OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University volleyball team will return to preseason tournament play at the NDSU Baymont Inn & Suites Classic in Fargo, North Dakota this weekend. There the Wolverines will take on Milwaukee on Friday, Sept. 4 and both the host North Dakota State Bison and Towson on Saturday, Sept. 5.
 
Friday's tournament opener against Milwaukee will begin at 3 p.m. MT/4 p.m. CT, while Saturday's contests against NDSU and Towson will take place at 12 p.m. MT/1 p.m. CT and 3 p.m. MT/4 p.m. CT, respectively. Live stats as well as live streaming video for all three matches can be followed by visiting GoBison.com.
 
The Wolverines will open the tournament with a 1-3 record on the young season after going 1-2 at the Pepperdine Asics Classic last weekend and falling in straight sets to Idaho State in Pocatello on Tuesday.
 
In Tuesday's midweek contest at ISU, senior Lauren Bakker tallied nine kills and junior Macky Fifita added eight more but it wasn't enough as UVU fell to the 2014 Big Sky champion Bengals three sets to none (15-25, 18-25, 17-25). Utah Valley had its best chance in the second set as it led by a pair of points early in the frame, but Idaho State used a 5-0 run late in the game to put the set away.
 
Sophomore Lexi Thompson leads the Wolverines in kills on the season with a 3.00 per set average.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Milwaukee will enter Friday's tournament opener with a 2-2 record after falling to Northern Illinois on Aug. 31 and going 2-1 at the Pepsi Panther Invitational with wins over Western Michigan and Furman last weekend. The Panthers were picked to finish second in the Horizon League this season after taking second a year ago with a 10-4 conference clip. Maggie Dunbar paces UWM with a 2.93 kills per set average and a .290 attack percentage.
 
Friday's contest will be the first all-time meeting between UVU and UWM.
 
North Dakota State is 3-1 on the year with wins over North Texas, Winthrop and Saint Louis. The Bison were picked to finish third in the Summit League this year after placing fifth in 2014 with an 8-8 conference record. Jenni Fassbender leads NDSU in kills this season with a 3.39 per set average.
 
Saturday's match against NDSU will be the eighth all-time meeting against North Dakota State. UVU will enter the contest with a 5-2 series advantage and having won five of the last six meetings.
 
Towson will enter the weekend with a 4-1 clip after picking up wins over Manhattan, St. Francis, Delaware State and Coppin State at the Towson Invite last week. The Tigers were picked to finish fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2015 after taking second last year with a 13-3 CAA record. Jocelyn Kuilan is tops on the team in kills this season with a 3.35 kills per set average.
 
Saturday's tournament finale against the Tigers will mark the first all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Towson.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
The Wolverines will continue their season-opening 11-match road swing at the Washington State Cougar Classic on Sept. 11-12. Following an in-state match at Utah State on Sept. 15, UVU will return home to welcome neighboring rival and the 12th-ranked BYU Cougars to town for its home opener on Sept. 19.