Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Riverside; vs. Cal State Northridge
Records: Aggies, 16-3, (2-2); Highlanders, 4-13 (1-2); Matadors 8-7 (2-1)
Where: Hickey Gym
When: Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: Senior middle blocker Betsy Sedlak will be looking to make UC Davis history this weekend.
The Pleasanton, Calif. native is currently tied with Candy Lench for second in Aggie history with 348 career blocks.
Sedlak is also on pace to break Lench’s record .307 career hitting percentage. Sedlak currently has a career mark of .347.
Did you know? This Friday’s game against UC Riverside will be UC Davis’ first match in Hickey Gym since the Aggies faced the Highlanders there last season. UC Davis was forced out of the Pavilion for both of this weekend’s games due to a chancellor’s event.
While the Aggies will be playing in a much smaller venue, coach Jamie Holmes is pleased with the change of scenery.
“Our team likes playing at home in front of friends and family,” she said. “This will be a retro weekend, sending things back to 2009 [when the Aggies played their first four games at Hickey Gym].”
Preview: The Aggies will be looking to return to their winning ways after suffering their first two Big West Conference losses last week.
Their match against UC Riverside may be just what the doctor ordered. The Highlanders have yet to win a road game this season and have the lowest winning percentage in the Big West.
Still, Holmes is not overlooking UC Riverside.
The Highlanders are coached by former UC Davis assistant Ron Larson, and the Aggies are expecting to face a disciplined and focused squad with a potent attack.
They run a fast offense,” Holmes said. “They’ll challenge us with the speed of their game.”
Regardless of their opponent, however, the Aggies are keeping their focus on what they can do to continue improving.
“We just need to execute,” Holmes said. “If we want to do well we just need to serve well, pass effectively and do a good job of running our offense.”
– Trevor Cramer
