Nov. 9, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK
Friday, Nov. 13 - UC SANTA BARBARA, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14 - CAL POLY, 7 p.m.

Note: Both matches will take place in Upper Hickey Gym, not at the Pavilion as had appeared on early-season schedules.

LAST WEEK
Friday, Nov. 6 - at Cal State Fullerton (L, 1-3)
Saturday, Nov. 7 - at Long Beach State (L, 0-3)

NOTES
TO RECAP: UC Davis (18-9, 9-4) slipped into a tie for second place in the Big West Conference standings after dropping matches against Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State... The weekend marks the first time the Aggies have lost back-to-back matches since falling to then-nationally ranked UC Irvine and Long Beach State on October 3 and 9... UC Davis had not lost two matches in one weekend all season... Oddly, the Aggies hit respectably (.214) in the setback against The Beach... The team had not hit higher than .177 in a losing effort during the 2009 year, yet have hit lower than .214 in winning matches on four previous occasions.

The two sophomore middle blockers put up the bulk of the numbers in Friday's match at Fullerton... Betsy Sedlak hit 13-2-24 (.458) with five blocks, while Katie Denny went 8-1-24 (.292) with a 2-4-6 blocking chart... On Saturday, junior OH Kayla Varney tallied her 14th double-double of the year, recording 11 kills and 12 digs... Sedlak and Denny combined for 11-3-26 (.308) hitting and 10 blocks at LBSU.

BIG WEST CONFERENCE LEADERS: Sedlak ranks eighth in the circuit in hitting average (.297) while holding third in blocks (1.14), just ahead of Denny's rate of 1.13 per set... As a team, the Aggies have averaged 2.47 blocks per frame, tops among the league... Stuffing 22.0 in seven sets over the weekend helped that ranking... Other UC Davis players among the Big West leaders: Allison Whitson (6th in kills, 3.35), Melanie Adams (6th in aces, 0.29), Avreeta Singh (6th in digs, 3.81), Varney (10th in digs, 3.40) and Carson Lowden (5th in assists, 10.23)... In conference mtches only, Sedlak storms up to No. 3 in the rankings at .357... Varney is the highest-ranking non-libero on the digs leaderboard at 3.40 per set, edging UC Irvine's Kari Pestolesi (3.27).

UP NEXT: The Aggies return home for their final two matches of the season, hosting UC Santa Barbara on Friday then Senior Night against Cal Poly on Saturday... The team will honor Lowden, Singh and OH Tori Hooper... Friday's showdown will feature the two teams tied for second place in the conference at 9-4.

UC SANTA BARBARA (19-6, 9-4) had its three-week, five-match winning streak by coastal rival Cal Poly on Saturday... Junior MB Kasey Kipp hit 7-1-10 while taking part in seven of her team's 15 blocks in a 3-0 sweep (the Gauchos' fourth straight) of Cal State Northridge on Friday... On Saturday, sophomore MBs Lily Lopez and Stacey Schmidt each had 10 kills, but could not cool Cal Poly's offense in a four-set loss... Senior OH Rebecca Saraceno leads all Big West Conference players at 4.54 kills per set, while Schmidt is second in the league with a .338 hitting average... UCSB was knocking on the door of an AVCA Top 25 ranking entering the weekend, but has slipped lower into the "Others Receiving Votes" listings in Monday's poll.

CAL POLY (7-19, 3-10) won its first match in almost a full month with Saturday's 3-1 upset of UC Santa Barbara... Two Big West Conference All-Freshman hopefuls, Jennifer Keddy and Megan McConnell, led the Mustangs to .326 hitting in the victory... Keddy was 17-3-28 (.500) on the offensive side, while contributing on seven of her team's 12.5 blocks defensively... McConnell hit 16-3-41 (.317)... Junior MB Dominique Olowolafe and yet another freshman, OH Chelsea Hardin, each supplied 10 kills... Despite the team's overall record, the Cal Poly roster should give head coach Jon Stevenson tremendous hope for the future: besides Keddy, McConnell and Hardin, setter Anuhea Keanini (789 assists), OH Molly Pon (131 kills) and OPP Holly Franks (152 kills) each have three more years of eligibility after this season.

HEAD COACH JAMIE HOLMES:
"Our middles continue to be a bright spot in terms of their relationship with Carson and in their efficiency at the net. They continue to get better as the season progresses. They're hitting their target numbers for their position. They really held their own this weekend. And again I thought we did a pretty good job on the serve-receive line. Where we maybe struggled was in our defense behind the block. We missed some opportunities to convert."

"We had some adversity this past week. We had some injuries and our travel situation wasn't averse to high-level success. We had some card stacks against us. I thought Fullerton's attackers were hitting at their potential, if not better. And their defense was amazing, which was probably a little frustrating for our players. Long Beach is playing very well. They're very disciplined, they get some strong swings and they play good defense. It was a tough weekend swing, but some good things happened in the matches. Hopefully those good things can propel us into this upcoming weekend against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly."

"The top four teams in our conference are neck-and-neck. So playing at home, in our arena and on Senior Night, is exciting. I can't help but think about the seniors as we go into this weekend. This has been a special season for them, and they have truly left their mark on where this program is going. In years, when they look at UC Davis and see that it's a successful program, they'll know they were the first to accomplish that. There's a lot to be said for leaving a legacy. That's one of those intangible things that most people don't see."

"I'm going to miss this class of seniors. They have been a wonderful group - Tori, Avreeta and Carson. They epitomize the type of athlete you want in your program. They're respectful, they're unselfish, they work hard everyday and they think of their team. It will be an exciting weekend, but it's also a sad weekend for me because I know the end of our time together is drawing near."