Sept. 29, 2011
UVU Volleyball Notes vs. UND
OREM, Utah -- The Utah Valley women's volleyball team will begin its quest for its first Great West Conference title Saturday at defending champion North Dakota when it opens its third season of GWC play. The match will begin at 3 p.m. and will be the ninth and final consecutive contest away from home for UVU.
Saturday's match with UND will feature live stats and live video that can be found at FightingSioux.com.
The Wolverines are 10-6 overall on the season and currently ranked 97th on the RichKern.com Regional Rankings (RKPI). During the recent road stretch the Wolverines have an even 4-4 record and have wins over Air Force, USC Upstate, Sacramento State and in-state rival Weber State. On the year UVU also has notable victories over Cal Poly, Santa Clara and Syracuse.
UVU is coming off of a week where it split two matches on the road against Big Sky teams a week ago. The Wolverines first defeated Weber State before falling at Idaho State last Saturday.
Senior outside hitter Chelsey Heaps leads the team in kills with 151 and in kills per set average with 2.52. Junior middle blocker Erica Nish is tops on the squad and tops in the conference in total blocks with 77 and also leads the conference in blocks per set with 1.28.
As a team UVU is currently ranked 10th in the nation in aces per set with a 1.82 average and 32nd in blocks per set (2.56).
About North Dakota
The Fighting Sioux have won back-to-back Great West Conference regular season and tournament titles and were once again selected to win the GWC in 2011. UND is 12-3 overall this season and has won its last seven matches. North Dakota is currently ranked 77th in the RKPI and it has notable wins over Santa Clara, South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Sam Houston State. Its three losses have come from Dayton, James Madison and UC Santa Barbara.
Devin Trefz and Annika Smed lead UND offensively this season. Trefz has a team-high 165 kills and is averaging 2.89 kills per set, while Smed is right behind her with 142 kills and a 2.49 kill per set average.
The Fighting Sioux currently lead the all-time series over the Wolverines 4-1. UND defeated the Wolverines twice in 2010 and in the last meeting it squeaked out a close five-set match on Oct. 30, in Orem.
The Wolverines will continue their Great West Conference slate with two more contests next week. Thursday UVU will welcome Chicago State to Orem and Saturday NJIT will come to town.
