College volleyball roundup: Utes fall; Wolverines knock off Aggies

TEMPE, Ariz. — Sophomore setter McKenzie Odale turned in her second career double-double but the University of Utah volleyball team was defeated by Pacific, 3-1 (25-17, 24-26, 18-25, 20-25), Friday in the first match of the Arizona State Sheraton Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.

Utah (4-6) outhit Pacific in the match, .236 to .197, and also gained a significant 14-5 advantage in blocks. Fourteen blocks for the Utes was a season-high mark, led by Odale turned in her second career double-double with 21 assists and 15 digs.. Her first career double-double came in the season's opening match against UC Davis, where she turned in 18 assists and 11 digs.

Senior setter Stephanie Neeley dished out 15 assists and tied for match-high honors with a career-high four service aces.

Brooke McAlister and Karolina Bartkowiak led the Ute attack, both registered 11 kills apiece.

The Utes conclude the Arizona State Sheraton Tournament with a pair of matches tomorrow against No. 21 Michigan at 10 a.m. PT and host Arizona State at 7 p.m. PT.

UTAH VALLEY KNOCKS OFF UTAH STATE: At Logan, Kayli Doxey had a match-high 26 kills, including six in the deciding fifth set, to lead Utah Valley to a hard-fought, come-from-behind, five-set win (16-25, 27-29, 27-25, 25-23, 20-18) over host Utah State on Friday in the first day of the 2010 USU Invitational.

Utah Valley improves to 8-5 on the year with the win, while previously undefeated Utah State falls to 11-1 with the loss. USU had tied the 1979 AIAW national championship runner-up team for the fourth-best start to a season in school history prior to its first loss of the year.

"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 began to play much better in the third set, as they took a 21-15 lead following a kill from junior Chelsey Heaps. UVU took a commanding 24-17 advantage in the set, but Utah State 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, however, 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.