UC Irvine
Idaho
Kekauoha Keeps Anteaters On Winning Track
September 05, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
MOSCOW, Idaho --- Harlee Kekauoha tied for eighth in the UC Irvine single-match records after blasting a .750 hitting percentage to lead the Anteaters to a sweep (25-20, 25-15, 25-18) of Seattle Saturday at the Idaho Volleyball Classic.
Kekauoha and Ella Rosenfeld both earned spots on the all-tournament team following the team's second win of the day that pulled UCI even at 3-3 on the year. Kekauoha did not have an error in 20 attempts and put away a match-best 15 kills to go along with four aces, both personal-highs for the freshman. Rosenfeld, who had posted a career-high 15 kills against Idaho earlier today, hit .400 against the Redhawks (5k-1e-10ta). Victoria Dennis registered 11 kills and Sydney Wright hit .333, putting away 10 kills in 21 swings. Emily Blair handed out 41 assists and Tsujimoto led all players with 15 digs. Samantha Frost gave the team a boost with a personal-high 12 digs and two aces.
"Seattle is a strong, physical team. We played relentless defense and were steady in serve-receive to get the win," said head coach Ashlie Hain. "Ella and Harlee were able to lead offensively. We love the brand of volleyball our team played today."
UCI took an 11-6 lead in the first but following a Wright attempt that was called long, Seattle aced the Anteaters to trim the margin to 12-9. Kekauoha would halt the Redhawks' run with a shot down the line but a pair of unforced errors let Seattle close the gap to one at 14-13. At 19-18, Wright slammed a cross-court winner for the 21-17 lead and Tsujimoto aced Iris Ivanis to a 21-18 margin. Kekauoha continued to torment the Redhawks with a kill off the block and then followed with an ace of her own (23-19). Martina Samadan dropped a kill over the hands of Rosenfeld but the middle blocker answered with a shot down the line to give UCI the win in the first.
A block by the pair of Kekaoha and Akpakpa, followed by a kill from Wright highlighted a three-point rally in the second that put UCI ahead, 11-7. The Anteaters were in a rhythm, hitting a match-best .519 in the frame. The two teams traded points until Blair delivered with the kill down the middle and then won a joust at the net to give UCI its largest lead of the set at 17-11. UCI continued to pressure Seattle's back row with tough serving and Blair ended a pair of extended rallies by going to Wright on consecutive plays (23-15). Rosenfeld delivered a solo stuff on Maja Stojanovic and Tsujimoto dropped in a service winner as UCI took a 2-0 lead.
The Anteater maintained their momentum in the third, jumping out to an 11-6 lead on a kill from Akpakpa that prompted a Seattle timeout. Dennis went cross court to push UCI's lead to six at 15-9 but the Anteaters had to contend with a Redhawk rally that cut the lead in half at 16-13 as Maja Stojanovic and Shae Harris denied Dennis. Stojanovic was called for the net on an attempt by Kekauoha (18-14) and UCI would hold off the Redhawks the rest of the way. Frost's ace widened the 'Eater lead to five at 22-17 and Dennis would force the ball through the Seattle block to give UCI set point before Rosenfeld put away a back-set from Blair to complete the sweep.
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