Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Riverside
Records: Aggies 14-7 (5-3); Highlanders 2-17 (0-7)
Where: Hickey Gym
When: Saturday at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: Senior Kayla Varney did it all for the Aggies last Saturday.
The Murrieta, Calif. native led UC Davis in digs and tied for the team lead in kills during the Aggies’ thrilling comeback over UC Santa Barbara last weekend.
The outside hitter associated her strong play to a significant line-up change that was made from Friday’s match to Saturday’s.
“We moved me out of libero and up to outside hitter,” Varney said. “We had a lot more support on the outside and it helped us win.”
Did you know? The Aggies’ Saturday matchup will be a throwback day of sorts.
Due to a scheduling conflict with the Pavilion, UC Davis will play its match at Upper Hickey Gym – the first time the Aggies have played there since last season.
Coach Jamie Holmes said she is excited for the opportunity to play at Hickey one more time.
Preview: Momentum can do wonders for a team – and the Aggies have it.
UC Davis topped then first place UC Santa Barbara Saturday night in a thrilling five-set comeback. The Aggies stormed back from a two set deficit to steal the third set and cruise through the final two games en route to the key conference victory.
Holmes feels gaining speed entering the latter half of the Big West Conference season is just as important as the victory itself.
“I think it’s really important for us to get momentum,” Holmes said. “It will definitely help us down the stretch.”
UC Davis carried its momentum into a rare mid-week matchup when they traveled to the Bay Area to take on San Francisco.
The Aggies again had to battle back from an early deficit but got the win nonetheless.
Despite the win, the Aggies committed 23 errors. The Aggies committed 20 errors in the loss to Cal Poly Friday and Holmes recognizes this could pose as a problem down the road.
“We gave away a lot of points [in the Cal Poly game] and that’s something we’ll have to work on in practice,” Holmes said. “We usually say the outcome is what you put in practice and we’ll need to work on limiting errors.”
– Jason Alpert
