Saturday marked the end of the road for the UC Davis women’s volleyball team’s season. After suffering a tough home loss to the University of Hawai’i a week earlier, the team traveled to Pacific and completed their season sweep of the Tigers, winning the match 25-23, 25-14, 20-25, 25-15. “To go into UOP where they have a steady home court advantage and win in four was a great way to end the season,” said head coach Jamie Holmes. The Aggies improved their overall record to 17-14 and 11-7 in the Big West play including a 7-2 second-half run in their conference to finish out the year. While they did not achieve their ultimate goal of making it to the NCAA tournament, the team did drastically improve their conference play, making it clear to all watching that this UC Davis program is on the rise. Last season the Aggies finished with an impressive 21-10 record, but still recorded a disappointing 7-9 ledger when matched up with Big West opponents. However, this... ...

Teams: UC Davis at Pacific Records: Aggies, 16-14 (10-7); Tigers, 20-10 (9-9) Where: Alex G. Spanos Center — Stockton, Calif. When: Saturday at 7 p.m. Who to Watch: Sophomore middle blocker Victoria Lee established herself as a legitimate force on this Aggies squad the last time these two teams matched up together. The 6-foot middle blocker not only posted a career-high 10 blocks in the match, but she also had a team-best .500 hitting average to go along with seven kills. Not only is this the final match of the season for the Aggies, but it will also be the final match in which Lee will play without heavy expectations on her shoulders. Lee and fellow sophomore middle Katie Quinn have both established a precedent for themselves this season and with senior outside Allison Whitson graduating, the Aggies will be looking to fill that offensive void elsewhere. Look for solid play from Lee on Saturday night and for years to come. Did you know? Attention Aggie fans. For those planning... ...

It was a weekend of mixed emotions for the UC Davis women’s volleyball team, but one thing is for sure: it’s one they won’t soon forget. Friday night’s game was packed full of individual achievements and team triumph as the Aggies outlasted Cal State Northridge 25-19, 25-19, 17-25, 23-25, 18-16. Seniors Allison Whitson and Caroline Mercado both achieved career highs in this match: Whitson set a personal best with 25 kills while Mercado set a personal record of 27 digs of her own. The Aggies sent a clear message to the Big West community, proving that they do indeed belong among the top programs in the conference. Saturday’s game against Hawaii marked the highly anticipated “Senior Night.” With the win, Hawaii achieved perfection in an unmatched 16-0 in conference for a perfect Big West record. However, the night ended on a special note as each senior’s career was honored in front of the massive Davis crowd. Each athlete thanked the community of Davis for all their enthusiasm and support over... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Northridge; vs. Hawaii Records: Aggies, 15-13 (9-6); Matadors, 18-9 (9-5); Wahine, 22-2 (14-0) Where: Pavilion — Davis, Calif. When: Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 7 p.m. Who to Watch: It’s no secret that senior outside hitter Allison Whitson is an irreplaceable piece to the Aggies’ offense. But for those who haven’t noticed, the Palo Alto, Calif. native reminded everyone across the Big West with performances that garnered Player of the Week honors for the second time this year. Whitson was the clear-cut winner this week after posting phenomenal stats against Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara over the weekend. After recording 19 kills on Friday night against the Mustangs, Whitson came out firing again the following night against the Gauchos and managed to put away 20 more, totaling 39 in just six total games. Whitson will need to bring her A-game this weekend as well, as UC Davis will take on two more tough opponents to close out the year at home, including... ...

Teams: UC Davis at Cal Poly; UC Davis at UC Santa Barbara Records: Aggies, 13-13 (7-6); Mustangs, 3-21 (2-10); Gauchos, 13-14 (6-6) Where: San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Santa Barbara, Calif. When: Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 7 p.m. Who to Watch: Although the Aggies suffered a home loss to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in their last matchup, junior outside hitter Devon Damelio had a noteworthy performance that she will look to repeat this weekend. Damelio recorded 12 kills and 14 digs to complete an impressive double-double in her team’s 3-1 loss to the Gauchos. The following night, the team pulled a quick 180 and followed the lead of Damelio en route to a 3-0 stomping of visiting Cal Poly. The junior outside hitter yet again recorded impressive stats with 12 more kills to go along with a .333 hitting average. The Aggies will pair up with these two teams once more this weekend in back-to-back fashion. Damelio puts up big numbers against these two teams, so look for... ...

