Sweeps by UC Davis, UC Irvine Highlight Big West Play on Saturday

BIG WEST RUNDOWN

• October 13, 2018

 RESULTS

• UC Davis def. Cal-State Fullerton 3-0
• UC Irvine def. UC Riverside 3-0
• Hawaii def. CSUN 3-1

CONFERENCE RECAP

Both UC Davis and UC Irvine collected sweeps Saturday in Big West play. The Aggies took town Cal-State Fullerton at home while the Anteaters remained in the Big West title chase with a sweep of UC Riverside. In the nightcap, Hawaii stayed within striking distance of #13 Cal Poly with its four set win over Cal-State Northridge.

*MATCH OF THE NIGHT*

HAWAII DEF. CAL-STATE NORTHRIDGE 3-1 (25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 25-20)

• Hawaii improves to 11-6, 7-1; CSUN sinks to 6-13, 2-5 in the Big West.
• Stan Sheriff Center; Honolulu, Hawaii
• Attendance:5,984
• Box score
• Hawaii Recap/CSUN Recap
• The Rainbow Wahine had a balanced effort offensively. Middle hitters Natasha Burns and Sarah Liva, and outside hitter Casey Castillo all tallied 12 kills. Another outside hitter, McKenna Granato chipped in 11. Granato also finished with 12 digs for Hawaii.
• Outside hitter Aeryn Owens had a double-double for the Matadors, finishing with 13 kills, 10 digs, and two blocks.
• Hawaii hit .252 for the match while CSUN managed .213.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Hawaii remained in the hunt for a Big West title Saturday night when it knocked off Cal-State Northridge in four sets.

The Rainbow Wahine raced out to an early 9-5 lead and would not look back. Hawaii would build its lead to as many as seven at 20-13 and finished off the Matadors, 25-18 in the opening set.

The second set belonged to Northridge. The Matadors jumped on Hawaii early and maintained a comfortable lead at 15-9 midway through the set. The Rainbow Wahine tried to rally, but it was too late as Northridge evened the match with a 25-17 win.

Hawaii opened with a 9-2 run in the third to regain the momentum. The Matadors did make it interesting as they cut the deficit to 19-17, but Hawaii held them off for a 25-20 win.

The fourth set was similar to the third as Hawaii again ran out to a big advantage. The Rainbow Wahine led 19-10 before Northridge trimmed the lead to three at 22-19. Hawaii was able to put the Matadors away by taking three of the final four points, as it took the fourth set, 25-20.

Natasha Burns puts down the last kill to send the Matadors back home! ☄️💥 Let’s #GoBows 🌈 pic.twitter.com/z7BF9q9m5b

— Hawaii W. Volleyball (@HawaiiWVB) October 14, 2018

UC DAVIS DEF. CAL-STATE FULLERTON 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-16)

• UC Davis improves to 11-9, 3-5; Cal-State Fullerton falls to 6-14, 0-6 in the Big West.
• The Pavilion; Davis, California
• Attendance:230
• Box score
• UC Davis Recap/Cal-State Fullerton Recap
• The Aggies were led by outside hitters Brianna Karsseboom and Emily Allen, who each tallied 12 kills.
• Setter Paloma Bowman and libero Malia Bolko led the defensive effort for the Aggies, as each notched 11 digs.
• Middle blocker Haley Carmo led the Titans with eight kills and tossed in a pair of aces.
• UC Davis hit .305 as a team while holding Cal-State Fullerton to .111.

UC IRVINE DEF. UC RIVERSIDE 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-22)

• UCI moves to 12-7, 6-1; UC Riverside dips to 6-12, 1-6 in the Big West.
• Bren Events Center; Irvine, California
• Attendance:396
• Box score
• UC Irvine Recap/UC Riverside Recap
• Middle blocker Makayla Wolfe led the Anteaters with 12 kills and a .529 hitting percentage.
• UC Irvine got 11 kills a piece from outside hitter Abby Marjama and middle blocker Idara Akpakpa. Marjama added 10 digs as well.
• The Highlanders got 11 kills from outside hitters Nailah Jones and Christina Escamilla.
• UCI hit .234 as a team while UC Riverside managed just .130.

UP NEXT

• UC Davis hosts UC Irvine at 10 p.m. Saturday.
• Cal-State Fullerton will hit the road for a matchup with Long Beach State at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday.
• UC Riverside hosts Hawaii at 10 p.m. ET Friday.
• Cal-State Northridge hosts #13 Cal Poly at 10 p.m. ET Friday.
• Keep up to date on when your program is on TV by checking out VolleyMob’s TV Schedule.

STANDINGS