out kill to save that game point, but Wilton responded with her ninth kill to bring the Aggie lead to 30-29. Then Gaudino knocked down her seventh kill to the game-winning point.

UC Davis committed just one error in Game 2 toward a 30-25 win, with Wilton and Gaudino contributed six kills each and Read hitting 4-0-8 in that frame. But the Seawolves bounced back in a dominating Game 3. Shiba pounded out 10 kills on 18 attempts in the third game while the Aggies' offensive output dropped to an .050 hitting average.

Neither team led by more than two points in Game 4 until the final stretch. The Aggies built a brief 24-21 lead but continued hitting errors helped SSU fight back to a 24-24 tie. Three more Seawolf attack errors helped UC Dvais establish a 29-25 match point. The Aggies won the match on a service error, one of 29 committed by the two teams.

UC Davis continues CCAA action at home with San Francisco State Saturday.

SSU (kills-aces-blocks) - Kendall Leatherberry 0-0-0, Jillian Forni 4-1-1, Christine Shiba 27-0-0, Lindsay Smith 12-1-0, Megan Dierker 9-0-2, Erin Manly 4-1-3, Melinda Orth 2-0-1, Megan Willis 0-0-0, Ashley Arriola 0-0-0, Tina Mesquita 0-1-1, Caroline Kendall 0-0-0, Sandy Tuttle 10-0-2, Lauren Ognibene 0-0-0. Totals 68-4-5.0. Assists - Kendall Leatherberry 29, Tina Mesquita 28. Digs leaders - Christine Shiba 17, Lindsay Smith 15.

UC DAVIS (kills-aces-blocks) - Kate Wilton 20-4-0, Ingrid Nuss 0-0-0, Jenny Pierce 1-0-1, Kelly Gaudino 23-1-2, Marritt Cafarchia 3-2-3, Nicole Read 7-0-4, Mary McClelland 1-0-0, Mary Gaber 7-0-1, Kim Vincent 0-0-0, Christina Ng 0-1-0, Ellen Fitzpatrick 1-0-1, Rachel Keener 0-0-0. Totals 63-8-6.5. Assists - Marritt Cafarchia 51. Digs leaders - Mary McClelland 20, Kate Wilton 18, Kelly Gaudino 14.