Utah Valley at CSU Bakersfield
Thursday, Oct. 13  |  8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT
Live Stats  |  UVU Notes  |  CSUB Notes

Utah Valley at Grand Canyon
Saturday, Oct. 15  |  2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT
WAC Digital Network  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Notes  |  GCU Notes
 

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UTAH VALLEY HITS ROAD FOR WAC CONTESTS AT CSUB & GCU
OREM, Utah – Fresh off of a perfect 3-0 homestand, the Utah Valley University women's volleyball team will continue Western Athletic Conference play on the road this week when they head to CSU Bakersfield on Thursday (Oct. 13) and Grand Canyon (Oct. 15) on Saturday. Thursday's contest will begin at 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT at CSUB's Icardo Center while Saturday's weekend finale will take place at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT at GCU's Antelope Gym.
 
The Wolverines will enter Thursday's contest with a 7-11 overall record and in a tie for second place in the WAC standings with a 3-2 conference clip. After dropping its first two league matches on the road, UVU responded by defeating Chicago State, UMKC and Seattle U during its recent homestand.
 
In Utah Valley's most recent match, the Wolverines took care of business by defeating the Redhawks, 3-1(25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-20), on Oct. 8 at Pleasant Grove High School.
 
Junior Madison Dennison, who was tabbed the WAC Player of the Week on Monday for her efforts against Seattle U, helped lead UVU to victory with a career-high 17 kills, a solid .387 hitting percentage, six blocks and a career-best six digs. The contest also marked a homecoming for the Pleasant Grove, Utah native, as it was played at Dennison's high school (Pleasant Grove High School) due to a scheduling conflict at the UCCU Center and ongoing renovations to the PE Building.
 
Fellow junior Lexi Thompson and senior Kiahna Vernon too played well for the Wolverines against Seattle, as they each recorded 13 kills apiece in the match. Junior setter Sierra Starley and senior libero Nakisha Willden also had big performances by putting up 47 assists and 30 digs, respectively.  
 
WHERE DENNISON, UVU RANK NATIONALLY
Dennison leads the Wolverines on the season in kills (168), hitting percentage (.263), total blocks (108) and blocks per set average (1.57). Her 108 blocks and her 1.57 blocks per set average are also good enough to lead the WAC and rank her in the top-10 nationally in both categories, as she will enter the weekend fourth in the country in total blocks and eighth in blocks per set average. As a team, the Wolverines also lead the WAC in blocking and rank sixth nationally with 208.0 total blocks and seventh with a 3.01 blocks per set average.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
CSU Bakersfield will enter Thursday's match with a 6-12 overall record and tied with the Wolverines for second place in the conference standings with a 3-2 league mark. The 'Runners hold conference wins over GCU, UT Rio Grande Valley and Chicago State and have suffered setbacks to New Mexico State and UMKC. CSUB was picked to finish second in the league this year after going 13-15 overall and 10-4 in league play a year ago.
 
Carol Grasso paces the Bakersfield offense and the WAC with 210 kills and a 3.89 kills per set average, while Katie Dunbar-Lowe is tops on the team in blocking with a 0.94 per set clip.
 
Thursday's contest will mark the 16th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and 'Runners. Despite dropping five of the last six contests, UVU will enter play holding to an 8-7 series lead.
 
Grand Canyon will enter the weekend with a 4-13 overall record and winless in conference play with an 0-5 clip. GCU, who has dropped 12 consecutive matches, will first host Seattle U on Thursday before welcoming UVU to town on Saturday. The Antelopes were picked to finish seventh in the WAC this season after going 7-21 overall in 2015 and 3-11 in conference play.
 
Katrice Pond and Natalie Tardy lead the Lopes in kills with respective averages of 3.30 and 3.15. Pond also paces the team in hitting with a .252 clip while Hannah Hicks fronts the team in blocks with a 1.05 per set average.
 
Saturday's match will mark the seventh all-time meeting between UVU and GCU. The Wolverines will enter play having won all six of the previous meetings, including a pair of four-set victories just last year.
 
Up Next for the Wolverines
Utah Valley will return home to face the defending conference champion and first-place New Mexico State Aggies on Thursday, Oct. 20 in the UCCU Center. Following the NM State match, UVU will remain in Orem to welcome UT Rio Grande Valley to town on Saturday, Oct. 22. 

MADISON DENNISON TABBED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK    
Junior middle blocker Madison Dennison put up a career-high 17 kills on .387 hitting in a 3-1 victory over WAC foe Seattle U on Oct. 8 in the Wolverines' only match of the week. Dennison also added six blocks and a career-best six digs. The victory, which marked the third consecutive for Utah Valley, helped propel the Wolverines into a four-way tie for second place in the league standings with a 3-2 league record. Dennison, who leads the WAC and ranks fifth in the nation in total blocks (108), has 17 more blocks than any other player in the WAC.

UVU TO CALL THE UCCU CENTER HOME THIS SEASON    
With Utah Valley's PE Building currently being renovated, the Wolverines will play the majority of their 2016 home matches in the UCCU Center. This will mark the first time in program history that the UVU women's volleyball team will call the 8,500-seat UCCU Center home. Construction to the PE Building is currently scheduled to be finished on Oct. 31 (date subject to change) and renovations include a refigured arena, all new seating and a new court. UVU is 5-4 so far in its new home this year.