Aug. 30, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Valley women's volleyball team fell to 0-2 on the season with a 2-3 loss (18-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 0-15) to Santa Clara at the Ute Invitational Saturday afternoon.
Redshirt freshman Jaicee Kuresa tallied 14 kills to lead all Wolverine attackers. She also recorded six block assists on the night. Sophomore Kayli Broadbent and freshman Chelsey Garfield also racked up nine kills apiece. In total, Utah Valley hit .203 with 12 total team blocks compared to Santa Clara's .220 and six total team blocks.
"It's unfortunate that this is the way this match turned out because I thought our team really battled," Utah Valley head coach Sam Atoa said after the match. "The result is not a fair indication of how the match went. We have to live with it and learn from it, though. That's all we can ask, and that's what we'll do."
The first set went to the Broncos 25-18. Kuresa led the Wolverines with three kills and a block in the set. UVU hit .261 with one total team block to UCSC's .257 attack percentage and two total team blocks. The spread from the Bronco's 14 kills and three service aces to the Wolverine's nine and zero.
Santa Clara took a timeout down 5-8 in the second set in an attempt to staunch a Utah Valley run. The Wolverines won five points in a row in that run to come from a 4-5 deficit to a 9-5 advantage. UCSC took its second timeout down 16-22, but could not stop UVU from rolling to a 25-17 win in the set that was clinched by a block from Anderson and Garfield. The Wolverines hit a scorching .500 in the set with five total team blocks to the Bronco's .031 and one total team block.
Utah Valley battled from behind the entire third set. The Wolverines were able to pull with two points on a number of occasions, but the Broncos held them off in each spurt to take the set 25-20 and a two-sets-to-one lead. UVU hit .065 with 2.5 total team blocks to in the set to UCSC's .167 with one total team block. Sophomore Kayli Broadbent had four kills in the set for Utah Valley.
The tides turned again in the fourth set as UVU forced UCSC to play from behind. The Bronco's did their best to stay in contention and keep the score close, but the Wolverines tightened their grip and forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-23 win in the fourth. Kuresa recorded six kills on seven swings in the set with two block assists. As a team Utah Valley hit .379 and recorded 3.5 total team blocks to Santa Clara's .235 and one total team block.
Despite taking the riding the momentum from the fourth set into the fifth, the deciding set went the way of the Broncos, 15-0.
Atoa's squad finished the Ute Invitational with a record of 0-2 after a three-set loss to Utah Friday night. The Wolverines will continue their season next weekend at the Jayhawk Invitational with matches at Kansas and against Central Florida on Friday and against Oregon on Saturday. The team will then return home for its first home matches of the season Sept. 12 and 13 against North Texas and Idaho State, respectively.
