Utah Valley at #24 Utah
Friday, Sept. 14 | 7 p.m. MT
Huntsman Center | Salt Lake City, Utah
Live Video |
Live Stats |
UVU Notes |
Utah Notes
UTAH VALLEY HEADS TO SLC FOR FINAL NON-CONFERENCE MATCH AT #24 UTAH
OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University women's volleyball team will head to Salt Lake City on Friday evening for its final non-conference contest of the season when it takes on No. 24 Utah. The in-state rivalry match will take place at 7 p.m. at the Huntsman Center.
Friday's non-conference finale will be streamed live on the Utah's Pac-12 Live Stream site (
pac-12.com/live/university-utah) and will also feature live stats by visiting
UtahUtes.com.
UVU will enter Friday's in-state contest with an 8-4 record and having won six of its last seven matches. After going a perfect 4-0 a week ago with a win over fellow in-state rival Utah State as well as a Wolfpack/Camel Invitational title and their first-ever victory over an ACC foe by topping NC State in five sets in Raleigh, the Wolverines then dropped a 3-2 battle to Weber State at home on Tuesday night (25-22, 20-25, 25-17, 31-29, 5-15). The contest marked UVU's fourth consecutive five-set match.
Trailing the Wildcats two sets to one, UVU then managed to pull out a tightly contested fourth set, 31-29, to force a decisive fifth set. That thrilling fourth game featured a total of 22 ties and six lead changes. The Wildcats then responded, however, by going on to take the fifth set, 15-5, to halt Utah Valley's winning streak at six matches.
Despite falling to Weber State, sophomore
Kristen Allred recorded a career-high 21 kills on .340 hitting for the Wolverines in the contest. The Preseason All-WAC selection also added 11 digs for her third double-double of the season and earned her third all-tournament team honors of the season last week at the Wolfpack/Camel Invitational. Freshman
Kazna Tarawhiti too had a strong showing for UVU versus WSU by tallying 19 kills, seven digs, two blocks and a service ace.
During Utah Valley's six-match winning streak, the Wolverines defeated NC State, Long Beach State, Utah State, Appalachian State, Campbell and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The freshman Tarawhiti leads UVU and the WAC in kills on the season with a total of 186 and a 4.04 per set average, while Allred ranks second in the league in total kills (166) and fourth in kills per set average (3.53).
Jasmine Niutupuivaha fronts the Wolverines at the net with a 0.98 blocks per set clip as well as a .336 hitting percentage.
ABOUT NO. 24 UTAH
The nationally-ranked Utes will first face rival and top-ranked BYU on Thursday at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo before hosting the Wolverines on Friday night. Utah currently holds a 7-2 record on the season with wins over Denver, UC Irvine, Iowa State, Gonzaga, Montana, Temple and High Point. The Utes' two losses have both come in five sets to St. Mary's and Villanova. Utah was picked to finish eighth in the highly competitive Pac-12 this season after going 24-10 overall and 13-7 in league play in 2017. The Utes have also made the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five seasons.
Dani Drews leads the Utes offensively on the season with a 3.94 kills per set average and Lauga Gauta is right behind her with a 3.62 per set average and a .302 hitting percentage. Phoebe Grace fronts the team at the net with a 1.39 blocks per set clip.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UTAH
Friday's contest will mark the 13th all-time meeting between UVU and Utah. The Utes will enter play holding to an 11-1 series advantage and a perfect 7-0 mark in Salt Lake City. UVU's lone victory over Utah came on Sept. 4, 2009 when it managed to pull out a 3-1 upset over the then 17th-ranked Utes in Orem.
ATOA CLOSING IN ON WIN NUMBER 400
After going 6-1 over his last seven matches, head Utah Valley volleyball coach
Sam Atoa will enter the weekend just two wins shy of recording his 400th career victory. Atoa, who is currently in his 20th season as UVU's head coach, will enter the week with a 398-225 career record (.639 winning percentage). Atoa, who earned WAC Coach of the Year honors in 2016, holds a 260-194 mark during his 16 seasons of coaching UVU at the NCAA Division I level, as well as a 138-31 clip during his four seasons of coaching the Wolverines during the school's NJCAA era.
UP NEXT FOR UVU
Following Friday's non-conference finale, the Wolverines will then open their sixth season of competition in the Western Athletic Conference on Thursday, Sept. 20 at Lockhart Arena for a 6 p.m. contest against Chicago State. The match will mark the first of a three-match conference homestand, as UVU will also host UMKC on Saturday and new league foe California Baptist on Sept. 27.
