BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Utah Valley University outlasted CSU Bakersfield in five sets (20-25, 25-16, 25-17, 16-25, 15-9) in the opening match of the 2018 WAC Volleyball Tournament at the Icardo Center on Thanksgiving Day. The Wolverines (18-12) advance to Friday's semifinal against regular season champion and top seed UT Rio Grande Valley at 4:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. MT.

During the win, WAC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-WAC selection Kazna Tarawhiti became the program's single-season record holder in kills, collecting a match-high 16 to give her 501 for the season. The record-setting kill was her 10th of the match – and No. 495 of the season -- and surpassed Kayli Doxey's record of 494 from 2009.
 
"All of that experience that we've had, especially on the road, is all going to come back. It's something we've talked about. The experience is huge," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "That fourth set kind of got away from us. But I was really happy with our girls and their ability to be resilient and keep fighting when it got tight."
 
In the final set, the Wolverines led 9-8 before finishing off the host Roadrunners (14-16) with six of the final seven points. Kristen Allred and Alexis Davies had kills during a 3-0 spurt that made it 12-8 and, after CSUB point, UVU scored three straight capped by a Tarawhiti kill. 

Tarawhiti and Allred finished with double-doubles for UVU. Tarawhiti added 17 digs while Allred finished with 13 kills and 11 digs. Madi Wardle finished with 25 assists and 14 digs and Seren Merrill had a game-high 21 digs. Makaila Jarema finished with nine blocks. 
 
The Runners jumped out to an 8-3 advantage in the opening set but UVU chipped away, tying the game at 12-12 before CSUB took a 15-13 lead into the first media timeout. Three straight points out of the break extended the Roadrunner lead to 18-13 before a Tarawhiti kill stopped the run. UVU would get no closer than four the rest of the way, with a Briannah Mariner kill ending the opener.
 
UVU scored the first four points of set two and led 5-4 before four straight points forced a CSUB timeout. Kaili Downs' third kill of the set gave the Wolverines a 12-6 lead, followed by a block from Jarema and Allred to push lead to seven. A Wardle ace and a CSUB error gave the Wolverines a 15-6 lead and extended the run to 10-2. Utah Valley would lead by as much as 10 before, eventually winning the set, 25-16.
 
In set three, Utah Valley led 12-11 when Tarawhiti had concecutive kills followed by Jarema's fifth block of the match to give the Wolverines a 15-11 lead. It was 19-16 when UVU ran off three straight – on an Allred kill, an ace from Jaysa Funk Stratton and a block from Jarema and Downs. Tarawhiti's record-breaking kill preceded a Jarema block – her seventh of the match that gave the Wolverines six of the last seven points in a 25-17 win.
 
The momentum of the set three win carried into the fourth, with Utah Valley jumping out to a quick 7-1 advantage. Tarawhiti gave the Wolverines a 14-9 lead, forcing a CSUB timeout. The Runners responded though, with six straight points to take their first lead since the opening set and causing UVU to take its own timeout. CSUB extended the run to 11 straight to go ahead 20-14, en route to a 16-2 spurt to end the set, 25-16, and force the decisive set.
 
Utah Valley and UTRGV split the regular season series, with each team winning in four sets at home. The Vaqueros are 22-8 overall. 

"They've won the conference for a reason and they're going to be tough. It's a different team than what we saw tonight but we'll get together and come up with a game plan and we'll be prepared," Atoa said.