Nov. 22, 2008

OREM, Utah - For the second year in a row the Utah Valley University women's volleyball team is NCAA Division I Independent Champions. The Wolverines (13-12) beat Cal State Bakersfield (19-15) in five sets (17-25, 25-20, 34-36, 25-22, 16-14) in the team's last match of the season to win the Championship for the second year in a row.

Both teams entered the match undefeated in the tournament. Junior middle blocker Kristin Anderson earned the Most Valuable Player award in the tournament and finished the night with 18 kills and 10 total blocks.

"We never gave up, that's for sure," UVU head coach Sam Atoa said. "It was just an excellent match to watch and coach. Bakersfield brought their A-game, but we were just a little bit better tonight."

Joining her on the All-Tournament team from UVU were senior setter Kristi Lindley, junior libero Allyce Wilson, and sophomore outside hitter Kayli Broadbent. Broadbent recorded a double-double of her own with 18 kills and 15 digs in the match.

"All the girls played exceptionally well tonight," Atoa said. "Kristin was outstanding. The setters had to be able to play well to get her the ball. Allyce [Wilson] was the glue that kept it all together in giving us so many more opportunities to put the ball away."

Bakersfield took the first set 25-17 after hitting .480 and recording three total team blocks. UVU hit .267 in the set led by Anderson with five kills on 10 swings. Broadbent also had four kills on seven swings in the set.

Neither team led by more than two points for almost the entire second set in which there were 14 tied scores and eight lead changes. The Wolverines won the final seven points of the set to win 25-20 and knot the match at a set apiece. They won with a .270 attack percentage and six total team blocks, including freshman Chelsey Garfield's solo block that capped the set.

The third set was the longest Utah Valley has seen this year with 16 tied scores and seven lead changes. The Wolverines had seven total team blocks in the set with Anderson setting the pace with five herself. UVU had six set-point opportunities as did CSUB, but it was the Roadrunners that finally won the set 36-34.

The Wolverines forced a fifth and deciding set with a 25-22 win in the fourth. Anderson, Broadbent, and Garfield recorded all 15 kills for UVU in the set with six, five, and four, respectively. Utah Valley hit .262 in the set and recorded three more total team blocks to hold CSUB to a .222 attack percentage. The Roadrunners did not record a single block in the set.

The final set was no less intense than the previous four. Utah Valley fell behind 5-8, tied the set at 9-9, then fell behind again 10-13. The Wolverines found a way to fight off the attack of CSUB's Sarah Norman (who had 30 kills in the match) down the stretch to earn six of the last seven points to win the set 16-14 and the match 3-1.

"What a dramatic win," Atoa said. "We put the starting team down 5-8 in the fifth set in practice this week and went through every rotation. The team reminded me that we had worked on it, and I'm glad to see that it paid off."

Saturday's final was a rematch of last year's final in the same gymnasium. In the 2007 Championship Utah Valley swept CSU Bakersfield in three sets to win its second Independent Championship in three years. The two teams split a two-match set in Orem earlier this season.

Utah Valley entered the final match after a 3-1 win (25-15, 20-25, 25-21, 25-17) against NJIT (18-15) Saturday morning.

Four UVU attackers recorded 10+ kills in the match led by Broadbent with 12. Anderson and freshmen Jaicee Kuresa and Faith Tusieseina all had 11 kills apiece. Anderson led the team with four blocks, and Wilson's 17 digs helped keep NJIT's attack percentage at .133. Broadbent was also only one dig away from recording a double-double.

The Wolverines hit .438 on their way to a 25-15 first set win. The team earned seven points in a row with sophomore defensive specialist Lannie O'Reilly at the service line, including two of Utah Valley's five service aces in the set. Broadbent had five kills in the set, and UVU held NJIT to a .241 attack percentage.

The Highlanders tied the match at a set apiece with a 25-20 second-set win. The Wolverines struggled offensively with nine attack errors in the set and only ten kills for an attack percentage of .026. NJIT hit .276 with 13 kills and five attack errors.

Utah Valley won the third set 25-21 after a fierce struggle. There were a total of 12 tied scores and five lead changes in the set. UVU was on the up side of the last lead change when they went up 22-21 and went on to win the next three points to close out the set. The Wolverines improved their attack recording 14 kills and only five errors in the set for a .237 attack percentage.

Defense was the key in the fourth set as the Wolverines recorded 4.5 total team blocks and held NJIT to a -.050 attack percentage in a 25-17 win. Six different UVU players recorded a block in the set with sophomore Dani Robison as the only Wolverine to record two.

The day began with a match between Texas-Pan American and Providence, which UTPA won in four sets. Cal State Bakersfield beat Providence in three sets after the UVU-NJIT match, followed by UTPA beating NJIT in five.

MVP: Kristin Anderson - Utah Valley

All Tourney Team:

Allyce Wilson - Utah Valley
Kayli Broadbent - Utah Valley
Kristi Lindley - Utah Valley
Barbie Thistle - CSUB
Sarah Norman - CSUB
Sabrina Baby - NJIT
Jeanette Toney - Providence
Kellie Phillips - UTPA