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DAVIS, Calif. \u2014 UC Davis volleyball is back on the road this weekend after a two week homestand. The Aggies will play two matches at San Jose State on Oct. 16 & 17.<\/p>\n
HOW TO WATCH\/LISTEN\/FOLLOW<\/p>\n
Oct. 16\u00a0 \u2014 at San Jose State | Watch on MW+<\/a> | Live Stats<\/a> | @ucdaviswvb (X\/Instagram)\u2028 GAME NOTES
ABOUT THE OPPONENT<\/p>\n
SEASON NOTES<\/p>\n
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS:\u00a0<\/p>\n UC Davis Athletics represents one of the nation’s premier public universities on the NCAA Division I stage, with more than 650 student-athletes competing across 25 sports, including 16 programs in the Mountain West Conference. Located in California’s quintessential college town, UC Davis combines championship-level athletics with the academic excellence of the nation’s #8 public research university and is home to the nation’s No. 1 programs in agriculture, veterinary medicine and sustainability. With a growing national media presence, bold investments in facilities and the student-athlete experience, and a tradition of developing champions in competition, in the classroom and beyond, the Aggies are elevating UC Davis on a national stage.
\nOct. 17\u00a0 \u2014 at San Jose State | Watch on MW+<\/a> | Live Stats<\/a> | @ucdaviswvb (X\/Instagram)\u2028<\/p>\n
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\n\tLast Time Out: UC Davis is 8-9 on the year, dropping back-to-back home matches against New Mexico last weekend. Playing as the starting libero for the first time in her career on Saturday, Rachel Dunagan<\/a> led the defense with 14 digs. Offensively, Isabella Umpierre<\/a> led the way with 12 kills. Ally Chandler<\/a> also had double-digits on the offense with 11 kills. The attack was distributed by Mia Starr<\/a> with 39 assists. Service was solid for the Aggies all afternoon with eight aces, including two each by Umpierre, Chandler, and Khloe Wong<\/a>.
\n\tA Week of Sweeps: After sweeping Air Force in two matches to open Mountain West home play, UC Davis got another sweep the following Monday after winning all three Mountain West Player of the Week awards. Ally Chandler<\/a> was awarded her first career Offensive Player of the Week honor, Ximena Cordero Barr<\/a> was named Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, and Gianna Bogan<\/a> claimed her first ever Freshman of the Week award.
\n\tA Look Back On Non-Conference Play: The 2026 non-conference schedule may go down as one of the most challenging and rewarding for UC Davis volleyball in the team’s 50+ year history, featuring three matches against top 25 teams and four tournaments. After pushing No. 11 SMU to five sets during the opening weekend of play, Davis then pulled off the biggest win in program history two weeks later, beating No. 7 Arizona State in four sets. These performances led to a number of awards for the Aggies, including two Mountain West defensive player of the week awards for Ximena Cordero Barr<\/a>, and two freshman of the week honors for Isabella Umpierre<\/a>, along with one offensive player of the week award.
\n\tUmpierre Atop The Mountain West: Following an historical upset of then-No. 7 Arizona State, Aggie freshman Isabella Umpierre<\/a> was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week and Co-Freshman of the Week on Sept. 14. This honor was given after Umpierre collected 40 total kills across three matches the previous weekend along with a career-high 19 digs against San Diego that powered her way to her second career double-double.
\n\t3,500 & 1,000: Serving as one of the captains for the Aggies throughout the last couple of seasons, Starr is quickly approaching one of the most unique statlines in program history, approaching 3,500 career assists and 1,000 career digs. Currently at over 3,550 assists and 64 digs away from 1,000, she continues to prove to be one of the most unique and versatile players for the Aggies.
\n\tThe Road To 1,000 Digs: Breaking out for the Aggies as starting libero last season, Ximena Cordero Barr<\/a> has taken the volleyball world by storm for her high level of play on the defensive side of the net. On Oct. 8 against New Mexico, she surpassed a new career milestone with her 1,000 dig, becoming the 12th player in program history to hit that mark.
\n\tSitting Second on the Leaderboard: As the team’s primary setter her entire career, senior Mia Starr<\/a> has been slowly climbing the all-time rankings for assists in a career. During the season opener against Colorado State, she became just the sixth player in program history to collect 3,000 career assists. Against Air Force on Oct. 3, her 11th assist put her in second place in program history with her 3,550th career assist. Now over 1,000 assists away from No. 1 Jenny Woolway, she will attempt to top the leaderboard as she moves through the rest of her senior season.
