Utah Valley (6-10, 1-0 WAC) at Grand Canyon (5-9, 0-2 WAC)
Thursday, Sept. 28  |  7 p.m. MDT/6 p.m. MST
GCU Arena   |  Phoenix, Ariz.
WAC Digital Network  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Notes  |  GCU Notes

Utah Valley (6-10, 1-0 WAC) at CSU Bakersfield (8-8, 2-0 WAC)
Saturday, Sept. 30  |  1 p.m. MDT/12 p.m. PDT
Icardo Center   |  Bakersfield, Calif.
WAC Digital Network  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Notes  |  CSUB Notes
 

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UTAH VALLEY VOLLEYBALL TO CONTINUE WAC PLAY AT GCU THURSDAY, CSUB SATURDAY
OREM, Utah – Fresh off of a 3-0 sweep over Seattle U in its conference opener, the Utah Valley University volleyball team will continue Western Athletic Conference play on the road this week when it travels to Grand Canyon on Thursday and CSU Bakersfield on Saturday.
 
Thursday's contest will take place at 7 p.m. MDT/6 p.m. MST at GCU Arena in Phoenix, while Saturday's will begin at 1 p.m. MDT/12 p.m. PDT at CSUB's Icardo Center in Bakersfield.
 
"To go on the road in back-to-back weeks is a huge challenge. It was nice to get the win over Seattle U, but now it is time for us to focus on a couple of good teams this week," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "This will be our only multiple-week conference road trip, so if we can take care of things than we should be in good shape."  
 
UVU will enter the week with a 6-10 overall record and a 1-0 start in WAC play after sweeping Seattle U in the Emerald City last week. The Wolverines took the opening set, 25-17, before winning the final two sets by identical scores of 25-21.
 
Seniors Madison Dennison, Lexi Thompson and Sierra Starley led helped lead the way for Utah Valley in the win over SU. Dennison led the way with match-high tallies of 14 kills and six blocks, while Thompson and Starley both notched double-doubles with respective tallies of 11 kills and 10 digs, and 37 assists and 11 digs.
 
Dennison was named the WAC Player of the Week this week for the second time on the season after also adding a match-best .542 hitting percentage. The senior middle blocker posted averages of 4.67 kills, 2.00 blocks, 1.00 digs and 0.33 service aces per set en route to earning WAC Player of the Week honors.  
 
Dennison leads UVU on the season in both hitting and blocking with a .311 attack percentage and WAC leading tallies of 91 total blocks as well as a 1.54 blocks per set average. Her 91 total blocks are also good enough to lead the nation currently, as she'll enter the weekend tied with Missouri's Alyssa Munlyn atop the country in that category. Her 1.54 blocks per set clip is also good enough to currently rank her 10th in the country. Thompson paces Utah Valley in kills with a 3.29 per set average, while Starley holds a team-best 10.24 assists per set clip.
 
ABOUT GRAND CANYON
GCU will enter Thursday's matchup with a 5-9 record and an 0-2 start in conference play after suffering a pair of road setbacks at UMKC and Chicago State last week. The Antelopes first dropped a 3-2 match to the Kangaroos before capping the trip with a 3-1 loss to the Cougars. Grand Canyon holds non-conference wins over Syracuse, Eastern Kentucky, Niagara, Siena and South Dakota State on the year. The Lopes were picked to finish seventh in the WAC this year after going 6-21 and 1-13 in WAC play a season ago.
 
Claire Kovensky paces the Lope offense with a 3.26 kills per set average, while Maria Adams leads the way at the net with an average of 1.00 blocks per set.
 
Thursday's contest will mark the ninth all-time meeting between UVU and GCU. Utah Valley will enter play holding to an unblemished 8-0 all-time record against the Lopes, including a perfect 4-0 mark in Phoenix.
 
ABOUT CSU BAKERSFIELD
The Roadrunners will enter the weekend with an even 8-8 record and a perfect 2-0 start in WAC play. CSUB picked up a pair of road wins at Chicago State and UMKC last week and will first host Seattle U on Thursday before taking on the Wolverines on Saturday. CSU Bakersfield has also defeated Louisiana-Monroe, Montana State, Northern Arizona, San Francisco, South Dakota State, and Valparaiso on the season. The 'Runners were picked to take fourth in the WAC this year after tying for second a season ago with a 14-15 overall record and a 10-4 WAC clip.
 
Haylee Roberts leads the way for the CSUB both offense and defensively with respective averages of 2.67 kills, 1.05 blocks, as well as a team-best .294 attack percentage.
 
Saturday's matchup will mark the 19th all-time contest between the Wolverines and 'Runners. UVU will enter play holding to an 11-7 all-time series advantage after having won four of the past five meetings.
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
Following this weekend's matches, the Wolverines will return home for their first two home league matches of the season when it hosts both UT Rio Grande Valley and New Mexico State next weekend. UVU will first welcome the defending WAC tournament champion Vaqueros to Lockhart Arena on Thursday, Oct. 5, before capping the weekend with a Saturday, Oct. 7 showdown against the 2016 WAC regular season champion Aggies.