Sept. 10, 2010
TEMPE, Ariz. - In a quick opening match Friday morning at the Arizona State Sheraton Invitational, the Utah Valley women's volleyball team swept UC Riverside (3-0) by a score of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-17.
UVU (3-5) senior Kayli Doxey led the way offensively as she was the only player in the match to tally double-digits in kills with 11. Fellow senior Dani Robison and junior Chelsey Heaps were next in kills as they both had six apiece. Freshman Brookelyn Campbell was tops in the match in assists with 20, while senior Kathleen Stevens led all players in digs with 14.
"We struggled early in the first set with our hitting and that brought down our overall hitting percentage," UVU head coach Sam Atoa said. "However, we hit much better in the second and all right in the third to bring that up. We had great opportunities and as the match went on I felt that we took care of those opportunities. It was nice to win in three and more importantly execute well."
In a first set that went to UVU, the Wolverines took a commanding 17-9 lead midway through the set on kill from Heaps. UC Riverside (0-7) then battled back late cut the score to 24-20, but the Wolverines answered and finished the set at 25-20 with a kill from the freshman Campbell.
The second set started out pretty even as the score when back-and-forth early, but UVU managed to take a three-point lead at 8-5 on a block from junior Sarah Clement and Campbell. The scoring continued with a similar pace throughout the set as the Wolverines maintained a two or three point lead. UVU then took its largest lead of the set at 20-16 on a block from Robison and Heaps.
In the second set, UVU then extended its lead to 21-16 following an ace from Stevens. UCR then answered momentarily cutting its deficit to 21-18 but the Wolverines followed by scoring four-unanswered points to win the second set 25-18. During the final four points, senior Lanni O'Reilly landed a service ace and Robison scored a kill.
With the score tied at four-all early in the third set, the Wolverines rolled off four straight points to go up 8-4. UVU then worked its lead up to 14-5 after it scored six of the next seven points. The Wolverines then took a double-digit lead (17-7) following a Robison kill and never looked back. UVU went on to win the final set by a score of 25-17 to sweep the match with the Highlanders.
UVU and UCR will play one more time this season, when they lock heads one week from today (Sept. 17) at the Utah State Invitational in Logan.
The Wolverines will continue play in Tempe, Ariz., tonight when they matchup with the host Arizona State Sun Devils at 8 p.m. MT. The match will mark the third all-time meeting between the two squads, with the Sun Devils leading the series 2-0.
"There is something about winning for sure that helps you carry some momentum and it is important for us to have some momentum going into facing Arizona State in their home tonight," Atoa added. "We are going to watch them play in a couple of minutes and put together a game plan that will help us be successful."
