Utah Valley vs. Chicago State
Thursday, Sept. 29  |  7 p.m. MT
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Utah Valley vs. UMKC
Saturday, Oct. 1  |  1 p.m. MT
WAC Digital Network  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Notes  |  UMKC Notes
 

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UVU VOLLEYBALL TO HOST WAC FOES CHICAGO STATE & UMKC
OREM, Utah – After dropping a pair of tightly contested Western Athletic Conference matches on the road last week, the Utah Valley University volleyball team will return to Orem for its WAC home openers this week when Chicago State and UMKC come to town.
 
The Wolverines and CSU Cougars will first face-off against one another on Thursday at 7 p.m. Utah Valley will then close the week against the UMKC Kangaroos on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both matches will take place in the UCCU Center due to ongoing renovations to UVU's PE Building.
 
"We're looking forward to being at home and playing in front of our home crowd this week," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. "Unfortunately, we didn't take care of things on the road last week, so now we'll definitely have to protect our home court."
 
UVU will enter the matches with a 4-11 overall record and an 0-2 start to league play after falling to UT Rio Grande Valley, 3-1, and New Mexico State, 3-2, last week. In last Saturday's finale at the defending conference champion NM State Aggies, the Wolverines gave the Aggies all they could handle in a tightly contested five-set battle, but in the end NMSU managed to pull out the match by a score of 18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 16-14.
 
Despite suffering the setback to NM State, UVU outblocked the first-place Aggies, 17.0 to 6.0, on the afternoon and posted 11 fewer attack errors than NM State in the match. The Wolverines also held a 2-1 lead in the match and a late 12-9 advantage in the final game, but the Aggies managed to overcome both deficits as they went on to earn the five-set victory.
 
Lexi Thompson paced the Utah Valley offense against NM State with 18 kills, eight digs and four blocks, while Madison Dennison, Brighton Taylor and Izzie Hinton led UVU at the net with nine, seven and five respective blocks. Sierra Starley notched her third double-double of the season with a match-high 42 assists and a career-high 16 digs, while Nakisha Willden tied her career-high in digs with 31.
 
Thompson leads the Wolverines on the season in kills with a 2.70 per set average, while Dennison paces the team in total blocks with 87 and a 1.53 per set clip. Dennison's 87 total blocks are good enough to lead the WAC and rank her fifth in the nation, while her 1.53 blocks per set average is also good enough to rank her 13th in the country. As a team, Utah Valley's 3.06 blocks per set averaging is good enough to rank the Wolverines ninth nationally in that category as well.
 
UVU will enter Thursday's contest looking to snap a five-match losing streak, as its last win came over Northern Illinois at the Hawaii Outrigger Resorts Challenge on Sept. 10.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Chicago State will come to Orem with a 2-13 overall record and an 0-1 start to WAC play after falling in straight sets to UMKC in the Windy City last weekend. The Cougars' hold their two victories on the year over Savannah State (3-0) and New Orleans (3-1). CSU, who has dropped four straight contests and seven of its last eight, was picked to finish eighth in the WAC this season after going 1-27 and 0-14 in conference play in 2015.
 
Dzeni Hadzisehovic leads the Cougar offense this season with a 2.75 kills per set average and a .204 hitting percentage, while Sofia Gruden fronts the team at the net with a 0.91 blocks per set average.
 
Thursday's matchup will mark the 19th all-time meeting between UVU and CSU. The Wolverines will enter play holding a perfect 18-0 record, which includes an unblemished 14-0 clip in conference matches and an 8-0 mark at home.
 
UMKC will enter the weekend with an 8-6 overall record and a 1-0 start in league play after sweeping CSU in Chicago last weekend. The Kangaroos will take on Seattle U in the Emerald City on Thursday evening before coming to Orem to face the Wolverines on Saturday afternoon. The 'Roos hold their eight victories on the year over UTEP, Oral Roberts, Abilene Christian, Drake, Nebraska-Omaha, Cornell, Bradley and Chicago State. UMKC was picked to finish fourth in the WAC this season after going 15-13 overall and 7-7 in league play last year.
 
Alicia Harrington, Devan Porter and Emma Hagedorn pace the 'Roo offense with respective kill per set averages of 2.89, 2.87 and 2.83. Hagedorn also tops the team and the WAC in hitting with a .423 percentage, while Mykal Sadler leads UMKC in blocks with a 1.09 per set average.
 
Saturday's contest will mark the seventh all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Kangaroos. UVU will enter the match holding a 4-2 series lead after splitting a pair of matches with UMKC in each of the last two seasons. The Wolverines also hold an unblemished 3-0 series record over the 'Roos at home.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
Following this weekend's matches, the Wolverines will close a three-match homestand by hosting fellow WAC foe Seattle U on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. The match will be held at Pleasant Grove High School in nearby Pleasant Grove, however, due to a scheduling conflict at the UCCU Center and the current renovations to the PE Building. 

WHERE DENNISON, UVU RANK NATIONALLY
Junior middle blocker Madison Dennison not only leads the WAC in blocks (1.53 blocks per set average) but also ranks 13th nationally in that same category and fifth in the country in total blocks with 87. As a team, the Wolverines also lead the WAC in blocks and rank ninth in the nation with a 3.06 team per set blocking average.

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 3-4 so far in its new home this year.