Oct. 1, 2003

Box Score

CHICO, Calif. --- Senior outside hitter Kelly Gaudino tied her career high of 28 kills and hit .375 as UC Davis won a five-game, 26-30, 30-23, 26-30, 30-26, 15-10 battle with Chico State in a California Collegiate Athletic Association women's volleyball match at Acker Gym Wednesday.

The Aggies improve to 8-6 on the year and 3-4 in conference. The Wildcats drop to 7-4 and 3-4 in CCAA play.

Kim Vincent and Rachel Keener came off the bench to bolster the offense, recording season-best offensive numbers. Vincent had a career-best 19 kills on 41 attempts while Keener posted eight kills and a .350 hitting average to go with her strong serving and blocking contributions. Vincent also tallied a season-best 12 digs.

Chico senior Stacey Clifton led her team with 23 kills and a .317 hitting average. She also led the Wildcats with three service aces. Opposite Nicole Sweeney recorded 17 kills and four blocks while fellow middle Darci Burton added 16 kills and three blocks.

The Aggies opened the match with a 4-0 lead, but Chico took advantage of three straight unforced errors to reclaim a 5-4 lead. UC Davis tied up the game six more times, including 14-14, but the Wildcats assumed the lead on the second of four Game 1 kills by Clifton. Sweeney posted six kills in the first frame, including the game-winner.

Chico built a 12-5 lead in the second game, but Vincent's hot hitting and a pair of clutch defensive gets brought the Aggies back into the fray, tying the game at 12-12. The Wildcats rebuilt their lead to 19-13, but UC Davis again fought back. Gaudino enjoyed a stretch of five kills over the next 10 points to help tie the game at 21-21. She posted eight kills on 16 attempts in the second game alone.

Two Chico errors gave the Aggies a 24-22 advantage, their first lead since the opening rotation. UC Davis took advantage by scoring the final six points as part of 8-1 run. Freshman middle blocker Nicole Read put down the last two kills, both on free-ball opportunities.

UC Davis opened Game 3 with a 10-7 lead then stretched it to 17-11, but Chico whittled away at the margin until a pair of Aggie hitting errors brought the game to a 23-23 tie. Both teams traded points to a 26-26 knot, then Burton had a successful tip and a service ace to give her team a 28-26 lead. Clifton sent a kill down the left sideline and Jamie Houle put down the game-winner.

In similar fashion to Game 4, the Aggies built an early 12-7 lead but Chico again worked its way back into the game with a kill by Becky Stutte tying the frame at 14-14. With the game tied at 23-23, Gaudino tooled Clifton then outside hitter Meghan McKinney and Keener put down a fine one-set to lift UC Davis to a 26-23 lead. Gaudino added another kill and Vincent punched a pair of shots through the Wildcat block to set up a 29-25 game point. Read knocked down the game-winner on an Aggie side out.

The Aggies never trailed in the deciding Game 5, leading 8-4 at the changeover and maintaining at least a three-point margin for the remainder of the match. Gaudino led her team with four kills in the final game. Clifton also had four for Chico.

Furthermore Gaudino had a team-best 21 digs to give her third 20-20 match of the year. That ties a school record set by Jill Changaris during the 1995 season.

The Aggies host Grand Canyon Friday as a lead-in to Turbulence, a non-alcoholic party sponsored by ASUCD. Then UC Davis hosts No. 2-ranked UC San Diego.

UC DAVIS (kills-aces-blocks) - Kate Wilton 2-0-0, Jenny Pierce 0-1-0, Kelly Gaudino 28-1-0, Marritt Cafarchia 5-3-0, Christina Ng 0-0-0, Nicole Read 13-1-0, Mary McClelland 0-0-0, Mary Gaber 0-0-0, Kim Vincent 19-0-0, Ellen Fitzpatrick 4-0-1, Rachel Keener 8-1-2. Totals 79-7-2.0. Assists - Marritt Cafarchia 62. Digs leaders - Kelly Gaudino 21, Christina Ng 15, Mary McClelland 12, Kim Vincent 12.

CHICO (kills-aces-blocks) - Stacey Clifton 23-3-1, Kirsten Ray 0-0-0, Alexa Skjei 2-0-2, Darci Burton 16-2-3, Meghan McKinney 10-0-3, Samantha Seitz 0-0-1, Jamie Houle 2-1-1, Becky Stutte 1-0-0, Lindsey Karkula 0-0-0, Katie Heinz 0-0-0, Chelsea Tyrrell 0-1-0, Nicole Sweeney 17-0-4. Totals 71-7-8.0. Assists - Samantha Seitz 31, Becky Stutte 25. Digs leader - Katie Heinz 26.

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