Utah Valley vs. Utah State
Sept. 13, 2016  |  Orem, Utah  |  UCCU Center  |  UVU TV
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OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University volleyball will open a busy week of play at home this week with an in-state battle against rival Utah State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the UCCU Center. The Wolverines will enter the contest fresh off of a five-set win over Northern Illinois at the Hawai'i Outrigger Resorts Challenge on Saturday.
 
Tuesday's in-state contest will be televised locally by UVU TV and streamed live on WolverineGreen.com.
 
"It's going to a tough week. We didn't get back from Hawaii until late on Sunday night, but we'll be ready to go," head coach Sam Atoa said. "It's an important match for us and we're excited that it will be at home."
 
The Wolverines will enter the contest with a 4-6 record after going 1-2 in Hawai'i over the weekend. After suffering a pair of setbacks to nationally ranked foes in the host Rainbow Wahine (No. 14) and Washington (No. 6), Utah Valley responded by defeating 2015 MAC Champion Northern Illinois in UVU's final match of the weekend in five sets (25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 21-25, 15-11).
 
Junior outside hitter Lexi Thompson, junior setter Sierra Starley, senior libero Nakisha Willden and sophomore defensive specialist Lindsey Tagge all recorded career highs in the contest en route to leading UVU to the victory. Thompson paced the UVU attack in the tightly contest with a career-best 24 kills, while Starley dished out a new high 57 assists, Willden picked up a career-high 31 digs from the back row and Tagge added a career-best 17 digs of her own.
 
Thompson earned all-tournament team honors at the Hawai'i Outrigger Resorts Challenge after averaging 3.80 kills, a .231 attack percentage, 0.70 digs and 0.60 blocks per set at the tournament. Starley too played well for UVU on the weekend, as she averaged 9.09 assists, 1.27 digs, 0.82 blocks, 0.55 kills and 0.36 aces.
 
After the solid tournament, Thompson now leads Utah Valley in kills with a 2.74 per set average. Preseason all-conference selection Madison Dennison (junior middle blocker) is next for the Wolverines with a 2.29 kills per set average. She also tops the team in hitting and blocking with a .245 attack percentage and a 1.40 blocks per set average. Her 1.40 blocks is good enough to lead the WAC and rank her 20th nationally (as of last week). Starley leads the team in assists with a 7.79 per set average while Willden paces the team in digs with a 4.31 per set clip.
 
Tuesday's contest will mark the first of three home matches this week for UVU, as the Wolverines will also host UNLV, who is receiving votes for the top 25 poll, on Friday and CSUN on Saturday.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
The Aggies will enter the Tuesday's contest with a 4-5 overall record after going 2-1 at the Utah State Invitational in Logan this past weekend. USU recorded wins over UC Riverside and Southeastern Louisiana and suffered its lone defeat of the tournament to Portland State. The Aggies also hold wins over Denver and Montana State on the year and were picked to finish ninth in the Mountain West Conference this season after going 6-26 overall a season ago and 2-16 in conference play.
 
Junior outside hitter Lauren Anderson paces the Aggie offense with a 3.33 kills per set average while senior outside Kaylie Kamalu-Smith is right behind her with a 3.25 per set average. Junior middle blocker Carly Lenzen fronts Utah State at the net with a 1.06 blocks per set average while senior setter Erica Moscoso leads the team in assists with a 9.88 per set clip.
 
Tuesday's matchup will mark the 14th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Aggies. USU will enter play holding to a slight 7-6 series lead after defeating UVU in five sets in Logan last season. Despite falling a year ago, the Wolverines have won four of the last six meetings against USU.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
The Wolverines will remain home to welcome UNLV and CSUN to town this weekend as part of the UVU/BYU Challenge. UVU will host UNLV on Friday at 4 p.m. and CSUN on Saturday at 5 p.m. Both matches will be contested in the UCCU Center and will be a part of Utah Valley's Homecoming Week. Following Saturday, the Wolverines will begin WAC play at UT Rio Grande Valley and defending champion New Mexico State next week.