Utah Valley University Athletics

OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University freshman Abby Jensen recorded a match-high 13 kills and sophomore Madison Dennison added 11 en route to leading the Wolverines to a 3-0 sweep over Western Athletic Conference foe Seattle University in a battle for second place in the conference standings on Saturday afternoon in the PE Building (25-17, 25-16, 26-24).
 
With the win, the Wolverines have now won three straight matches as they improve to 8-9 overall and 4-1 in the WAC, while Seattle U drops to 11-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play with the loss.
 
"The girls executed very well today and it was fun to see our dominance," head coach Sam Atoa said. "I was also pleased with the way that we hit the ball and that we were able to execute strongly in areas of the game that we've been struggling with as of late. Overall I was very happy with the girls' performance."  
 
As a team, Utah Valley posted a season-high .360 hitting percentage in the contest. Dennison led the way for the Wolverines by putting up a career-best .846 clip (11-for-13) while Jensen hit at an even .600 (13-for-20). The Wolverines also outblocked SU, 5-2, in the match. Dennison also led the way for UVU defensively at the net with three blocks, while Jensen and senior Lauren Bakker each chipped in two blocks apiece.
 
"Madison and Abby both really stepped up for us in this one," Atoa added. "I'm happy for them that their hard work is paying off."
 
UVU came out hot right from the get-go as they scored eight of the first nine points of the match to jump out to a quick 8-1 advantage in the first set. Seattle U later pulled within five, at 10-5, but that was as close as the Redhawks would make it as the Wolverines went on to pull out the opener by a score of 25-17. Dennison paced UVU in the frame with four kills and two blocks.
 
The momentum stayed with Utah Valley in the early stages of the second set as once again took a quick 9-1 lead. SU later used a 3-1 run to make it a four-point deficit, at 18-14, but UVU answered by scoring seven of the final nine points down the stretch to take a two sets to none lead in the match. Jensen led the Wolverines in the frame with five kills and a block.
 
In a much tighter contested third game that saw 14 ties and seven lead changes, the set seesawed back-and-forth right down to the wire. The Wolverines were the first to take a set-point advantage, at 24-23, following back-to-back points on a SU attack error and a Jensen kill. Following a Redhawk point, Dennison and Jensen then sealed the sweep for the Wolverines by drilling home the final two kills of the contest to help propel UVU to a 26-24 third-set victory.
 
Behind Dennison and Jensen's stellar performances, sophomore setter Sierra Starley too had a solid outing for Utah Valley as she dished out a match-high 33 assists and nine digs. Freshman Sabrina Tanner and junior Kelcee Munk both also played well for the Wolverines, as the duo combined for seven service aces. Tanner led the way with a season-best four, while Munk added three.    
 
UVU revoked a bit of revenge over SU with the victory, as the Redhawks have eliminated the Wolverines from the WAC Tournament in each of the past two seasons.
 
The Wolverines will now return the road for a pair of WAC matches at New Mexico State and UT Rio Grande Valley next week. UVU and the first-place NM State Aggies (5-0 in the WAC) will do battle on Thursday, Oct. 15 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, before heading to Edinburg, Texas, to face UTRGV on Saturday, Oct. 17.