\n\tBack-to-Back Awards: 39 digs across two home games last weekend gave Cordero Barr her second straight Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week award. Her play in the backcourt protected her team in two tough matchups. Against RV Cal Poly, she had 20+ digs for the first time this season with 22.
\n\tOne Week, Two Awards: Following their first week of competition in the Mountain West, the Aggies saw two of three conference weekly awards go their way, with Umpierre winning the Freshman of the Week and Ximena Cordero Barr<\/a> grabbing the Defensive Player of the Week. Umpierre made a large impact in her first three collegiate games, totaling 33 kills and 20 digs, while Cordero Barr led the defense with 43 total digs.
\n\tA 2025 To Remember: Entering the season in a new conference for the first time since 2008, the Aggies swan song in the Big West was one to remember during the 2025 season, posting a league-best 16 wins while winning the conference title for the first time ever. With the team success came a number of individual accolades as well, as the program took home four of five Big West yearly awards at season’s end. These included All-American Jade Light<\/a> becoming the Player of the Year, Mia Starr<\/a> being named Setter of the Year, Ximena Cordero Barr<\/a> earning Libero of the Year, and Dan Conners<\/a> becoming the Coach of the Year.
\n\tPreseason Nods: Ahead of the team’s inaugural Mountain West season, the Aggies felt the love from their new conference after being picked to finish second in the annual preseason poll, garnering 80 points and four first place points. Davis was also the only team who had two selections in the conference preseason team, with Mia Starr<\/a> and Ximena Cordero Barr<\/a> landing on the list.
\n\tStrength In Consistency: Despite the loss of All-American Jade Light<\/a> to graduation, UC Davis returns much of their production from the last two seasons in 2026. In addition to Starr and Cordero Barr, all-conference players Ally Chandler<\/a> and Brooke Hibino<\/a> also return for their fourth season. 100+ blocker Allie Caldwell<\/a> is also back along with 2023 Big West All-Freshman player Reese Diersbock<\/a>, who makes her return after missing all of last season to injury. Rounding out this talented group of seniors is Breeze Czapinski<\/a>, who ranked second in kills on the team last year.
\n\tA Talented Group of Freshmen: With back-to-back hugely successful seasons under his belt, Conners has brought in arguably one of his best recruiting classes to the Aggies for the 2026 season, with six freshmen joining the team. Among the class includes Ana Stojanovic<\/a> from Canada, who has competed internationally for her country in FIVB and Norceca over the last couple years, Jada Johnson<\/a>, the No. 1 opposite from Oregon, and Isabella Umpierre<\/a>, the No. 2 right side from Florida.\u00a0
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\n\tSan Jose State is 6-10 with a 1-5 conference mark. The Spartans are on a three match losing streak and coming off of back-to-back sweeps at Hawai’i.
\n\tThe team features two players with 100+ kills, as Morgan Graves leads the way with 125 and Zuzana Kosikova close behind with 117.
\n\tThe Spartans biggest strength comes on the defensive side of the net, with four players collecting over 100 digs on the season.\u00a0
\n\tIn front of the net, Learden Lee and Ava Hewitt lead the team with over 40 blocks each.
\n\tUC Davis is 4-14 all-time against San Jose State. However, the squad\u00a0has won the last two contests between the teams, including a 3-0 sweep at home back in 2019.
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\n\t2026 marks year 13 for Aggies head coach Dan Conners<\/a>. Last season, Conners made team history by passing Aggie Hall of Famer Kathy DeYoung with his 170 career win. He currently sits at 180 wins and counting.
\n\tThe staff now includes three new assistant coaches, all with a treasure trove of collegiate volleyball experience. Grace Doyle<\/a> comes to Davis after five seasons as a player at Fresno State, where she led the team to the NCAA Tournament in 2023. Eric Beebe<\/a> played as a setter for Long Beach State’s men’s team, competing in two NCAA Championship games. Rounding out the group is Greg Harasymowycz<\/a>, who played three years at CSUN and has a long history of coaching for legendary UCLA head coach Al Scates, who Conners played for during his college career.
\n\tThe roster brings back a large number of contributors from last season, including Starr, Cordero Barr, Chandler, Caldwell, and Czapinski.
\n\tAdditionally, the coaching staff has brought in plenty of highly talented freshmen, including Stojanovic, Johnson, Umpierre, Gianna Bogan<\/a>, Katelyn Sentous<\/a>, and Khloe Wong<\/a>.
\n\tFollowing a record breaking 2025 season, Davis enters the Mountain West Conference in 2026 with the goal remaining to win another conference title and qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
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