Wolverine Invitational
Sept. 2-3, 2016  |  Orem, Utah  |  UCCU Center

Utah Valley vs. North Texas
Friday, Sept. 2  |  7:00 p.m. MT
Live Stats  |  UVU Notes  |  North Texas Notes

Utah Valley vs. Southern Utah
Saturday, Sept. 3  |  12:00 p.m. MT
Live Video  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Notes

Utah Valley vs. San José State
Saturday, Sept. 3  |  7:00 p.m. MT
WAC Digital Network
Live Video  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Notes  |  SJSU Notes
 

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UVU TO HOST THE WOLVERINE INVITATIONAL IN UCCU CENTER THIS WEEKEND
OREM, Utah – Fresh off of its 2016 home opener against Idaho State on Tuesday, the Utah Valley University women's volleyball team will remain home to host the Wolverine Invitational in the UCCU Center this weekend. A total of four teams will vie for a tournament championship at the event, as UVU will face-off against North Texas, in-state rival Southern Utah and San José State during the Invitational.
 
Following an opening neutral match between San José State and Southern Utah on Friday at 4:30 p.m., the Wolverines will kick-off the home tournament against North Texas on Friday at 7 p.m. The Mean Green and Spartans will then open Saturday's four-match slate with a 10 a.m. contest, followed by UVU taking on in-state foe SUU on Saturday at noon. The Thunderbirds and UNT will then wrap up Invitational play against one another at 4:30 p.m., while UVU and SJSU will close the tournament at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
 
The Wolverines will be looking to bounce back at the tournament after opening the season with an 0-4 record with setbacks to No. 13 BYU, Cal Poly and Rice at the BYU Invitational in Provo last weekend and a 3-0 loss to Idaho State in the team's 2016 home opener on Tuesday. In Tuesday's match against ISU, Utah Valley dropped a tightly contested opening set, 26-28, before falling 19-25 in set number two and 15-25 in the third and final set.
 
Junior Madison Dennison led UVU against the Bengals with eight kills and a .375 attack percentage, while sophomore Alexis Davies chipped in six. Junior Sierra Starley fronted the team in assists with 15 and senior Nakisha Willden led the back row with 11 digs.
 
The preseason all-conference selection Dennison paces the Wolverines on the season with a 2.33 kills per set average, a .322 hitting percentage and a 1.75 blocks per set clip. Her 1.75 blocks per set average is good enough to lead the WAC in that category. Junior Lexi Thompson is next for UVU in kills with a 2.18 per set average, while fellow junior Sierra Starley is second on the team in blocks with a 0.92 per set clip and fronts the team in assists with an average of 5.75 per set.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
North Texas, who calls Conference USA home, will enter the weekend with a 2-3 record. The Mean Green hold wins over UT Arlington and Nevada, and have suffered setbacks to No. 15 Ohio State, No. 16 Texas A&M and Texas State. UNT went 20-13 overall a year ago and 11-5 in C-USA matches. North Texas was picked to finish sixth in the Conference USA Preseason Poll.     
 
Friday evening's contest between UVU and UNT will mark the third all-time meeting between the two schools as the series is currently all tied up at 1-1. The Wolverines defeated North Texas in Orem in 2008 (3-0) while UNT beat UVU in Denton, Texas, in 2014 (3-1).
 
Southern Utah will come to Orem with an 0-3 record after falling to California once and UC Riverside twice last weekend in Berkeley, California. The Thunderbirds went 15-15 overall in 2015 and 6-10 in Big Sky Conference play. SUU was picked to finish 10th in the Big Sky this season.  
 
Saturday's match between UVU and SUU will mark the ninth all-time meeting between the in-state foes. The Wolverines will enter play holding a 6-2 series lead, as they won six of the first seven matches including a pair of victories over SUU in both 2009 and 2010.
 
San José State of the Mountain West Conference will enter the weekend with a 3-0 record after defeating wins over Manhattan, UMass Lowell and Providence at the Spartan Invitational last weekend. SJSU went 13-18 overall a season ago and 5-13 in Mountain West play. The Spartans were picked to finish 10th in the MW Preseason Poll.
 
Saturday evening's match between UVU and SJSU will be the third all-time meeting between the two programs and the series is currently deadlocked at 1-1. San Jose State won the opening meeting in straight sets in San Jose in 2006 before UVU countered back with a five-set win in Orem in 2007.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
Following the conclusion of the Wolverine Invitational, UVU will head to Hawai'i next weekend for the Hawai'i Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge. The Wolverines will face the host and 15th-ranked Rainbow Wahine on Thursday, Sept. 8, No. 5 Washington on Sept. 9 and Northern Illinois on Sept. 10.
 
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. 21 (date subject to change) and renovations include a refigured arena, all new seating and a new court. 
 
WOLVERINE INVIATIONAL SCHEDULE (All matches played in the UCCU Center)
Sept. 2 at 4:30 p.m. MT – San José State vs. Southern Utah
Sept. 2 at 7:00 p.m. MT – North Texas at Utah Valley
Sept. 3 at 10:00 a.m. MT – San José State vs. North Texas
Sept. 3 at 12:00 p.m. MT – Southern Utah at Utah Valley
Sept. 3 at 4:30 p.m. MT – North Texas vs. Southern Utah
Sept. 3 at 7:00 p.m. MT – San José State at Utah Valley
Home team underlined