Utah Valley State (5-7) vs. Westminster College (7-14)

Location: Orem, Utah
Date: October 5th  
Time: 7:00 p.m. (MST)
Site: Activity Center
Series Record: Utah Valley State leads 2-0

OREM, Utah - The Utah Valley State volleyball team will finally come back home on Tuesday after playing 11 of its first 12 matches on the road, including the last nine. The Wolverines will host Westminster College at 7:00 p.m. in the Activity Center. UVSC dominated the Griffins last season in two matches, sweeping Westminster in three games in both meetings. The Wolverines held the Griffins under 20 points in all six games played last season. All students will get into Tuesday's match free with their UVSC Student ID.

Wolverine Update:
The Wolverines are on a current four game skid and would like to get back in the win column Tuesday against Westminster. Continuing to the lead the charge offensively is the Brazilian duo of Deise Borghetti and Alina Wallauer. Borghetti is averaging 3.95 kills per game, while Wallauer tallies an average of 3.23 kills per game. Lacee Koelliker has been solid all year distributing the ball. She averages 11.05 assists per game. True freshman, Jessica Endres and Chelsea O'Neal have been a pleasant surprise for head coach Sam Atoa. Endres, a middle blocker out of Gilbert, Arizona has been steady on the front line averaging 2.50 kills per game. O'Neal, a libero out of Magnolia, Texas, has been just as steady on the back line averaging a team-high 3.76 digs per game.

Last Week's Action:
UVSC competed in every game, but came out on the losing end, as Oral Roberts swept the Wolverines, 30-24, 37-35, 30-26, last Wednesday night at the Cooper Aerobics Center.

Alina Wallauer managed to tally her team-high seventh double-double of the year, finishing the night with 10 kills, and 14 digs. She was the only Wolverine in double figure kills. Setter Lacee Koelliker added eight kills to go along with her 26 assists.

Coach Sam Atoa was frustrated with the loss, but found positives in his team's effort, especially in game two. UVSC trailed 20-9 in the second game, but rallied to tie the game, and had a chance to win, but fell short 37-35.

"Somehow they found a will to compete in game two," said coach Atoa. "We had opportunities to win the game, but threw them away when we were serving for game point."

ORU out-hit UVSC .278 to .150 during the match. The Golden Eagles squeaked away with the win in game two, and had to battle UVSC to a 30-26 win in game three to close out the match.

"We are a good team, I still believe that," said Atoa. "We are just struggling with some basic things right now."

Double Trouble:
Three different Wolverines have notched double-double performances this year, they are: Alina Wallauer with 7, Lacee Koelliker with 5, and Deise Borghetti with 4.

Borghetti Honored Two Weeks in a Row :
Senior right side hitter, Deise Borghetti was named to the Nike Portland Pilot Invitational All-Tournament Team last weekend, and the week before she was named to the Mizuno Classic All-Tournament team. In the Mizuno Classic Borghetti averaged 4.45 kills, and 3.18 digs per game in the tournament. She had match-high kills against UCF (21), and Oklahoma (18).

Endres Named Newcomer of the Week:
Freshman middle blocker Jessica Endres was named the Division I Independent Volleyball Newcomer of the Week for her performance in the BYU/Mizuno Classic September 10-11. The weekly award is given to a true freshman or transfer player.

Endres, a true freshman from Gilbert, Arizona, helped the Wolverines go 2-1 in the Mizuno Classic. UVSC sandwiched wins over Central Florida and Memphis around a loss to Oklahoma. Against UCF Endres was called upon 20 different times, notching 13 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Against OU she tallied seven kills, and against Memphis, Endres carried the team with a match-high 17 kills, while hitting an impressive .536.

This season, eight Division I Independent schools have grouped together to elect Player of the Week awards. Those teams are Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas-Pan American, IPFW, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, North Dakota State, Providence, and Utah Valley State. Awards are voted on by participating team sports information directors and released each Tuesday.

Borghett, Koelliker Receive Player of the Week Honors:
Utah Valley State right side hitter Deise Borghetti, and setter Lacee Koelliker received Division I Independent -??Player of the Week-?? honors for their performances in the Nike Portland Pilot Invitational September 16-18. Borghetti was honored as the Offensive Player of the Week, and Koelliker was named Setter of the Week.

Borghetti and Koelliker helped the Wolverines to a 2-2 overall record and runner-up finish in the invitational.

Borghetti, a senior out of Medianeira, Brazil, earned All-Tournament honors notching two matches with 20-plus kills (26 against UC Davis, and 22 against Cal Poly-SLO). In four matches she averaged a double-double with 17 kills and 10.25 digs per match. It was the second straight week that Borghetti was named to All-Tournament Teams, having been the only player to be selected in the BYU/Mizuno Classic last week.

Koelliker, a sophomore out of Las Vegas, Nevada, finished the tournament with 172 assists, an average of 10.75 assists per game. Against Cal Poly-SLO she tallied a season-high 59 assists, to go along with 10 digs. Koelliker notched 47 assists and 12 digs in a win over UC-Davis, and in a sweep over Portland State she recorded 38 assists and six digs. Against Portland in the championship match she finished with 28 assists and seven digs.

The awards were the first of the season for both Borghetti and Koelliker, and the second and third awards for UVSC this year.

Last Year's Post Season Honors:
UVSC returns three players who received NCAA Division I Independent honors in 2003. They are: outside hitters Alina Wallauer and Krystal Taylor, and setter Lacee Koelliker.

Wallauer (173 K, 2.37 K/G) received two honors as she was named the D-I Independent -??Newcomer of the Year,-?? and to the All-Independent Second Team. Koelliker (379 A, 4.51 A/G) and Taylor (109 K, 1.85 K/G) were both named to the Independent All-Freshman Team.

Scouting the Opposition:
Westminster College: The Griffins come into Tuesday's match with an overall record of 7-14. Most recently, Westminster lost to Montana Tech in four games on Saturday. Maxi Miller and Bree Riet lead the Griffins offensively. Miller averages just over 3 kills per game, while Riet notches just over 2 kills per game.

Up Next:
The Wolverines will go back on the road Thursday and travel to Reno, Nevada to take on the University of Nevada. First serve is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. (MST).