Oct. 10, 2009

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Junior outside hitter Kayla Varney posted a team-high 14 kills and 16 digs to lead UC Davis to a 27-25, 25-23, 25-14 sweep of Cal State Fullerton in Big West Conference women's volleyball action at Upper Hickey Gym Friday night before an energetic crowd of 742.

The Aggies improve to 13-7 overall and 4-2 in conference matches. The Titans, one of the league's hottest teams who had received votes in Monday's American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll, slip to 11-7 for the year and 2-3 in Big West play.

Varney committed just three hitting errors on 31 swings to compile a .355 hitting average. Sophomore middle blocker Betsy Sedlak added five kills with seven block assists, while senior Carson Lowden added four blocks and an ace to her setting duties.

For CSF, junior middle blocker Erin Saddler led all players with 15 kills. Freshman Kayla Neto, the reigning Big West Conference Player of the Week, added 10 kills and four blocks. Libero Cami Croteau recorded a match-high 20 digs, including 10 in the first set.

Aggie junior Melanie Adams smashed four kills in a 6-3 start to the opening set, then Varney knocked down four of her own to extend the lead to 14-7. Saddler later served UC Davis out of system in a Titan comeback run to 16-13, then planted a tip over the Aggie block to bring the score to 19-17. But Varney's offense helped UC Davis down the stretch of the first set. She beat the Fullerton block on back-to-back swings, putting UC Davis up by a 21-17 advantage. The Titans eventually scraped back to a 24-24 tie on Torrie Brown's kill near the right pin, but they never took the lead. Varney hit her ninth kill of the match to lift UC Davis to a 26-25 set point, and Denny subsequently served up an ace for the win.

The second set featured a similar battle down the stretch after Fullerton established a 12-8 lead on a Saddler kill. Adams hit a pair of kills well off the tape to cut the deficit to 13-11, then Denny hit a pair of kills to bring the tally to a one-point margin. The Titans managed to cushion their lead, bringing the score to 18-14 on Ashley Collier's ace, but Varney posted an offspeed kill to make it 18-17. Three points later, she served up the equalizer at 19-19.

Denny briefly reclaimed the lead for UC Davis on a solo block, but Saddler's tip tied the score back to 21-21. Neto put down a free-ball pass to give CSF a 22-21 lead. After a disputed line call kept the score at 22-22, Lowden responded with a reverse shot to lift UC Davis to a 23-22 edge. Varney scored the winner by taking advantage of an errant serve receive. She returned the pass untouched to the Fullerton court just as it sneaked over the tape.

Sedlak provided the bulk of the heroics in a dominating third-set win for UC Davis. She provided two kills and three blocks during an 11-3 run that helped the Aggies pull away to an 18-8 lead. CSF never closed the gap to fewer than eight points after that juncture. Redshirt freshman Kaitlyn Plum served up UC Davis' fifth ace to spark a strong finish.

Varney put the Aggies into a match-point footing on a somewhat scrambling kill. Middle blockers Sedlak and Denny picked up a rare dig and set, respectively. Varney took an off-balance swing at the ball, finding a seam in the Titan defense to put the score at 24-13. The Aggies completed their sweep when a Fullerton serve fell harmlessly short of the tape.

With 13 wins on the year, UC Davis has now eclipsed its entire 2008 total. In turn, the Aggies' 12 wins last season had tripled the victory totals from the two previous years.

UC Davis returns to action in a tough road trip at Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara on October 16 and 17.

UC Davis Aggies Women's Volleyball

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