EUGENE, Ore. – After falling to No. 18 Oregon earlier in the day, the Utah Valley University volleyball team responded with a 3-0 sweep over Arkansas-Pine Bluff as part of the Oregon Classic on Friday evening at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene (25-11, 25-19, 25-18). 
 
Freshman Kazna Tarawhiti led the way for the Wolverines (3-3) with a match-high 16 kills, a solid .281 hitting percentage, four digs and three service aces. Junior Jasmine Niutupuivaha was next for UVU with six kills and two blocks, while senior Alexis Davies and sophomore Kristen Allred each added five kills apiece. Allred also tallied a career-high four aces in the contest, while Tarawhiti and freshman Elena Hansen both recorded three. Junior Madi Wardle and sophomore Seren Merrill too played well for UVU, as Wardle led the team with 19 assists and Merrill chipped in eight digs. 
 
As a team, UVU recorded a season-high 14 service aces. The 14 aces are just one ace shy of the UVU single-match school record of 15 set on Nov. 10, 2006 against Providence. The Wolverines also held a .253 to .123 hitting percentage advantage on the night, as well as a 62 to 39 percent advantage in the sideout battle. 
 
"I felt like we were much better tonight. We kind of struggled with some things, but overall I felt like there were some positives that came from the match and I was really happy about that," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "I was also proud of our play at the service line. Elena (Hansen) really embraced that challenge for us and excelled with three aces. We also made a number of runs from our serving, and it was key for us."
 
Utah Valley got off to a quick start in the opening set, as it took an early 10-1 advantage. Allred helped spark the Wolverine run with a trio of service aces during the spurt. After a UAPB (0-5) point, UVU then again answered with five straight points to extend their early lead to 15-2. The freshman Hansen led the run with a pair of service aces. With the Wolverines later holding to a 16-3 advantage, the Lady Lions then managed to score seven of the next 10 points to make it a 19-10 score. UVU then responded down the stretch with a 6-1 run to take the opening set by a score of 25-11. Tarawhiti led the UVU attack in the opening set with six first-set kills.
 
Trailing 7-6 early in the second set, Utah Valley managed to reel off nine unanswered points to take a 15-7 lead. Tarawhiti was key for UVU during the run with a pair of kills and a trio of aces. With the Wolverines later holding to a 17-10 advantage following a kill from freshman Kaili Downs, UAPB countered back with six straight points to pull within a point at 17-16. UVU then answered by scoring four of the next five points to extend its lead to 21-17. Arkansas-Pine Bluff later pulled to within three at 22-19, but the Wolverines managed to put the set away, 25-19, thanks to scoring back-to-back-to-back points. Downs and sophomore Bailey Nixon both recorded kills for UVU down the stretch. 
 
The Wolverines continued to hold the upper hand early in the third set, as they quickly opened an 12-2 advantage. Niutupuivaha drove home two kills for UVU during the spurt, while Hansen and sophomore Jaysa Funk Stratton each added service aces. UAPB then countered with a 4-1 run to make it 13-6. Utah Valley later extended its lead to 18-7 following a 3-1 run of its own. Wardle added an ace and Davies pounded home a kill during the spurt. With UVU holding to a late 23-14 lead, the Lady Lions managed to string together a 4-1 run to pull within 24-18, but it wasn't enough as the Wolverines finished off the match the very next point thanks to a final kill from the freshman Tarawhiti. 
 
Haley Gomez led UAPB in the contest with nine kills while Charis Adefolarim added a match-high six blocks. 
 
Despite nearly taking the second set earlier in the day against the ranked Ducks, the Wolverines ended up falling 3-0 in the Oregon Classic opener to UO (16-25, 23-25, 12-25). Allred and Tarawhiti paced UVU in the contest with 11 and 10 respective kills. 
 
The Wolverines will now conclude Oregon Classic play on Saturday at noon MT/11 a.m. PT against Long Beach State. Following Saturday's match, UVU will return to Orem to host Utah State on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. MT for an in-state battle.