UC Davis Women’s volleyball wraps up non-conference schedule, prepares for first season in Mountain West
First-year Isabella Umpierre spearheads Aggie offense, earns Mountain West awards
By COLINA HARVEY— sports@theaggie.org
The UC Davis women’s volleyball team finished non-conference play after competing in the Snyder-Park Classic in Tempe, Arizona, a home match against UC Berkeley and a pair of games in Los Angeles against the University of Southern California (USC) and UC Santa Barbara (UCSB).
The team saw mixed results in these matches, going 4-7 overall in non-conference play. Despite this, big upset wins and dynamic new additions to the team show promise for the rest of the Aggies’ season.
At the Snyder-Park Classic, the Aggies made waves by upsetting No. 7-ranked Arizona State University (ASU) in four sets. It was the team’s highest-ranked win in program history. Isabella Umpierre, a first-year animal science major, led the team in kills, with Brooke Hibino, a fourth-year managerial economics major, close behind, contributing 14 kills.
“I think we just came out with a hunger almost,” Umpierre said. “I think we thrive off being this underdog and having that mentality of like, we have nothing to lose. We just have to go after it. And everyone was on their jobs that game; it felt like it was ours the entire time.”
After the upset win, the Aggies suffered two losses in the Snyder-Park Classic against the University of San Diego and the No. 24-ranked University of Oregon. They continued the losing streak with a home loss against UC Berkeley and a loss on the road against No. 19-ranked USC.
“I think [our record] doesn't accurately represent us because of how tough our preseason schedule was,” Umpierre said. “And I think in the end, it's just gonna make us better for what's coming up and how we can just take those games and learn from them.”
The Aggies were able to end non-conference play with a win, beating UCSB, a team that often gave the Aggies strong competition in years prior in the Big West Conference.
The Aggies dominated the first set, but the Gauchos came back strong, winning the second. UC Davis was able to take the next two sets, recording their fourth win of the season. Umpierre led in kills once again, with Ally Chandler, a fourth-year human development major, and Allie Caldwell, a fourth-year sociology major, following with 10 each.
Despite being a brand new addition to the team, Umpierre has proved to be an offensive powerhouse, leading the team in kills in four of their 11 games played. She is also leading the team in kills this season overall, with 137. Following the Snyder-Park Classic, Umpierre was named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week and Co-Freshman of the Week.
“The support from everyone has been great,” Umpierre said. “This is just the start, and I think being more consistent in practice so that it shows [in] my game — I think that's kind of what I want to focus on right now.”
The Aggies kick off their home conference play on Oct. 1 and Oct. 3 with a pair of games against the Air Force Academy.
“I think this preseason, we've definitely been tested, definitely been a hard preseason, but I think it's just getting us ready for entering the Mountain West this year,” Umpierre said. “Obviously, we played these top 10 teams, and we're competing with them. So I think this preseason showed us where we can be at, how we can get better, what we need to work on to really dial it in for starting conference this week […] I think if we could play every game as if it's a top 10 opponent, we’ll be set.”
Written by: Colina Harvey — sports@theaggie.org