Perfect 3-0: WSU Captures La Quinta Invitational

OREM, Utah — It was a weekend of perfection for Washington State.

The Cougars didn't lose a set en route to the La Quinta Invitational title, winning three straight and leaving the competition behind — all tied with 1-2 records.

Setter Renee Bordelon earned tournament MVP honors for the Cougars.

Washington State def. Utah Valley, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22

Rolling after a morning upset of Utah, Washington State didn't waste any time dispatching the host Wolverines.

Right side Rachel Todorovich continued her strong play, recording a match-high 12 kills while hitting .407 She also added seven digs.

Along with Bordelon being honored, Todorovich was named to the all-tournament team, as was Brittany Tillman and Oceana Bush, who was named the top libero.

For Utah Valley, Kayli Broadbent also tallied 12 kills, while Camie Manwill had a double-double with 10 kills and 18 digs.

The Cougars captured a tournament title for the second week in a row and remain undefeated at 6-0.

Utah def. Missouri, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-20

In an unlikely situation having dropped its first two matches of the tournament, Utah fell behind early to Missouri before bouncing back for the 3-1 win.

Karolina Bartkowiak and Cinthia Silva both had double-doubles for the Utes as Bartkowiak had 10 kills, 12 digs and four blocks while Silva had 11 each of digs and kills to go with four blocks.

Sarah Hibbert led all players, tallying 17 kills on .400 hitting as Utah hit .343 for the match.

For Missouri, Brittney Brimmage and Julianna Klein led the offense, with Brimmage hitting .600 with 13 kills. Klein just missed the double-double, finishing with 15 kills and nine digs.

Missouri def. Utah Valley, 25-20, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23

Facing the possibility of a fifth set, one big play clinched the outcome for Missouri.

With the fourth set tied 23-23, Rosa Medrano came up with a huge solo block on the right side, putting the Tigers up 24-23 and helping lift them to the victory.

"She got one," said coach Wayne Kreklow. "I don't know if I'd want to be in that situation a lot, but it was a big play and it really kind of turned the tide in that game."

It was only Medrano's second block of the match, but she also hit .379 with 15 kills as the Tigers downed host Utah Valley.

"That was a crucial play right there," said Missouri outside Julianna Klein. "A block like that in such an important part of the match. The other team just drops. Their hearts sank. For us we just got the momentum going and there was just no stopping us.'

Klein was a big part of the Tigers' win herself, as she finished with a match-high 16 kills, including five in the fourth set.

Coming into the match after the previous day's loss to Washington State, Missouri was in the situation of needing to bounce back. After splitting the first two sets with Utah Valley, the Tigers found themselves in a similar situation in the third and fourth sets.

"It did show a lot of resiliency and it did show, I thought, a lot of character and patience to dig down and keep fighting and clawing and try to put yourself in a position where you get lucky," Kreklow said.

One of the difference makers for the Tigers was middle Weiwen Wang, who entered the match midway through the third set.

"We've got a lot of diversity on the team. We have a lot of different players who have vastly different styles, and [Wang] is a smaller, quicker middle," Kreklow said. "We kind of got bogged down a little bit and sometimes Wendy can just change the tempo and rhythm of the game a little bit."

Wang didn't commit an error while adding four kills and a block for the Tigers.

Across the net, Camie Manwill and Kayli Broadbent once against led the Wolverine offense, recording 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Libero Allyce Jones had a match-high 21 digs.

The loss was Utah Valley's first of the season.

Match photos at: www.cvumedia.com/090509 Utah Valley v Missouri/

Washington State def. Utah, 25-20, 25-15, 25-22

Following up Friday's success, Washington State started the day rolling, cruising past Utah for a 3-0 upset.

The Cougars hit a scorching .462 for the match, recording only seven errors. Setter Renee Bordelon tossed out 35 assists, while also going 5-for-6 on the attack to hit .833.

Once again helping to establish the offense was right-side hitter Rachel Todorovich, who didn't commit an error as she notched nine kills on .562 hitting. Jackie Albright led all players with 14 kills and hit .407 with a couple of aces and seven digs.

After taking the first two sets handily, Washington State found itself down in the third. But, mixing up the offense with a few tips and roll shots, the Cougars rallied and still hit .400 for the set.

"We were just trying to find where they were setting up the block and what they were trying to take away from us," coach Andrew Palileo said. "That created another opportunity for our hitters and that's what they were trying to find."

Pacing Utah was Chelsey Sandberg, who finished with 10 kills on .316 hitting. Karolina Bartkowiak was without an error, hitting .500 with eight kills.

The loss was the second-straight for the Utes, who fell to 4-2. Washington State improved to 5-0.

Match photos at: www.cvumedia.com/090509 Utah v Washington State/

Story Extras

Photo Gallery: 090509 Utah Valley v Missouri

Photo Gallery: 090509 Utah v Washington State