Behind a season-high 22 kills from freshman Kazna Tarawhiti and 17 more from sophomore Kristen Allred, the Utah Valley University volleyball team closed the Oregon Classic with a 3-1 victory over Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene (21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19).
The Wolverines (4-3) earned a second-place finish at the weekend tournament after going 2-1 at the event. On Friday, UVU recorded a 3-0 sweep over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, as well as a 3-0 setback to the host and 18th-ranked Oregon Ducks. With the strong weekend outing, UVU has now won three of its last four matches.
"This was a great win here against Long Beach State. I was very pleased with how we were able to respond after dropping that first set and proud of the girls for their efforts," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "Our outsides were very good for us, and our two setters did a nice job of running our offense. Overall, we're happy to come home after taking two of the three matches and will be looking forward to hosting Utah State on Tuesday."
Besides racking up 39 combined kills, Tarawhiti and Allred posted high attack percentages in the contest by hitting .370 and .343, respectively, as well as adding six digs apiece. Senior Alexis Davies was next for UVU with seven kills and three blocks, while freshman Kenzie Guimont added six kills and five blocks and junior Jasmine Niutupuivaha recorded a team-high seven blocks. Sophomore Jaysa Funk Stratton added her first double-double of the season for Utah Valley with a match-high 24 assists and a team-high 11 digs.
As a team, UVU outhit (.304 to .188) and outblocked (12.0 to 7.0) the 49ers in the contest.
LBSU (3-4) was the first to pull ahead in the opening set, as it broke an 8-8 tie with four unanswered points to take a 12-8 lead. With Long Beach State holding a 17-12 advantage, UVU responded with back-to-back points from a block assist from freshmen Kaili Downs and Guimont and a kill from Allred to make it 17-14. Trailing 20-16, Utah Valley then pieced together a 4-1 run to pull within a point at 21-20. Davies led the run for the Wolverines with a block and a kill. The 49ers then managed to answer back by scoring four of the next five points to take the opening set by a score of 25-21.
With UVU holding a slim 11-10 advantage in the second set, Utah Valley managed to reel off a 5-1 run to take a 16-11 lead. Tarawhiti and Allred each drove home kills for the Wolverines during the stretch. The 49ers later pulled to within one at 18-17, but UVU again responded with a 5-1 spurt to take a 23-18 advantage. The senior Davies led the run with a pair of kills. LBSU struck back by scoring three of the next four points, but it wasn't enough as UVU answered with a final kill from Guimont to take the second set, 25-21, and tie the match at 1-1. Tarawhiti led the Wolverines in the set with five kills.
With the Beach holding a 10-8 advantage in the third game, the Wolverines reeled off 10 unanswered points to take an 18-10 lead. Allred and Funk Stratton were key for UVU during the stretch, as Allred drove home a trio of kills and Funk Stratton pounded in a pair of service aces. The 49ers managed to pull within six at 23-17 following a trio of consecutive points, but the Wolverines responded with back-to-back blocks to take the third game by a score of 25-17 and a 2-1 lead in the match. Niutupuivaha first sent back a solo block, before teaming up with Davies for a block assist on the final point.
The Wolverines continued to hold the upper hand in the early stages of the fourth game, as they built a quick 7-2 advantage following a 4-0 spurt. The Beach later pulled to within three at 10-7, but back answered UVU by scoring four of the next five points to extend its lead to 14-8. Guimont and Tarawhiti both recorded kills for the Wolverines during the spurt. Long Beach State later pulled to within four at 21-17 following to 3-1 run to make things interesting, but Utah Valley again countered right back with three-straight points of its own to take a 24-17 match-point advantage. Tarawhiti drove home a kill, while Niutupuivaha and Funk Stratton added a block assist during the spurt. After back-to-back LBSU points, UVU put the match away on a final kill from Allred.
Hailey Harward paced Long Beach State in the contest with 14 kills and 11 digs.
The victory marked UVU's second consecutive over Long Beach State, as the Wolverines also defeated the 49ers in four sets on September 1, 2017, at the Wolverine Invitational in Orem.
The Wolverines now return to Orem for an in-state clash against Utah State on Tuseday, Sept. 4, at 6 p.m., at UVU's Lockhart Arena. Following the midweek home match, Utah Valley will head to the East Coast to take part in the NC State/Campbell Invitational. There, UVU will first play at Campbell in Buies Creek, North Carolina, on Thursday, Sept. 6, before capping the trip with matches against Appalachian State and the NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh on Friday, Sept. 7.