NIVC FIRST ROUND
UTAH VALLEY (19-13) at WYOMING (20-10)
Thursday, Nov. 29 | 6:30 p.m. MT
Live Video (MW Digital Network) |
Live Stats |
NIVC Site |
Bracket |
UVU Notes |
Wyoming Notes
NIVC SECOND ROUND
UVU or Wyoming vs. UNC or Portland
Friday, Nov. 30 | 6:30 p.m. MT
Live Video (MW Digital Network) |
Live Stats |
UNC Notes |
Portland Notes
WOLVERINES HEAD TO LARAMIE FOR NIVC POSTSEASON PLAY
OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University women's volleyball team will make its inaugural national postseason appearance at the NCAA Division I level in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) this week in Laramie, Wyoming, as part of the Laramie Regional.
UVU will open NIVC play against the host Wyoming Cowgirls on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m. MT at the UniWyo Sports Complex in Laramie. The winner will then advance to Friday's second round to face the winner of Northern Colorado and Portland, who will face one another in the regional's opening match on Thursday afternoon. Friday's second round contest will begin at 6:30 p.m. MT at UW's UniWyo Sports Complex.
Utah Valley earned an at-large selection to the NIVC Laramie Regional after posting a 19-13 overall record and advancing to the WAC Tournament championship match for the second time in past three seasons over the weekend in Bakersfield, California. At the WAC Tournament, the fourth-seeded Wolverines (9-7 WAC) recorded back-to-back victories over the host and No. 5 seed CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners in the opening round (3-2) and followed that up with a sweep over the top-seed and regular-season conference champion UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros in the semifinals. Then in the championship match, Utah Valley jumped out to a 1-0 lead but ended up dropping a trio of tightly contested sets in a row to the second-seeded New Mexico State Aggies to fall in the WAC Tournament title match.
UVU tied for fourth in WAC play during the season with a 9-7 conference record. The Wolverines will enter the NIVC having won eight of their last 10 contests. During the streak, UVU holds wins over fellow NIVC tournament team California Baptist, as well as NCAA Tournament qualifier NM State, and fellow WAC foes UTRGV, Chicago State, Grand Canyon, Seattle U and a pair over CSU Bakersfield. Utah Valley's lone setbacks during the stretch were a 3-1 loss to NM State in the WAC Tournament title match and a 3-1 road defeat at UMKC.
With 19 wins on the season, UVU will enter the NIVC having recorded the most wins in a season since 2011 when posted a program-best 23-9 record. The Wolverines also hold their highest RPI ranking in program history, as they'll enter Thursday's opening NIVC contest with a sub-100 RPI of 92. UVU previously posted a 102 RPI at the conclusion of the 2011 campaign.
Freshman outside hitter
Kazna Tarawhiti was named the WAC Freshman of the Year last week, as well to the league's first team and all-freshmen team. She also earned WAC All-Tournament Team honors at the conclusion of the WAC Tournament along with sophomore libero
Seren Merrill. Sophomore outside hitter
Kristen Allred and junior middle blocker
Makaila Jarema too earned All-WAC accolades last week, as both Allred and Jarema was named to the conference's second team.
Tarawhiti leads the Wolverines and the WAC in kills on the season with a UVU single-season school record of 526. She also leads in kills per set with a 4.08 average. The Utah Valley freshman also ranks eighth in the nation in total kills, eighth in total attacks (1446) and ninth in total points (588.0). Jarema too leads the Wolverines and the WAC in blocks with a 1.80 blocks per set clip. Her blocking average is also good enough to currently rank her second in the nation in that category with her program-best 1.80 blocks per set average. Jarema will also enter Thursday's NIVC opener just nine block assists shy of tying
Madison Dennison's single-season school record of 173 and 10 shy of breaking it.
As a team, UVU currently leads the nation in total team blocks with 356.0 on the year. The Wolverines also rank 17th in blocks per set with a 2.72 per set average.
ABOUT WYOMING
The Cowgirls will enter Thursday's NIVC opener with a 20-10 overall record and having placed third in the Mountain West Conference standings with a 12-6 clip. Wyoming will enter the contest having won three straight matches and four of their last five with wins over Air Force, Utah State, New Mexico and UNLV during the stretch. The postseason appearance will mark UW's second consecutive NIVC appearance. A season ago, the Pokes dropped their NIVC opener in straight sets to TCU in Denton, Texas.
A pair of Cowgirls earned All-Mountain West accolades on the season, as both Reed Copeland and Jackie McBride received all-conference accolades on Monday. Copeland leads Wyoming in blocking and hitting with a respective 1.64 per set average and .336 hitting percentage. McBride is right behind her in both categories with a 1.09 per set blocking average and a .312 attack percentage. Emily Lewis paces the Pokes in kills with a 2.43 kills per set average.
Thursday's meeting will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Cowgirls and the first since 2014. UVU and UW are currently tied at 2-2, but Wyoming won the last meeting with a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 1, 2014 in Evanston, Wyoming. Utah Valley will enter the contest holding to a 1-0 all-time series advantage in Laramie, however, after pulling out a five-set affair on Oct. 14, 2005.
ABOUT NORTHERN COLORADO AND PORTLAND
In the other Laramie Regional opening-round contest, Northern Colorado (15-13, 10-7 Big Sky) will face Portland (18-12, 6-12 WCC) on Thursday at 4 p.m. The winner of that match will then face the winner of the UVU and UW contest in the second round on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
ABOUT THE NIVC
The National Invitational Volleyball Championship is a single-elimination event with all matches played at sites of host schools. This year marks the second running of the NIVC since its rebirth last year; the original event ran from 1989-1995. Ole Miss won the 32-team tournament field a season ago.
UP NEXT FOR UVU
The winner of the Laramie Regional will advance to round number three of the NIVC that will be played Dec. 5-7 at a to-be-determined site. The semifinals are then scheduled for Dec. 7-9 and the championship set for Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. MT.
