The Aggies will compete in the Big West Championship as the first seed
By COLINA HARVEY— sports@theaggie.org
On Nov. 23, the UC Davis women’s volleyball team wrapped up their historic regular season. Their win over California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) brought their conference record to 16-2 — the program’s record for most wins in a single season.
In addition to their unparalleled record this season, the Aggies also managed to go undefeated on Davis territory, winning all nine of their home games. The team’s only conference losses were away games against California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) and Long Beach State University (LBSU).
In their second-to-last game of the season on Nov. 20, the Aggies faced the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Matadors at home. The Aggies beat the Matadors in straight sets in October, but this time, the Matadors were much more competitive and took the game to five sets.
The Matadors immediately took the upper hand by winning the first set, 21-24. They built up a sizable lead and maintained it throughout the set. In the second set, the Aggies built up a sizable lead and were able to equalize. They won the first five points, and kept the lead until the end of the set, giving CSUN no chance to catch up. The Aggies eventually took the set with a final score of 25-17.
The third set was extremely close, and saw both teams trading points for the entirety of its duration. The Aggies started to fall behind late in the set, but clutch kills by Breeze Czapinski, third-year international relations major, and Brooke Hibino, third-year biological sciences major, kept the UC Davis team in the game. The Aggies trailed by one point with a score of 27-26, giving CSUN a chance to win the set; however, three back-to-back kills by Jade Light, fourth-year aerospace science and engineering major, tied the game and won the set for the Aggies.
In the fourth set, the Aggies had a chance to finish the game, but were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. They allowed CSUN to build a large lead, eventually losing the set by 10 points. In the final set, the score stayed tight until the end, where the Aggies scored four straight points to take the game. A kill by Light was the final point that sealed it for the Aggies.
The win over CSUN officially made Head Coach Dan Conners the winningest coach in program history.
The Aggies’ last game against CSUB was an easier win than the one against the Matadors; they managed to take down the Roadrunners in three straight sets. The Aggies won each set by a margin of at least five points. Ally Chandler, third-year human development major, Light and Czapinski all recorded double-digit kills.
With the win, the Aggies secured the Big West regular season title: a first-time achievement for the program. They also earned a first-round bye in the Big West Championship tournament, guaranteeing them a spot in the semifinals.
To honor the team’s hard work on the court, many players received conference awards. Light was named Big West Player of the Year and received a spot on the All-Big West First Team. Light led the Big West this season in both points and kills per set, recording an average of 4.50 and 3.99, respectively. She also ranked among the top 20 for digs and service aces per set.
Second-year landscape architecture major Ximena Cordero Barr and third-year human development major Mia Starr were named All-Big West First Team, along with Light. Barr was also named Big West Libero of the Year, while Starr was selected as Big West Setter of the Year. Further, Chandler made the All-Big West Second Team, Czapinski received an honorable mention and Hibino made the All-Big West Freshman Team. To top it all off, Conners was named Big West Coach of the Year.
The start of the Big West Championship for the Aggies was on Nov. 28 in Long Beach, where the team beat UC Santa Barbara. The team then moved to the finals, where they unfortunately lost to Cal Poly with a final score of 1-3. The team will now move into its off-season training and say goodbye to graduating seniors.
Written by: Colina Harvey — sports@theaggie.org
