DAVIS, Calif. – The Utah Valley University volleyball team opened the 2018 season with a 3-0 sweep over Holy Cross on Friday morning at the UC Davis Aggie Invitational at The Pavilion in Davis, Calif. (25-22, 25-19, 25-22).
 
UVU improves 1-0 on the young season with the victory, while the Crusaders, who hail from Worcester, Mass., and call the Patriot League home, fall to 0-1. 
 
Preseason All-WAC honoree Kristen Allred led the Wolverines in the contest by recording a 10 kills on .391 hitting as well as adding nine digs. The freshmen duo of Kazna Tarawhiti and Kaili Downs was next by recording eight kills apiece in their first collegiate match, while senior Alexis Davies added six kills and a match-high seven blocks, junior transfer Makaila Jarema chipped in six kills and six blocks, and fellow junior Jasmine Niutupuivaha too tallied six kills and five blocks. 
 
"Today was a great start to the season. We met several goals on both offense and defense," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "It was a great team effort." 
 
The Wolverines got off to a quick start in the opening set, as they built an early 6-3 advantage following a kill from Niutupuivaha. The Crusaders then responded by scoring six of the next seven points to take a 9-7 lead. Utah Valley didn't waste any time answering, however, by reeling off a 4-1 run to take an 11-10 lead. Later deadlocked at 12-12, UVU then scored four unanswered points to take a 16-12 advantage. Niutupuivaha led the spurt with a block and a kill. Holy Cross managed to cut the deficit to one on a couple of occasions, but a late 3-0 run and a final kill from the freshman Downs sealed the opening set for the Wolverines. 
 
Utah Valley again jumped out to an early lead in set number two, as it took a 9-4 advantage following 7-1 spurt. Allred and Niutupuivaha led the run with a block and a kill apiece. The Crusaders later pulled to within one following three unanswered points, but UVU responded with four consecutive points of its own to take a 16-11 lead. The Wolverines would go on to stretch their lead to as many as six down the stretch and held on to take a two sets to none advantage thanks to a 25-19 second-set victory. Downs led UVU in the set with four kills, while Davies fronted the squad at the net with three blocks. 
 
In a tightly contested third set that saw nine ties and five lead changes, UVU managed to take a 17-14 lead following a spurt of four unanswered points. The senior Davies led the run for the Wolverines with a pair of kills. The Crusaders immediately responded, however with four consecutive points of their own to regain the lead at 18-17. Following a timeout, Utah Valley then reeled off a trio of points to take a 20-18 advantage. Later deadlocked at 21-all, UVU managed to finish off the sweep by scoring four of the final five points to take the third set, 25-22. The freshman Tarawhiti was key for the Wolverines down the stretch by pounding home each of the last two kills. 
 
Sophomore Seren Merrill too played well for the Wolverines in the contest by recording a team-high 12 digs and a service ace, while junior Madi Wardle dished out a team-best 15 assists. 
 
Regan Wright led the way for the Crusaders in the contest a match-high 14 kills. 
 
UVU will continue play at the season-opening UC Davis Aggie Invitational by taking on the host Aggies on Friday evening at 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT. The Wolverines will then conclude the opening tournament by taking on Northern Arizona on Saturday at 11 a.m. MT/10 a.m. PT. Following the conclusion of the tournament, UVU will return to Orem to host Idaho State for its 2018 home opener on Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. at Lockhart Arena.