UC Davis traveled to Brenton City, Wash. to open up the 2009 season at the two-day Cougar Invitational.
The Aggies lost to host and eventual Invite winner Washington State 3-1 on Friday night before sweeping both Portland and Montana State 3-0 on Saturday.
UC Davis has very high expectations this season as it tries to improve on last season‘s 12-17 record. The Aggies were 4-12 in Big West Conference play.
Seniors Tori Hooper, Carson Lowden and Avreeta Singh lead the Aggies into the 2009 campaign. Singh and Lowden earned All-Tournament honors at the Cougar Invite.
Singh’s 38 digs for the weekend move her past Mary McClelland for first all-time on the UC Davis list.
“My expectations for the seniors are high,” head coach Jamie Holmes said. “So far, they’re doing an excellent job in nurturing the team and setting the bar high.”
Friday – Washington State 3, UC Davis 1
Though the Aggies lost the match, they played the Cougars close in every set, getting their opening game jitters out of the way.
UC Davis lost the first two games 25-20 and 25-21 before finally getting in the win column with a solid 25-21 win, exploding for 21 kills in the set.
The Cougars, however, proved too strong for the Aggies as they took the last game 25-18 to win the match.
Freshman Allison Whitson had a strong performance in her collegiate debut for UC Davis, posting a team-high 16 kills.
Saturday – UC Davis 3, Portland 0; UC Davis 3, Montana State 0
The Aggies responded Saturday morning, taking the first two games from Portland 25-18 and 25-19, respectively. UC Davis then put the Pilots away in a close third set, 25-23.
Whitson again led the Aggies in kills with 12 and junior Kayla Varney added nine kills of her own.
UC Davis parlayed its success in the morning match into its afternoon match-up with Montana State.
The Aggies seemed to get better with every game against the Bobcats as they took the first game 25-21, the second 25-18, and the third in impressive fashion 25-14.
Junior Melanie Adams put down 13 kills to lead UC Davis in the dominating victory to lead the Aggies to a second-place finish at the Invite.
UC Davis returns to action on Thursday at the Mary Jo Wynn Invitational in Springfield, Mo.
KYLE HYLAND can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