The Aggies started the weekend off with a bang, reaching a level of play that they had worked for all season in a satisfying three-game sweep of UC Irvine on Friday night. The attack was balanced, and the serves were hard and well placed in smothering the Anteaters. Perhaps the best part of Friday’s win was that every player contributed to the victory. Don’t look for inflated stats or standout players here, for the Aggies are at their best when they act as one cohesive unit. However, the smooth sailing came to an abrupt end as the waves from Long Beach State crashed hard over the Aggies’ deck. The Aggies fell to the visiting 49ers and dropped to third in the Big West Conference with a record of 7-6 in Big West play and 13-13 overall. With over 70 assists for the weekend, setter Jenny Woolway edged closer to UC Davis’ all-time assists record and her spot on the Aggies Wall of Fame. UC Davis will travel to Cal Poly... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Irvine; vs. Long Beach State Records: Aggies, 12-12 (6-5); Anteaters, 10-15 (5-6); 49ers, 11-11 (6-5) Where: The Pavilion — Davis When: Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 7 p.m. Who to Watch: Putting a twist on a common phrase, ‘consistency is queen.’ In that regard, junior setter Jenny Woolway has been the Queen of her team. The San Diego native has recorded over 1,000 assists each year she has played for the Aggies and is on pace to shatter former standout Denise Bilbaeno’s school recorder of 3,549 career assists. Woolway recorded 36 assists in the Aggies’ four set victory against Cal State Fullerton last Friday, totaling 754 for the season and eighth among all Big West setters. When UC Davis last met LBSU earlier in the season on Oct. 5, Woolway recorded 37 assists, but the effort was not enough as the Aggies dropped a four set loss. For UC Davis to pull out a win against a tough 49ers team this weekend, expect them... ...

The Aggies took on the role of “spoilers” for this year’s Halloween as they pulled off two impressive road wins this past weekend. UC Davis continued its travels with a trip to Cal State Fullerton on Friday night to take on the Titans. The Aggies were coming off two tough losses the previous week against the University of Hawaii and Cal State Northridge but managed to bring home the win with a hard-fought 22-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-19 victory. The Aggies moved on to UC Irvine the following evening and continued their solid play with a 25-13, 25-15, 25-16 rout of the Highlanders. Friday’s win marked the 100th of coach Jamie Holmes’s career as master and chief, leaving a mark on the volleyball world for all to see. Her career has spanned over 15 years, during which she has worked with five different teams, all of which benefited from her knowledge and ability to win. Friday — UC Davis 3, Cal State Fullerton 1 With the heavy influence of statistics in... ...

The Aggies’ first trip to Hawaii began like a honeymoon, but ended in disappointment as they lost the match 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-16. UC Davis came out on Thursday with a solid punch to the gut of Hawaii as they quickly stole a thrilling first set by a score of 23-25. But it wasn’t enough to control the dynamic attack of the Wahine. The Aggies came into Cal State Northridge on Saturday night, hungry for a road win, but were sorely disappointed as they dropped their second match in a row 25-15, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23. Junior Devon Damelio sported consistent quality performances in both matches over the week, tallying a total of 24 kills and a respectable .250 and .281 hitting percentage in each respective game. The Aggies fall to 10-12 overall and 4-5 in Big West play. UC Davis will continue with two more games on the road against Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside before returning back to the Pavillion in early November. The team will look to... ...

