UC Davis volleyball sweeps UNR in back-to-back straight-set wins
The pair of victories takes the Aggies’ conference record to 7-3 midway through conference play
By COLINA HARVEY— sports@theaggie.org
On Oct. 24, the UC Davis women’s volleyball team played the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) Wolf Pack Pack in the second game of a two-game series. The Aggies won both games, and did not concede a single set to the Wolf Pack. The two wins changed the pace for the Aggies after the three losses out of four of their recent games.
“We do a really good job about… just staying in the moment and not focusing on points that happened in the past, or mistakes that happened in the past, just focusing on one thing at a time,” said Allie Caldwell, a fourth-year sociology major and middle blocker for the team. “On Saturday, we had the win previously up in Reno, it's like, let's not worry about that win. We just worry about today and just be really grateful for another opportunity to play another good team in our conference and just leave it as that,” she said.
In the first set, the Aggies built an early lead, going up 5-2. They continued to build on their momentum throughout the set with six different players contributing kills. Isabella Umpierre, a first-year animal science major, and Ally Chandler, a fourth-year human development major, both recorded service aces. The Aggies quickly finished off the set with a final score of 25-17.
The Aggies had another fast start in the second set, going on a 5-0 run right off the bat. Ximena Cordero-Barr, a third-year landscapes architecture major, kicked off the scoring with a service ace, followed by back-to-back kills by Chandler. The Wolf Pack ended the run with a kill of their own, but Gianna Bogan, a first-year communication major, fought back with a pair of kills.
The Aggies continued to dominate, going on a 9-1 run that brought the score to 16-3. The run featured aces by Khloe Wong, a first-year nutrition science major, and Chandler, and kills from Chandler and Caldwell. The Wolf Pack worked hard to gain momentum mid-set but could not catch the Aggies. A kill by Brooke Hibino, a fourth-year managerial economics major, ended the set with a score of 25-12. Bogan stood out with five kills.
In the third set, UC Davis errors kept a tight start. A 3-0 run consisting of two kills by Chandler and Hibino, and then an ace by Chandler gave the Aggies a small 7-4 lead. The Wolf Pack did not let the Aggies run away with it, staying within two points of the Aggies with a score of 11-13. However, a 5-1 Aggie run fueled by a Chandler ace and Reno errors gave the Aggies a 18-12 lead. The Aggies finished off the winning set with a kill by Bogan.
Bogan led the team in kills with 10, followed by Chandler and Caldwell who had seven each. Chandler recorded four service aces. Cordero-Barr led defensively with 10 digs, and Umpierre followed with nine.
The two wins came just over halfway through conference play and boosted the Aggies’ record to 7-3.
“We're halfway through now, so I think just eyes are kind of set on our goals, eyes on the prize, and we just keep working day by day to get there,” said Caldwell. “I think we came in [to the Mountain West Conference] just, really open minded, and, you know, it is a new conference, and that can bring some excitement, but also a little bit of nerves, not really knowing what to expect. But I think with these new challenges… it's just opportunities for us.”
“Our team's just been focusing on our gratitude,” said Caldwell. “Just being grateful for the opportunity to play. Instead of looking at something as a pressure moment, looking at it as just an opportunity to play another good team in our conference.”
The Aggies will travel to El Paso, Texas to go up against University of Texas, El Paso on Nov. 6, ranked fourth place in the Mountain West Conference, two under UC Davis.
Written by: Colina Harvey — sports@theaggie.org