Nov. 4, 2010
OREM, Utah - In a battle for second place in the Great West Conference, Utah Valley's women's volleyball team defeated Houston Baptist 3-1 (25-12, 25-14, 22-25, 25-18) Thursday night.
"We dominated in the first two sets and then we kind of had a learning experience in the third set," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. "We played well under both circumstances, we're excited about that, and they will be on fire tomorrow."
In the first match of the season against the Huskies (16-11, 6-4), the Wolverines (17-10, 6-3) never won a set by more than four points. In the rematch however, UVU jumped out to a 16-8 lead in the first set and never looked back, winning it 25-12. Senior Kayli Doxey was a huge contributor to the set victory with six kills, three digs, and a .455 attack percentage.
The momentum continued to be on the Wolverines' side in the second set, as they started on a 13-4 run. Even after a short series of timeouts, Houston Baptist was not able to come back from the deficit and UVU won the set 25-14. As a team, the Wolverines had 15 kills, 16 digs, and a .467 attack percentage in the set.
The Huskies tried to kill the UVU momentum early in the third set by starting out on a 7-3 run, but the Wolverines battled back to tie things at 10 apiece. However, Houston Baptist was able to regain its lead with a 10-2 run. UVU tried to muster a comeback at the end of the set but fell just short and Houston Baptist won it 25-22.
In the fourth set, the Wolverines came out on a 7-2 run and looked determined not to let the match slip away. The Huskies would get the score as close as 9-8, but they would never hold a lead in the set. UVU went on to win the set 25-18 thanks in part to four timely kills from junior Jaicee Kuresa.
Doxey finished the match with a double-double, chipping in 19 kills, 12 digs, and three service aces. Freshman Brookelyn Campbell had a match-high 34 assists and senior Kathleen Stevens also had a match-high in digs with 17.
The Wolverines will finish out their home schedule Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m., in the Activity Center against Texas-Pan American. The match will be Senior Night for four UVU players: Lanni O'Reilly, Dani Robison, Doxey, and Stevens.
On the year, the Wolverines have posted a 9-2 record at home. UVU also improved its all-time series advantage over HBU to a perfect 6-0 win the victory.
"We do good things at home," added Atoa. "It's our Senior Night and the girls are going to be pumped to play well in their final game."
