SEATTLE – Behind 17 kills, 14 digs and five aces from Kristen Allred as well as 16 kills and 11 digs from Kazna Tarawhiti, Utah Valley University ended a six-match skid with a hard earned five-set victory over Seattle U in WAC volleyball action on Thursday night in the Emerald City (24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 13-25, 15-8). 
 
The contest marked UVU's (9-9, 1-4 WAC) fifth consecutive five-set thriller and its ninth five-set match in its last 10 outings. It also marked Utah Valley's first conference victory of the season, as well as 20th-year head coach Sam Atoa's 399th career victory.
 
"I'm pleased that we were able to win one in the fifth set tonight," Atoa said. "Overall, I didn't think that it was the prettiest match. But we finally were able to control the things that we thought we should be able to do in that fifth set and finish it off. I was really proud of the girls for being able to breakthrough here in the final set. 
 
"We had great energy and everybody contributed in this win. Being able to side-out 75 percent of the time in the fifth set was absolutely key for us. This was Kristen's night; she carried us and did a great job. I was really proud of her performance and the way she was able contribute to our success." 
 
Allred not only posted her fifth double-double of the season with a match-high 17 kills and 14 digs, but also added a career-high in service aces with five. In the decisive fifth set, the preseason All-WAC performer managed to bury home a trio of consecutive aces en route to helping the Wolverines pull out the decisive fifth game. The sophomore also added a solid .333 hitting performance, as well as two blocks and an assist. 
 
The freshman Tarawhiti also recorded a double-double for the Wolverines on the night with 16 kills and 11 digs, while Jaysa Funk Stratton too notched a double-double from the setter position with a team-best 25 assists and 13 digs. Makaila Jarema too had a nice outing for UVU by leading the way at the net with five blocks, while Seren Merrill paced the way from the back row with 17 digs. 
 
With SU (8-9, 1-3 WAC) up a point early in the second game at 8-7, the Wolverines struck back by scoring seven of the next eight points to take a 14-8 advantage. Allred, Tarawhiti, Alexis Davies and Kaili Downs all had kills for UVU during the stretch. Utah Valley later pushed its lead to six at 18-12 following a Tarawhiti kill and a BriAnne Mortensen service ace. Holding to a 20-14 advantage, SU then made its move by scoring five of the next seven point to make it a three-point deficit at 22-19. The Wolverines managed to answer, however, by scoring three of the next five thanks to a pair of clutch kills from Tarawhiti to take the set, 25-21, and tie the match at 1-1. The freshman Tarawhiti led UVU with five second-set kills. 
 
Utah Valley continued to hold the upper hand following the intermission break, as it jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead in the third set. With UVU later holding to a 10-5 advantage following a Downs kill, SU struck back with an 8-1 spurt to take a 13-11 lead. The Wolverines later bounced back to tie things up at 15-15 following a 3-1 run that was capped by a block assist from Allred and Jarema. Still tied at 19-all, UVU then drove home five late consecutive points on a Davies kill, Abbie Vincent ace, an SU attack error and back-to-back Allred kills to take a 24-19 lead set-point lead. Seattle tried to overcome the deficit by scoring a pair of points, but UVU then put the set away at 25-21 following Allred's sixth kill of the third game. 
 
The Redhawks then responded early in the fourth set by building an early 9-3 advantage. Down 13-5, UVU then scored two of the next three points on a pair of kills from Allred to make it 14-7. The Wolverines later got a kill from Tarawhiti followed by a block assist from Kenzie Guimont and Tarawhiti to make it 18-10, but SU struck back with five unanswered points to take a late 23-10 lead. UVU would score three late points, but Seattle would go on to take the set, 25-13, and force a decisive fifth game. 
 
With SU holding to a 3-0 fifth-set lead, Utah Valley then got things going as it reeled off seven unanswered points to take a 7-3 advantage. Allred led the big run with back-to-back-to-back service aces and Jarema capped the stretch with a kill. The Wolverines later pushed their lead to five at 10-5 following a Tarawhiti kill and an SU attack error. The Redhawks then made it a four-point deficit and 11-7 and again at 12-8, but UVU managed to pull out a hard fought five-set victory with a trio of consecutive late points thanks to Allred's 17th kill of the night and a pair of SU miscues. 
 
The victory marked Utah Valley's fourth of the season in five-set matches, as it now holds a 4-6 record in five-set affairs. 
 
In a tightly contested opening set, the Wolverines took a 17-14 advantage following at 6-2 run. Downs led the spurt with a pair of kills while Allred added an ace and a kill. The Redhawks then struck right back with a trio of consecutive points to tie the score at 17-all. With UVU later holding to a 20-18 lead following a Downs kills, SU then again responded with a late 6-0 run to take a 24-20 set-point advantage. Utah Valley didn't go away, however, as it struck back with four straight clutch points to deadlock the score at 24-24 thanks to kills from Tarawhiti and Alexis Davies as well as a block assist from Davies and Jasmine Niutupuivaha. Seattle U then managed to put the opener away at 26-24 after back-to-back kills from Julia Queiroz and Eve Kerschenbaum.
 
The Wolverines will continue the weekend road trip by heading to Phoenix to face fellow conference foe Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon. UVU and the Antelopes will do battle at 4 p.m. MT/3 p.m. PT at GCU Arena. With the victory on Thursday, Atoa will now enter Saturday's match just one win shy of win number 400 for his career.