Oct. 28, 2010
OREM, Utah - In one of the more thrilling volleyball matches played at the Activity Center, Utah Valley's women's volleyball team showed enough mental toughness to defeat South Dakota 3-1 (25-13, 13-25, 25-23, 32-30) Thursday night.
"There were some real ups and downs in tonight's match that really challenged us," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. "There were some areas of the game where we didn't do a very good job, however we did enough to withstand the challenge that South Dakota gave to us."
After losing to the Coyotes (8-17, 5-3) in a match earlier in the season, the Wolverines (16-9, 5-2) looked ready to redeem themselves early in the match. UVU forced a quick South Dakota timeout by starting the first set on a 6-0 run. The Wolverines were able to extend their early lead out to 16-7 before another Coyote timeout was called. South Dakota was never able to close the gap and UVU prevailed 25-13 in the opening set.
Although the first set came easily for the Wolverines, the second set was a completely different story. The Coyotes broke a 9-9 tie with an 8-0 run to jump out in front 17-9. The lead would prove to be insurmountable for UVU as they dropped the set 25-13.
The third set was much more back-and-forth than the first two sets with neither team leading by more than three points. Senior Kayli Doxey was able to break a 22-22 tie with a kill assisted by freshman Brookelyn Campbell. The small lead was enough to push the Wolverines on to win the set 25-23. Senior Kathleen Stevens led the UVU defense in the set with 10 digs.
In the fourth and final set, the Wolverines showed the same desire that carried them in the first set by running out to a 14-4 lead. South Dakota would cut the margin down to 20-17, forcing a UVU timeout. The Coyotes would not lie down as they tied the set at 24-all. Play continued with neither team able to break the deadlock until a kill by junior Jaicee Kuresa and a service ace by Stevens won the set 32-30.
Kuresa was a big part of the Wolverine victory, leading the team with 10 kills, five of which came in the final set. Stevens ended with a match-high 25 digs and had two important service aces. Doxey, who finished with nine kills in the match, is just 11 kills away from breaking Camie Manwill's school record of 1520 career kills.
The win puts UVU in second place behind conference leading North Dakota who comes to the Activity Center with an undefeated conference record Saturday at 3 p.m. The Fighting Sioux are 7-0 in conference play and have not lost since Sept. 18, against Tulsa.
"North Dakota is a really good team," added Atoa. "But, there is some confidence that we should be able to have going into the match and we feel that we are very capable to win at any time."
