Match Notes  |  Live Video  |  Live Stats

OREM, Utah – After splitting a pair of Western Athletic Conference matches at home last weekend, Utah Valley University will step out of league play to take on Southern Utah University in Cedar City on Tuesday night. The in-state battle will begin at 6 p.m. at SUU's Centrum Arena.
 
Live video will be available for the contest by visiting BigSkyTV.org while live stats can also be found by heading to SUUTbirds.com.
 
UVU will enter the contest 9-13 on the season and tied for fourth in the WAC with a 4-3 conference clip. The Wolverines have alternated wins and losses during their last eight matches, as they are 4-4 during that span. After falling to Weber State in four sets last Tuesday, UVU bounced back with a four-set victory over WAC foe Grand Canyon on Thursday. The Wolverines then ended the week with a five-set loss to Bakersfield on Saturday afternoon.
 
After dropping the first two sets to CSUB on Saturday, UVU nearly completed the comeback as they won sets three and four to force a decisive fifth set. The Roadrunners then managed to finish off the match as they took the tightly contested final set by a mere two points (15-13).
 
Four players finished in double digits in kills for the Wolverines in Saturday's match and Macky Treanor led the way with 17. She also recorded her first double-double of the season as she added 10 digs. Kalani Norris was next for UVU with 14 kills while Cassie Wahlin added 12 and Lauren Bakker had 11. Bakker also chipped in a match-high seven blocks while McKenna Tait recorded a match-best 25 digs.
 
Bakker leads UVU on the season in kills (2.76 per set average), blocks (1.14), points (269.5) and hitting percentage (.350). Her attack percentage is also good enough to lead the league, while Tait too leads the conference in service aces (0.48) and ranks 14th nationally in that same category.
 
About Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds are 11-8 overall and 4-4 in Big Sky Conference play after topping Weber State in five sets in Ogden on Saturday. Prior to Saturday's victory over the Wildcats, SUU had dropped four straight matches. The Thunderbirds are currently in third place in the Big Sky South Division and were picked to finish 12th in the league this year.
 
Madi Forsythe paces the T-Birds offensively with a 3.10 kill per set average while Remo Gaogao is right behind her with a 2.97 clip. Annie Stradling leads SUU at the net (1.07 bps) while Faith Ma'afala averages 10.38 assists per set. 
 
Tuesday's match will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the Wolverines and T-Birds. UVU will enter the contest with a 6-1 series advantage but the Thunderbirds won the last meeting in Cedar City two years ago.
 
Up Next for the Wolverines
Utah Valley will return to conference play to take on Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, on Saturday. The conference clash will begin at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT at SU's Connolly Center. The Wolverines will then continue their road stretch at Texas-Pan American and New Mexico State the following week.