The Aggie women’s volleyball team failed to extend their winning streak to three games, but still managed to split the weekend series, providing gritty matches and graceful sweeps for the large fan turnout. Friday kicked off as anticipated — with a tough battle against UC Santa Barbara. UC Davis fought hard but ultimately lost the duel 25-21, 20-25, 25-11, 25-23. Redemption could not come quick enough, as Cal Poly came to town the following night. This time, the Aggies were ready, making it a quick sweep in three games, 25-21, 25-11, 25-20. Senior outside hitter Allison Whitson finished the weekend with a total of 18 kills while junior setter Jenny Woolway served up 73 assists of her own over the weekend. The outstanding play of sophomore middle blockers Victoria Lee and Katie Quinn provided fuel for the Aggies all weekend, tallying a combined 15 blocks. Lee had 17 kills while Quinn had seven of her own for the weekend. Friday — UC Santa Barbara 3, UC Davis 1 UC Davis... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal Poly; vs. UC Santa Barbara Records: Aggies, 9-9 (3-2); Mustangs, 1-16 (0-5); Gauchos, 9-11 (2-3) Where: Pavilion, Davis; Pavilion, Davis. When: 7 p.m.; 7 p.m. Who to Watch: UC Davis head coach Jamie Holmes has been imploring her players to step up in big situations of late, and last week she got her wish. Senior outside hitter Allison Whitson hammered down 19 kills in UC Davis’ dominating three-set win against UC Irvine. “Allison is one of those players that can be such a stellar leader by performance and we’ve found that she will lead us to a place where we can be victorious,” Holmes said. The senior had 63 kills in her last three matches. Look for her to stay hot in the upcoming series this Friday and Saturday as the Aggies moves on to two more conference opponents. Did you know? The last time UC Davis faced their Big West rival Cal Poly early last season, it stretched into a thrilling five-set victory in which... ...

The UC Davis women’s volleyball team has opened their run at the Big West championship on a strong note. Although the Aggies endured a rocky start at the beginning of the season, they have come away with strong wins against powerful teams, yielding a boost of confidence and energy in the team’s dynamic performance. UC Davis (8-8) opened its season with three matches at the Blue Raider Bash tournament in Tennessee, losing two against Furman and Alabama-Birmingham and winning one against Middle Tennessee State. Subsequently, in the next four games, the Aggies went 2-2 in matchups with Utah, Middle Tennessee State, UAB and Furman. “During non-conference, we played with a lot of different lineups,” said coach Jamie Holmes. “We tried a lot of different personalities to figure out the best group for the Big West conference play.” The results of the variance and experimentation in lineups shone through in the Aggies’ first Big West Conference match against fierce competitor Pacific. Junior outside hitter Devon Damelio tallied 15 kills while sophomore... ...

Junior Allison Whitson was the player UC Davis volleyball could count on when it needed a spark. The Palo Alto, Calif. native started every set for UC Davis this season and was far and away the team’s leader with 421 kills. She also finished tied for second on the team with 305 digs and alone in fourth with 66 blocks. Whitson was a key part of UC Davis’ early season run. She was named to the all-tournament team in each of UC Davis’ four early-season tournament appearances. Her success was highlighted by MVP honors at the Northern Colorado Classic and the Aggie Invitational. For her efforts in league action, Whitson was named to the All-Big West Conference first-team this season. With her senior year still to come, UC Davis will be expecting big things from Whitson again in 2012. — Trevor Cramer ...

She was a player who changed the program. Senior Betsy Sedlak entered the UC Davis volleyball program in 2009 as a transfer from Oregon, and she has been a feature in the UC Davis starting lineup ever since. With the contributions she’s made to the Aggies, Sedlak now leaves the program as one of the best players in program history. “She’s an incredible player all around,” said fellow senior Katie Denny. “She’s led this program to a great place.” Sedlak finished her career as UC Davis’ career leader in hitting percentage at .336 — well ahead of the previous mark of .306 set by Candy Lynch. Sedlak also ranks second in career blocks in school history with 393. For her efforts, Sedlak received All-Big West Conference recognition in each of her three seasons as an Aggie — including all first team honors in both 2010 and 2011. This season Sedlak led UC Davis with 124 blocks, and finished fourth on the team with 261 kills. She also had an effect... ...