Utah Valley (7-11, 2-1 WAC) vs. UT Rio Grande Valley (9-7, 3-0 WAC)
Thursday, Oct. 5  |  7 p.m. MT
Lockhart Arena   |  Orem, Utah
WAC Digital Network  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Notes  |  UTRGV Notes

Utah Valley (7-11, 2-1 WAC) vs. New Mexico State (10-6, 2-1 WAC)
Saturday, Oct. 7  |  1 p.m. MT
Lockhart Arena   |  Orem, Utah
WAC Digital Network  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Notes  |  NMSU Notes
 

---

UTAH VALLEY RETURNS HOME FOR KEY WAC CONTESTS VERSUS UTRGV & NM STATE
OREM, Utah – After opening Western Athletic Conference play with a 2-1 mark on the road, the Utah Valley University volleyball team returns home this week for a pair of key league matches against UT Rio Grande Valley and New Mexico State. The Wolverines will first host the defending WAC Tournament champion UTRGV Vaqueros on Thursday, before capping the homestand with a Saturday matinee against the 2016 WAC regular-season champion NM State Aggies.
 
Thursday's WAC home opener against UTRGV is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest will take place at 1 p.m. Both league matches will be contested in Lockhart Arena and will air on the WAC Digital Network.
 
"It's always good to play at home. I wish we would've gotten the win at Bakersfield on Saturday, but we will learn and grow from that match in practice this week," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "We look forward to hosting two very good teams in UTRGV and New Mexico State."
 
UVU will enter the weekend with a 7-11 overall record and a 2-1 start in WAC play after splitting a pair of road matches last week. After opening conference play with a 3-0 win at Seattle U on Sept. 23, Utah Valley picked up a 3-1 win at Grand Canyon on Sept. 28 before concluding the week with a tightly contested five-set setback to the undefeated CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (26-28, 25-22, 25-23, 16-25, 15-17) on Sept. 30.
 
The Wolverines held a two sets to one lead over Bakersfield on Saturday as well as a late lead in the decisive fifth set, but the 'Runners managed to respond late in the fifth set en route to recording a 3-2 victory. The contest marked the fifth consecutive five-set match between UVU and CSUB.
 
Senior outside hitter Lexi Thompson led Utah Valley on the week with a 4.56 kills per set average, a .293 hitting percentage and a 2.11 digs per clip. Thompson posted a match-high 22 kills in the four-set victory at GCU and followed that up with a double-double of 19 kills and 11 digs in Saturday's setback to CSUB. Fellow senior Madison Dennison was next by averaging 2.33 kills, a .320 hitting percentage and an impressive 2.00 blocks per set clip. Dennison had 11 kills and eight blocks against the Lopes, and a double-double of 10 kills and 10 blocks against the 'Runners.
 
Thompson paces the Wolverines on the season offensively with a 3.46 kills per set average. She also leads the WAC in kills in league-only play with a stellar 4.33 kills per set clip. Dennison is second on the team in kills with a 2.81 kills per set clip and leads the way in hitting with a .312 attack percentage. She also not only fronts the Wolverines and the WAC in blocks on the season with a total of 109, but her 109 total blocks are good enough to lead the entire nation in that category. She'll also enter the weekend ranked fifth nationally in blocks per set with a 1.60 per set average.  
 
ABOUT UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
The Vaqueros will enter Thursday's match with a 9-7 overall record and an unblemished 3-0 conference mark. UTRGV first picked up a 3-2 win at home over New Mexico State, before sweeping both UMKC and Chicago State in Edinburg last week. UT Rio Grande Valley has now won a total of six consecutive matches, as its also defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Incarnate Word and Texas Southern during the streak. The Vaqueros were picked to finish second in the WAC this season after going 21-14 overall, 7-7 in conference play and winning the WAC Tournament title a season ago.
 
Preseason all-WAC selection Ragni Steen Knudsen leads UTRGV on the season with a 3.55 kills per set average, while Preseason WAC Player of the Year Bojana Mitrovic is next with an average of 2.98 kills per set. Talita Oliveira fronts the squad at the net with a 1.08 blocks per set clip.
 
Thursday's matchup will mark 33rd all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Vaqueros. UVU holds a 28-4 series lead, which includes a perfect 16-0 mark in Orem. UTRGV has won three of the last four meetings, however, including a 3-0 victory over the Wolverines in the 2016 WAC Tournament title match in Las Cruces last November.
 
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE
The Aggies will enter the weekend with a 10-6 season record and a 2-1 start in WAC play. NM State will first head to Seattle to face fellow conference foe Seattle U on Thursday before coming to Orem to take on the Wolverines on Saturday. After dropping a five-set match to UTRGV on Sept. 23, New Mexico State rebounded with back-to-back sweeps over Chicago State and UMKC at home last week. The Aggies have won four of their last five matches, as they also hold wins over UTEP and William & Mary during the stretch. NM State was picked to win the WAC again in 2017 after going 24-7 a year ago and 13-1 in conference play en route to winning the 2016 WAC regular-season title.
 
Kassandra Tohm paces the Aggie attack with a 3.00 kills per set average while preseason all-WAC selection Tatyana Battle is right behind her with a 2.88 per set clip. Lia Mosher paces the team in blocks with a 1.04 per set average.
 
Saturday's contest will mark the ninth all-time meeting between UVU and NMSU. The Aggies will enter play holding to a 7-1 series advantage, which includes a 3-1 record in Orem. UVU's lone win came in the first meeting between the two squads in a 3-0 sweep on Oct. 19, 2013 in Orem.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
The Wolverines will return to the road to continue WAC play at Chicago State and UMKC next week. UVU will first face the CSU Cougars in the Windy City on Thursday, Oct. 12, before capping the trip with a Saturday, Oct. 14 contest against the Kangaroos in Kansas City. 
 
CLOSING IN ON 500 CAREER BLOCKS
Senior middle blocker Madison Dennison will enter this weekend's matches just 10 blocks shy of 500 for her career. Dennison will look to become just the second Wolverine in program history to surpass 500 career blocks, as she'll enter Thursday's match with 490 total blocks in her career. Former UVU great Lauren Bakker (2012-15) is the program's all-time leader with 579. Dennison also sits just 168 kills shy of 1,000 for her career as well, as she'll enter the weekend with a total of 832 kills in her career.