Oct. 29, 2009
VERMILLION, S.D. - Kayli Broadbent had 22 kills, Camie Manwill recorded her 10th double-double of the year with 15 kills and 19 digs and Allyce Jones set a new season-high with 36 digs in Utah Valley's 25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19 Great West Conference victory over South Dakota Thursday night.
With the win, the Wolverines (17-8) improve to 7-1 in league play, setting up a showdown for first place with North Dakota (16-6, 7-1) when the two teams meet Saturday at 11 a.m. in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
"It's going to be a huge challenge for us, but I feel confident that if we can get ourselves to play like we know how we can we will have control of what happens," UVU volleyball coach Sam Atoa said of the upcoming match with the Fighting Sioux. "Hopefully we can do that one more time this Saturday."
UVU won the first meeting of the year between the two teams, 3-1, on Oct. 1 in Orem.
Also in the match against South Dakota (11-13, 5-4), Kathleen Stevens tied a season-high with 15 digs, while Chelsea Fa'alogo recorded 47 assists. Jaicee Kuresa and Sarah Clement chipped in with six kills each.
"We were a little sluggish at the beginning of the first set and couldn't get any momentum until the very end," Atoa said. "We did what we had to do and we stayed focused and disciplined in our approach."
Utah Valley came from behind to take the lead on three separate occasions in the first set. First, the Wolverines came from behind from a 5-1 deficit to lead 6-6 on a kill by Broadbent.
Later, UVU erased another two-point deficit to lead by a point. Finally, after USD took a 20-16 lead, the Wolverines roared back to take the lead for good at 23-22 on three kills by Manwill, one by Broadbent and two USD errors.
Manwill, UVU's all-time kills leader, took it to set point with kill at 24-22 and then the Wolverines won it on a USD error.
Manwill and Broadbent had five kills each in the first set and Clement had two.
UVU never led the second set and trailed by as many as seven at one point. The Wolverines, however, battled back to tie the score at 20-20. The Coyotes scored five of the next six points to win the set and four of the points came on UVU errors.
UVU built an early 5-1 lead in the third set thanks to three quick kills by Manwill and two USD errors. Later in the set, Broadbent recorded three straight kills to lift the Wolverines' lead to a set-high eight at 18-10.
USD got as close as 24-20, but a block by Broadbent and Clement ended the set. Broadbent tallied six kills in the set and Manwill had five.
A kill by Broadbent, a service ace by Broadbent and a USD error led to a 3-0 lead for the Wolverines in the fourth set.
Wiith the score 10-7, the Wolverines reeled off five straight points on two kills by Broadbent, one by Erica Nish, a Stevens service ace and a USD error.
Broadbent closed out the set and match with a kill.
