Sept. 27, 2002

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. -

Senior outside hitter Dana Coffee posted a match-high 17 kills and hit .500 to lead No. 23 Cal State L.A. to a 30-21, 30-24, 30-18 sweep over UC Davis in a California Collegiate Athletic Association women's volleyball match at Hickey Gym Friday in front of 218.

The Aggies drop to 5-9 on the season, and 1-4 in conference. The Golden Eagles move to 7-5 overall, and 3-2 in league play.

Sophomore Kate Wilton led UC Davis with 11 kills and 11 digs, while middle blocker Cassandra Prell had seven total blocks at the net. For CSULA, Lizelle Jackson recorded a team-best 12 digs while contributing eight kills. Leslie Smith added 10 kills and nine digs.

The Aggies held their opponents reasonably close in the early going, carrying a 9-9 tie before an assisted block by Coffey and Maegan Bergeson sparked a 4-1 run that would give the Golden Eagles the lead for good. Later in Game 1, Te'Ara had two kills to lift her team to a 29-19 margin.

"I thought the first ten points were the best we've played to begin a match," said UC Davis head coach Stephanie Hawbecker. "They started breaking us down in the second half of Game 1. We also played well in Game 2, when the score was in the 20s. We were blocking well and digging balls.

"I saw some good tenacious play in the match. I thought we played well, but we lost our purpose at times. We just didn''t dictate the tempo and momentum of the match."

The Golden Eagles came out strong in the second game, piling up a 17-12 lead thanks to the heavy hitting from Epps and Coffey. But a surge in offense from Wilton and junior Kelly Gaudino helped cut the deficit to 20-19. A Kim Vincent kill crept UC Davis to 25-24, but Kristy Sain's tough serving shut the door for the Golden Eagles. She had two of her match-high five aces and set up a solo block by Jackson in that final stretch.

In Game 3, the Golden Eagles exploded for a 10-2 start thanks to continued aggressive serving from Sain and Jackson. The Aggies cut the lead to 14-11 when Vincent and Gaudino stuffed an attack by Dione McCrea, but Sain responded by serving seven straight points, including two more aces.

"She served extremes. She had at least three balls hit the baseline - those are earned points," said Hawbecker, of Sain's performance. "She's an experienced senior player who gets her teams on those runs."

The Golden Eagles hit .304 for the match, including a .400 clip in the second game. UC Davis enjoyed its best offensive performance in Game 2, amassing 13 kills against just three errors.

UC Davis hosts Cal St. Dominguez Hills while CSULA head to Chico State in continued league action Saturday.

CSULA (kills-aces-blocks) - Lizelle Jackson 8-2-1, Kristy Sain 0-5-0, Te'Ara Epps 7-1-1, Leslie Smith 10-0-0, Maegan Bergeson 4-0-1, Dana Coffey 17-0-3, Kristi Reyes 0-0-0, Dione McCrea 8-0-0, Tiare Tuitama 0-1-0. Totals 54-19-5.0. Assists - Kristy Sain 27, Tiare Tuitama 20. Digs leader - Lizelle Jackson 12.

UC DAVIS (kills-aces-blocks) - Kate Wilton 11-1-1, Cassandra Prell 3-1-7, Kim Vincent 4-0-3, Kelly Gaudino 10-1-1, Marritt Cafarchia 2-1-5, Jill McPheeters 1-0-2, Jennie Tilles 0-0-0, Mary McClelland 0-0-0, Mary Gaber 0-0-0. Totals 31-4-10.0. Assists - Marritt Cafarchia 22. Digs leader - Kate Wilton 11.