UVU Match Notes
OREM, Utah – After going 2-1 at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational last weekend, Utah Valley University volleyball will remain home to open Western Athletic Conference play against Seattle University on Saturday afternoon. Saturday's WAC opener will begin at 1 p.m. in the PE Building.
"We're excited to be home and we're looking forward to starting the conference season on Saturday," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. "We're going to need to be at the top of our game as Seattle is a very good team. We hope that we'll be able to improve on the things we've been working on throughout the pre-season so that we can be in good shape come Saturday."
Live video as well as live stats will be available for Saturday's match by visiting WolverineGreen.Wordpress.com.
UVU (5-9, 0-0 WAC) tied for third place in its inaugural season of play in the WAC last year with an 11-5 conference record while Seattle U tied for fifth with a 9-7 league clip. The two squads met up in the opening round of the 2013 WAC Championships and SU managed to eliminate the Wolverines from the tournament in five sets.
In its opening home matches of the 2014 season, Utah Valley picked up consecutive five-set victories over UC Riverside (25-14, 24-26 17-25, 25-18, 15-13) and Portland (25-18, 11-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-13) last Saturday after falling to Idaho State in straight sets the previous night (22-25, 24-26, 22-25). The Wolverines managed to overcome 2-1 deficits in both matches on Saturday as they won crucial fourth and fifth sets in each contest.
Junior Lauren Bakker and freshman Madison Wolford led the way for UVU at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invite as the two were both named to the all-tournament team. Bakker recorded 35 kills (2.69 kps average), 12 blocks (0.92 bps) and a .545 attack percentage on the weekend while Wolford put up 24 kills (1.85), eight blocks (0.62) and a .404 hitting percentage. Senior Kalani Norris was a key contributor in the win over UP as she drove home a pair of late crucial kills as well as a solo block down the stretch in the fifth set.
Bakker paces UVU on the season with a 2.84 kill per set average, a 1.12 block per set average and a .335 hitting percentage. Bakker, who was tabbed the WAC's Preseason Player of the Year prior to the season, also ranks second in the league in hitting (.335), fifth in blocks (1.12), fifth in points (3.65) and sixth in kills (2.84). Senior McKenna Tait leads the WAC in aces with a 0.55 per set average while ranking fifth in digs (4.53). Her ace per set average is also good enough for 13th in the nation and her 27 aces are sixth best in the country.
Last season the Wolverines' won their inaugural WAC opener over Idaho on the road in five sets. UVU also won its first-ever WAC home opener against Missouri-Kansas City in five sets in 2013 as well. Utah Valley will enter Saturday's conference opener having won four of its last six contests over the past two weeks.
About Seattle U
The Redhawks (4-9, 0-0 WAC) will come to Orem on the heels of a 3-0 loss to No. 13 Oregon in Eugene on Tuesday. Prior to the loss to the ranked Ducks, SU picked up a pair of five-set victories over Eastern Washington and Montana last week. Seattle U also has wins over UTEP and Lafayette on the year. The Redhawks were picked to finish second in the WAC this year, one spot ahead of the Wolverines.
Matea Mamic and Martina Samadan pace the Redhawks in kills with respective averages of 2.78 and 2.64. Samadan also leads SU in blocks (1.23) and hitting percentage (.348) while Kerry Lane tops the squad in assists (9.07).
Saturday's meeting will mark the fifth all-time contest between the Wolverines and Redhawks. The series stands at 2-2 after SU took two out of three a year ago.
Up Next for the Wolverines
UVU will remain home to welcome New Mexico State and Texas-Pan American to town next Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Following next week's conference clashes, the Wolverines will head to the Midwest to face UMKC and Chicago State the following week.
