Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Northridge; vs. UC Irvine
Records: Aggies, 10-4 (2-0); Matadors, 6-10 (0-2); Anteaters 4-10
Where: The Pavilion
When: Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: While junior Betsy Sedlak gets the attention for her .487 hit percentage, but it’s true freshman Jenny Woolway who’s working behind the scenes.
Woolway leads the Aggies with 582 sets on the year. UC Davis as a team has 672 sets.
Did you know? Sedlak’s hitting percentage of .487 is tops for the Big West Conference and good for sixth in the nation.
Preview: It’s good to be home.
After playing 10 of their first 14 matches on the road, the Aggies come home for two crucial Big West matches. Coach Jamie Holmes couldn’t be happier.
I’m excited to be home and see the home court environment,” Holmes said. “It’s so nice to be at the Pavilion. It can get quiet in there over the summer when school hasn’t started, so I’m looking forward to getting some atmosphere in there.”
The Aggies’ homecoming won’t be easy, however. UC Davis welcomes two top Big West teams in Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine.
The Matadors are coming off a heartbreaking loss that put them down 2-0 and force a fifth set only to lose the deciding game. UC Irvine’s record might not be an accurate representation of how the team has played this season. Five of the Anteaters’ 10 losses have come against teams ranked in the top 25 nationally. Either way, Holmes is not going to take either team lightly.
“There is a ton of parity in the Big West this season,” Holmes said. “It’s a quality conference where anyone can beat anyone.
“Right now, we believe we can beat anyone.”
The Aggies have a good reason to feel confident. UC Davis is coming off of two dominating performances on the road to open up conference play. The Aggies topped Pacific in five sets and followed it up with a four set defeat of UC Riverside.
After the two games, UC Davis sits atop the Big West standings. While Holmes is excited about how well the team has played these past couple weeks, she wants the team to be focused on the future.
“If we take care of business, serve tough, pass well and continue our balanced offensive attack, we can be successful,” Holmes said. “We’ve prepared well for this weekend at practice and hopefully the outcome will indicate that.”
– Jason Alpert
