By james art result: UC Davis 3, UC Irvine 1
Results: 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-17
location: Irvine, CA (Bren Event Center)
Entries: UC Davis 13-5 (8-1), UC Irvine 11-9 (5-4)
The short story: After dropping the first set, UC Davis volleyball showed its Aggie Pride, hitting and blocking UC Irvine over the next four sets to defeat yet another Big West opponent, cementing the Aggies’ position atop the conference.
FIRST SERVER
- Senior opposite forward Olivia Utterback had her third 20-kill game of the season and second against the Big West. Utterback finished with 20 kills on a scorching .500 hit, digging 10 digs to go along with three blocks
- Junior outside hitter Jade light had second straight game with 17 kills, hit .318, dig five balls and get three blocks
- Sophomore setter Mia Starr Aggie’s 45-kill set, 14 digs and three blocked shots
- Sophomore middle blocker Ali Chandler finished with a team-high six blocks, her second straight game with six blocks. Chandler also hit .294, adding eight kills
- UC Davis has held UC Irvine to under .200 in each of the last three sets
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UC Irvine used a run midway through the opening set to pull away from UC Davis, taking the first set 25-18
- It was the last set the Anteaters won the rest of the night
- Things were close in the second set, with UC Irvine leading as far as 23-22, but the final three points would be Aggie points
- After an Anteater error on what would have been a set point, Utterback put the Ags on set point with a kill
- Junior outside hitter Victoria Vanos then finished the set, breaking out the set winner to seal a 25-23 Aggie set win to tie the match overall
- UC Davis built a lead in the third set, reaching 23-17 late in the game
- The Anteaters kept the set alive, trailing by a few points. But Chandler rattled off a pair of kills, assisted by Starr, to seal the final pair of points UC Davis needed to win the third set 25-20 and take a 2-1 match lead
- An early run by the Aggies put the finishing touches on UC Irvine’s motivation to stay in the action, and when the Anteaters tried to get within five points at 18-14, the junior setter Hayden Bones served ace, holding serve for three straight points as UC Davis pulled to within 22-14
- Kills by Utterback and Vanos put the Aggies at match point. And after a UC Irvine offense, the Aggies celebrated a 25-17 fourth-set victory.
- With the comeback complete, the Aggies finished with a 3-1 win in the Big West
GAME NOTES
- Utterback now has 1,135 career kills, which ranks her seventh all-time in program history
- Utterback’s 134 career aces ranks her second all-time in program history
- UC Davis is now 8-1 in the Big West and with that they have first place in the conference and after playing Cal State Fullerton on Saturday October 26th they will face everyone in the Big West at least once
NEXT: The Aggies return to the University Credit Union Center for a Saturday afternoon Big West matchup against Cal State Fullerton. The match on October 26 is at 1 p.m