Box score
OREM, UT—Defending champion, top seed, and host Utah Valley defeated NJIT, 3-1, in the Highlanders' third match at the national Division I Independent Volleyball Championship postseason tournament Saturday morning in the Shurian Family Activity Center.
Utah Valley (13-12) topped the fourth-seeded Highlanders (18-15), 25-15, 20-25, 25-21, and 25-17.
NJIT fell short against the Wolverines despite another fine effort from Highlander freshman Renata Pandolfo, who posted a double-double with a match-best 13 kills to go with 10 digs. She also shared match honors with five individual blocks (1 solo, 4 assists).
Sophomore Baaba Hughes added 12 kills to the NJIT attack, but Utah Valley had more depth, with four players notching at least 11 kills each. Kayli Broadbent had 12 kills for UVU and three other Wolverines produced 11 kills apiece.
Utah Valley setter Kristi Lindley came away with 34 assists, barely edging NJIT's Erica Schultz (33 assists) for match honors.
NJIT, which has had an edge in the serving game most of the season, was beaten in that area by Utah Valley, which enjoyed a 9-4 advantage in aces against the Highlanders, who also struggled in Friday night's loss to CSU Bakersfield, which had eight aces to just one for NJIT.
On defense, NJIT got a match-high 18 digs from Sabrina Baby, but the Wolverines had a team blocking edge, 10.5 to six. Allyce Wilson was the Utah Valley leader in digs with 17 and Kristin Anderson of the Wolverines was the individual blocking leader with five (1 solo, 4 assists). For NJIT, Kristy Haeckel had four block assists, following Pandolfo's five total blocks.
Utah Valley set the tone early in the match, producing by far its best hitting set in the first frame with a .438 attack percentage. The second set was another story, however, as the Wolverines managed just one more kill than errors (10-9) and the Highlanders won the set, 25-20.
UVU regained the lead in the match with a hard-fought 25-21 win in the third set and then cashed in on NJIT's worst hitting set (-.053 attack percentage on 9 kills, 11 errors), clearing the way for a 25-17 win in the set and 3-1 win in the match for the Wolverines.
NJIT, 1-2 in the Independent tournament, was slated to wrap up the day and the 2008 season with a Saturday afternoon match against third-seeded Texas-Pan American.
