Sept. 23, 2008
OREM, Utah - The Utah Valley University women's volleyball team (3-7) remains undefeated at home in 2008 after beating in-state rival Weber State (8-6) in five sets (25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 12-25, 15-8) Tuesday at the Shurian Family Activity Center.
A pair of season records were broken as Sophomore Kayli Broadbent tallied 23 kills and junior Allyce Wilson racked up 29 digs. Broadbent was one dig away from recording her first double-double of the year. Wilson has now earned 20 or more digs in four matches this season.
"The good thing about volleyball is that you get to start over," UVU head coach Sam Atoa said. "We struggled in the fourth set, but came back and made very few errors in the fifth. I think our defense did a great job all night of getting us the early lead and helping us keep it."
Utah Valley and Weber State traded points early in the first set. The Wolverines held a slight edge in the points for much of the set until the Wildcats scored three points in a row to take a late 19-17 lead. After a UVU timeout, Atoa's squad came back and earned eight of the next nine points to take the first set 25-20. Broadbent had six kills with a .385 attack percentage in the set. Freshman Jaicee Kuresa also had two block assists and a solo block.
The second set saw the Wolverines open a quick 10-4 lead, but then fall behind 17-20 later in the set. Utah Valley tied the set four times after that and earned a set point up 24-23. Weber State won the next two points, however, to earn its first set point up 25-24 and then took the set 26-24 in the first set UVU has dropped at home this season. Broadbent led all hitters again with five kills in the set, and Kuresa had another two block assists and a solo block.
The Wolverines jumped on top again in the third set as they took a 13-7 lead. The Wildcats made a run and were able to tie the set twice afterward, but did not take the lead. Utah Valley put the set away 25-23 on a Broadbent kill from the back row. Broadbent led both teams with six more kills, and Wilson recorded her 19th dig of the match in the third set.
It was the Wildcats who opened a significant early lead in the fourth set as they took an 11-2 advantage. The Wolverines battled to close the gap, but fell 12-25 as WSU forced a fifth and deciding set. No one on the floor had more than three kills for either team in the set.
Utah Valley stole the momentum in the fifth set and took an 8-3 lead. Weber State pulled to with three at 10-7, but would not get any closer. Up 14-8, UVU had six set points to put away the match, but only needed one as Kuresa and junior Kristin Anderson sealed the win with a block on the outside. Broadbent had five more kills in the set and chipped in three digs on defense.
The Wolverines' next event will be Friday in the Shurian Family Activity Center as Atoa's players of past and present will participate in the annual Alumni Match. The match will start at 6 p.m., and admission is free. NCAA competition will continue for UVU Oct. 3 and 4 at home with back-to-back matches against Cal State Bakersfield.
