Sept. 17, 2010
LOGAN, Utah - Utah Valley won its sixth match in a row Friday night in Logan, when it handed the previously undefeated Utah State Aggies their first loss of the season in a five-match thriller (16-25, 27-29, 27-25, 25-23, 20-18).
"It was a great win for our program," UVU head coach Sam Atoa said. "I'm happy for the girls and how they were able to believe in themselves, stay composed and execute after falling down 0-2. Each of the girls helped contribute in a great team win tonight."
After dropping the first two sets, the Wolverines (8-5) began to play much better in the third set as they took a 21-15 lead following a kill from junior Chelsey Heaps. UVU then took a commanding 24-17 advantage in the set but Utah State (11-1) then responded by scoring eight unanswered points to go up 25-24.
The Wolverines wouldn't let the Aggies complete the comeback in the third set as they prolonged the match by scoring the final three points to win the set. The final points for UVU were scored by a kill from Heaps and back-to-back blocks from freshman Brookelyn Campbell and senior Dani Robison. Heaps paced UVU in the set with six kills, one block and one assist.
UVU's momentum carried over into the fourth set as it went up 10-6 early. The Aggies would quickly comeback however as they rolled off seven straight points to take a 13-10 lead of their own. From there USU maintained a minimal lead until UVU tied the score at 17-all.
The Wolverines then took a 20-18 late lead in a must-win fourth set. With UVU trailing 23-21, the Wolverines answered following an Atoa timeout as they scored the next four points to win the fourth set, 25-23. Junior Jaicee Kuresa scored the final two points of the set for the Wolverines as her and sophomore Erica Nish scored one on a block and Kuresa scored the final point on a kill. Senior Kayli Doxey led UVU in the set offensively as she recorded eight kills and one block.
In the decisive and final fifth set, the Wolverines got off to a good start on the Aggies home floor as they took a 3-0 lead. USU responded however as they managed tying the score at six-all. The scoring then went back-and-forth until UVU took a 12-11 advantage.
Following a Utah State timeout in the fifth set, the Aggies then managed to score the next point to tie it at 12-all. UVU then scored two out of the next three to take a 14-13 lead. The Aggies responded however as they scored the next two, to go up 15-14. The match continued as both squads did all they could to win as they matched one another blow-for-blow. UVU managed to take a 19-18 lead and put the five-set thriller away on a USU attack error.
Doxey led UVU in the fifth set again as she put up six more kills.
Overall, Doxey finished with a match-high 26 kills and put up a double-double as she added 10 digs. Heaps also notched a double-double as she finished with 16 kills and 13 digs. Campbell had another solid match as well as she had 49 assists, nine digs, six blocks and five kills. Robison and senior Kathleen Stevens were also major contributors in the win as Robison tallied eight kills and six blocks and Stevens finished with a match-high 31 digs.
In the first set, Utah State doubled-up UVU on the scoreboard early and ran away with the set to take a 1-0 advantage.
The Wolverines played much better in the second set as they scored five consecutive points to take a 9-6 lead over the undefeated Aggies early on. USU then countered by scoring seven straight points to take a 13-9 advantage of its own. From there Utah State maintained its lead until late in the set when UVU tied it at 23-all after it scored five out of the next six points.
The Wolverines then really battled late in the second set as they matched the Aggies point-for-point until it was tied at 27-apeice. Utah State then managed to score the next two points to win the second set and take a 2-0 lead. UVU's Doxey led her squad offensively in the set as she had six kills and a service ace, while Campbell added 15 assists, two kills and a block.
"We're doing some very good things right now and it's awesome to keep succeeding," Atoa added. "We've got some great momentum and it is really helping us. Loyola's got a nice team so we have another huge challenge ahead of us on Saturday."
Earlier in the day, UVU swept UC Riverside in its first match at the Utah State Invitational. UVU will look to win the USU Invitational when it plays its fourth and final match in a 40-hour period by taking on Loyola Marymount Saturday at 10 a.m., in Logan.
