Despite considerable performances by Light, Webb and Radakovic, the Aggies extend their losing streak to six games
By GABRIEL CARABALLO — sports@theaggie.org
The UC Davis women’s volleyball team entered the University Credit Union Center to play against Long Beach State on Oct. 22 hoping to end a 0-5 losing streak. However, Long Beach State dominated the game, beating the Aggies in four sets.
The Beach earned the first points of the first set with a kill by fourth-year middle-blocker Callie Schwarzenbach. UC Davis retaliated with a kill of their own courtesy of first-year outside-hitter Jade Light and secured a second straight point with a kill from fourth-year middle-blocker Josephine Ough.
The score of the first set was 2-1 when Long Beach countered back and tied the score with another kill by Schwarzenbach assisted by first-year setter Zayna Meyer, her first of many contributions.
With a 2-2 score in the first set, the Aggies aggressively secured another two straight points to take a 4-2 lead thanks to a kill from third-year Demari Webb, who had four total kills in the first set. After this, UC Davis began to dominate the first set until the end. The Aggies captured the set 25-20 with three service aces courtesy of third-year Shira Lahav and second-years Oliva Utterback and Julia Ng. In the set, UC Davis had 17 total assists, 14 of which were set up by second-year setter Cassie Newman, while the Beach had 12. The Aggies also tallied 18 total kills, eight of which came from Light, who delivered the set-ending kill.
After UC Davis won the first set, they started the second on a 4-0 scoring run; however, this sparked a fire in Long Beach that would last the rest of the game.
The Beach’s counterattack started with a 5-0 scoring run that included two service aces from second-year defensive specialist Savana Chacon. The Aggies then tied the score at 5-5 with a kill by third-year middle-blocker Lana Radakovic. However, Long Beach continued to dominate with a second 5-0 scoring sweep, including a third service ace of the set from third-year outside-hitter Morgan Chacon. Despite the Aggies’ attempts to battle back, the Beach maintained the lead for the rest of the set, barring tied scores at 18 and 22, and secured a 25-23 win.
It was a competitive set as each team had 16 total kills and similar numbers in assists; UC Davis had 15 and Long Beach had 14, 13 of which were courtesy of setter Meyer.
The match was tied one set to one as the third set began. After a quick exchange of single points, the Beach went on a 4-0 scoring streak, making the score 5-1 and quickly taking control of the set.
There would be no ties or lead changes for the remainder of the set, as Long Beach would go on another 4-0 scoring streak and later a 5-0 run. Long Beach won the set 25-19, thanks to a set-leading five kills from Morgan Chacon and a service ace and a set-leading 15 assists from Meyer.
Going into the fourth set, Long Beach was in position to secure the game. To start the fourth set, the Beach went on a 3-0 run that included another service ace from Savana Chacon. Even after that, the Aggies continued to fight and tied up the score 3-3. However, the Beach retaliated with another 3-0 run and another service ace from Morgan Chacon, which made the score 6-3.
After this, Long Beach never looked back, playing a dominant fourth set, ultimately winning 25-16. In the final set, the Beach had five service aces, as well as 17 kills compared to UC Davis’ 12 and 14 assists compared to UC Davis’ 11.
“We have to work harder in practice; we need to play better defense than we did tonight,” UC Davis Head Coach Dan Conners said about his team’s performance.
The leaders of the game were Light and Webb with 18 kills each, Meyer with 46 assists and Radakovic with 4 blocks.
This match brought UC Davis to an 8-12 overall record. The Aggies were on the road on Oct. 25 to face the University of California, Riverside, and will return home on Oct. 29 to play against the University of Hawai’i.
Written by: Gabriel Caraballo — sports@theaggie.org
