Aggies Win 'Turbulent' Match Over Lopes

UC Davis takes seventh straight home win in front of 1,060

Kelly Gaudino, shown here in the cozier confines of Hickey Gym, went on a tear during the second half of Friday's match. She had 14 kills and a .480 hitting average in the Aggies' Game 3 and 4 wins.<br>(Wayne Tilcock, <i>Davis Enterprise)
 
Kelly Gaudino, shown here in the cozier confines of Hickey Gym, went on a tear during the second half of Friday's match. She had 14 kills and a .480 hitting average in the Aggies' Game 3 and 4 wins.
(Wayne Tilcock, Davis Enterprise)
  

Oct. 3, 2003

Final Stats

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DAVIS, Calif. --- Outside hitter Kelly Gaudino posted 14 of her 21 total kills in the second half of the match and Nicole Read added 10 kills and three aces as UC Davis beat Grand Canyon, 30-25, 28-30, 30-27 and 30-25 in a California Collegiate Athletic Association women's volleyball match in front of 1,060 fans at Recreation Hall Friday.

The Aggies improve to 9-6 on the year and even their CCAA record at 4-4. The Antelopes drop to 3-10 overall and 2-7 in conference play.

The match served as a lead-in event for the fourth-annual Turbulence, a non-alcoholic party sponsored by the Associated Students of UC Davis (ASUCD). It also was the first Aggie volleyball match held in Recreation Hall since 2001, and the first-ever sporting event to benefit from the arena's new video screens.

UC Davis head coach Stephanie Hawbecker enjoyed the festivities, but admitted it might have put her team out of sync in the early going. "We were a little out of whack. To be honest with you, I think it hurt us more than it hurt them," she said. "The crowd was great. We want this environment all the time in the future. It just rocked us back on our heels a little.

Melanie Vidoni led Grand Canyon with 15 kills and a .400 hitting average. She also posted 12 digs. Kim Gabriel also had a double-double, contributing 12 kills and 16 digs. Senior Mandy Forrest recorded eight total blocks - including two solo stuffs - but committed 14 hitting errors on offense.

UC Davis enjoyed an 8-2 run near the end of its Game 1 win, rebounding from a 20-19 deficit to a 27-22 lead. Junior Kate Wilton led the Aggies with six kills in that game. Grand Canyon went on an 8-2 run of its own early in Game 2 to build a 14-8 lead, but UC Davis responded with six straight points to tie the game.


 

 

The Aggies went ahead by 28-24 late in the second game, then surrendered six straight points en route to a 30-28 loss. UC Davis suffered from four attack errors in that stretch, while Forrest had a kill and two blocks during the run.

After an extended break between Games 2 and 3, UC Davis came out stronger, building leads of 17-9 then 26-20. The 'Lopes promptly scored five straight to cut the margin to one, but Gaudino had three kills in the final four points to seal the win. The Aggies then hit .289 as a team in Game 4, leading for the remainder of the match.

"After the ten-minute break, I thought we were a lot better," said Hawbecker. "They forced the tempo. This is a team we actually want to play slower than, which you almost never hear me say. They play ping-pong speed. We weren't executing the gameplan we had in place and we weren't as sharp mentally as I'd like us to be.

"We loosened up a little bit. We were more relaxed and focused. Then we started executing the gameplan."

Marritt Cafarchia and Mary McClelland led the Aggie floor defense with 13 and 12 digs, respectively. Coach Hawbecker also heavily praised McClelland's contributions of "execution and leadership" in the last six days, which has included a loss to then-winless Cal St. Dominguez Hills and an emotional five-game road win over Chico State.

UC Davis hosts No. 2 ranked UC San Diego at Upper Hickey Gym Saturday.

Grand Canyon (3-10, 2-7 CCAA)

25

30

27

25

UC Davis (9-6, 4-4 CCAA)

30

28

30

30

GCU (kills-aces-blocks) - Kim Gabriel 12-0-0, Laura Huff 2-0-2, Mandy Forrest 12-0-8, Melanie Vidoni 15-0-2, Charise Weatherbee 6-0-3, Natalie Jandreau 8-0-3, Krista Jacob 0-0-0, Kim Schmeltzer 1-3-0, Ashley Handley 4-1-0, Adrienne Maguire 0-0-0. Totals 60-4-10.0. Assists - Natalie Jandreau 45. Digs leaders - Kim Gabriel 16, Melanie Vidoni 12, Natalie Jandreau 10, Krista Jacob 10.

UC DAVIS (kills-aces-blocks) - Kate Wilton 8-2-0, Kelly Gaudino 21-2-1, Marritt Cafarchia 1-1-2, Christina Ng 0-0-0, Rachel Keener 6-0-1, Nicole Read 10-3-3, Mary McClelland 1-0-0, Ingrid Nuss 0-0-0, Kim Vincent 4-0-0, Jenny Pierce 0-0-0, Jill McPheeters 1-0-0, Ellen Fitzpatrick 3-0-3, Amber Korner 0-0-0. Totals 55-8-5.0. Assists - Marritt Cafarchia 46. Digs leaders - Marritt Cafarchia 13, Mary McClelland 12.