Nov. 3, 2006
Orem, Utah - Jessica Endres had 15 kills to lead Utah Valley State to a 30-28, 30-13, 30-22 sweep of Montana State Friday night in the Shurian Family Activity Center. In the match, Endres, a junior from Gilbert, Arizona, became the first Wolverine to reach 900 career kills in UV's short NCAA history.
"That's just awesome," said head coach Sam Atoa. "She deserves that. She gets better every single year and we wouldn't be where we're at without Jess elevating her game. It's fun to see her excel and succeed."
Lacee Koelliker had 50 assists, setting a new three-game school record, and is now just eight assists shy of 1,000 for the season and 121 away from 4,000 for her career.
Seven Wolverines had at least six kills and in the process helped Utah Valley to a .405 attack percentage, the second highest percentage in school history.
Camie Manwill had 11 kills and Terin Ledall added seven while Brooke Adams, Ashley Brown and Stephanie McFarland had six each.
"I'm proud of the girls and how they continued the momentum we started last week," said Atoa. "We were able to stick to the game plan and play with high emotion...playing for the seniors."
It's the final home weekend for seniors Adams, Koelliker and McFarland, with Senior Night Saturday night at 7pm against Texas-Pan American.
Game one was neck and neck the entire way, with 17 ties and the biggest lead of the game just four points for either team. It was that four point margin in favor of Montana State at 19-15 when the Wolverines reeled off four straight points.
The Bobcats took a two point edge at 22-20 before a Manwill kill and consecutive block assists (one from Koelliker and Brooke Adams and the other by Adams and Manwill) gave UV a 23-22 lead.
Neither team led by more than one point until the Wolverines scored the final two points to win game one 30-28.
Ashley Brown was perfect in game one, with six kills in six attempts.
Utah Valley State dominated game two, taking a 2-1 lead on a Montana State attack error and leading the rest of the way. Endres hit the 900 kill plateau when she scored on an assist from Koelliker, giving the Wolverines an 8-3 lead. Endres had seven kills in game two to lead UV to a .571 attack percentage in the game.
The Wolverines cruised in game three as well, using runs of 4-0 and 5-1 to give themselves a cushion in the eight point win.
Following tomorrow's match, the Wolverines will travel to Fargo, North Dakota next weekend, attempting to defend their 2005 Division-I Independent Championship.
