58 F
Davis

Davis, California

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Volleyball preview

Teams: UC Davis at Cal State Northridge; at UC Riverside
Records:
Aggies, 20-6 (6-5); Matadors, 11-11 (5-5); Highlanders 5-19 (2-8)
Where:
The Matadome — Northridge, Calif.; UC Riverside Student Recreation Center — Riverside, Calif.
When:
 Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Who to watch:
Junior Allison Whitson is far and away the Aggies’ leader in kills this season with 352 — over 100 ahead of her next closest competitor.

The Palo Alto, Calif. native has also tallied 258 digs this year, good for third on the team.

Did you know? Two wins this weekend would bring the Aggies to a total of 22 victories on the year — the most by a UC Davis team since 1993 when the Aggies notched 23 wins.

This season already marks UC Davis’ second 20-win campaign since 1996, both of which have come during coach Jamie Holmes’ four-year run with the school.

Preview: The Aggies have gone winless over their last five road games, but this could be the week UC Davis looks to get back on track away from home.

The Aggies beat both Cal State Northridge and UC Riverside earlier this season, both in dominating 3-0 fashion.

A pair of victories this week would further strengthen UC Davis’ case for an NCAA Tournament bid.

The Aggies reached the 20-win plateau last week against Cal Poly, achieving one of the major accomplishments the NCAA committee looks for when deciding which squads will make it into the 64-team field.

UC Davis is currently 70th in the RPI rankings, but that number could improve with some road wins this week.

While a postseason appearance is a goal for the Aggies, UC Davis also knows that there is still a lot of work to be done.

“We’re not out of the NCAA tournament’s eye, so we have to finish out the season strong by getting the wins that we should,” Holmes said. “But at the same time, we can’t look at that. We have to make sure we’re going through the process, playing to our abilities and even getting better.”

— Trevor Cramer

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