Aug. 24, 2012
TUCSON, Ariz. - After defeating Cal State Northridge in four sets earlier in the day, the Utah Valley University women's volleyball team dropped a four-set affair to Evansville (23-25, 22-25, 29-27, 20-25) Friday evening at the Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
"In the first match today we did a better job passing the ball and we were able to execute when we needed to," UVU women's volleyball coach Sam Atoa said. "In this second match we kind of played catch-up and our offense really struggled. When we had opportunities we just didn't respond as well as we could've."
UVU (1-1) fell behind two sets to none to the Purple Aces (1-1) of the Missouri Valley Conference, as the Wolverines dropped the first set by just two points and the second by three.
The Wolverines then fell behind 10-3 early on in the third set, but Utah Valley battled back and pulled within one after six straight points. Wolverine juniors Lindsay Morrell and Katie Fritzler sparked the rally as Morrell added two kills and a block assist while Fritzler two block assists of her own and a kill.
The third set stayed close from there until the Purple Aces worked a four-point lead, at 17-13. A service ace from UVU junior Patti Hatch and two UE errors helped the Wolverines make it a one-point game at 17-16. The Wolverines then managed to take a late lead at 21-20 after a kill from junior Brookelyn Hall. The set went back and forth from there until Morrell and Fritzler teamed up for a block to give UVU a one-point advantage. Morrell then finished it for UVU with an ace to give the Wolverines the 29-27 victory.
UVU started the fourth set right where it left off in the third, as it jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead. Evansville battled back however and tied it up at 9-9. UE continued to have the momentum from there as it built a seven-point lead at 21-14. The Wolverines then rolled off four consecutive points to pull within three but the Purple Aces were too much as they went on to take the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
Despite the loss sophomore McKenna Tait led UVU with her first collegiate double-double of 10 kills and team-high 18 digs. Fritzler followed with nine kills and team-high five block assists, while Hall added her second straight double-double of the young season with 43 assists and 14 digs. Hall also added five kills, four block assists and an ace as she filled out the stat sheet.
Evansville's Ashley Ring led the Purple Aces with a match-high 19 kills, 15 digs and three service aces.
The Wolverines will wrap-up the Wildcat Classic by taking on host Arizona Saturday at 8 p.m. MDT. The contest will mark the first-ever volleyball meeting between UVU and the U of A.
"Arizona's a good team and we need to come out tomorrow and win the battle at the net," added Atoa.
