OREM – A trio of Utah Valley seniors powered a balanced attack to sweep WAC foe, Seattle U, 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-21) at home on Senior Day. With the win, UVU wraps up its regular season with a 13-12 record on the season, including 8-6 in WAC play. The Redhawks' season comes to an end, finishing with a 4-21 record on the year and 1-13 in conference play.
 
"Senior Day is always an emotional day and your goal is to play well," said Utah Valley head volleyball coach Sam Atoa. "There's momentum that is important for the success of the program and it's a lot more fun to celebrate a win. I'm happy for the team today, especially for those that will not be returning, and it was a special day for them and great win for us."

Following a point by Seattle U, the Wolverines used a 6-2 run to take an early 6-3 lead. Both teams exchanged the next seven points before Kristen Bell sparked a 5-0 run to push the lead out to 14-7. The Redhawks used a 7-3 run to cut the lead down to 17-14 but Kaili Downs and Sadie Hamson helped extend the lead back out to 19-14. Elena Buhler's ace sparked 6-1 run to end the set, giving UVU the first set, 25-17.
 
After a slow start to the second set, Tori Dorius and the Wolverines used a 5-0 surge to retake the lead, 8-4. Bell and Downs took over from there as Utah Valley ripped off an 11-2 run to take control of the second set, 20-8. UVU coasted from there to take the second set, 25-11, to go up 2-0 in the match.
 
Seattle U got off to a hot start in the third set, taking an early 9-3 advantage. Bell and Hamson led a 12-3 surge by the Wolverines to regain the lead, 15-12. Kazna Tanuvasa and Ellee Boyack helped UVU extend its lead to 19-14 before SU made a final push to trim the lead down to 23-21. A kill by Tanuvasa set up match point and Hamson hammered home the final kill to finish off the sweep, 25-21.
 
Bell led the Wolverines with 12 kills, making her the sixth player in school history to reach 1000 career kills. She also added 12 digs, three blocks, and a pair of service aces. Dorius added nine kills and Tanuvasa finished with eight kills. Hamson chipped in six kills, on .625 hitting, to go along with three blocks. Downs had five kills, on .556 hitting, and Bishop added 11 digs to go along with five assists. Abbie Miller finished with 14 assists, Natalie Palmer had 11 assists, and Boyack tallied eight assists.
 
"We're preparing every day with the matches as well as practice and I think with these two wins, momentum is huge," said Coach Atoa. "Once we find out who our opponent will be, it'll be back to the drawing board and figuring out what we need to do against our new opponent. It's now all about being the best team over the next three days and I like our chances."

The Wolverines now head to Las Cruces, N.M. for the WAC Volleyball Tournament on Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 18-20. The seventh-seeded Wolverines will open the tournament against the host and second-seeded NM State Aggies on Thursday at 7 p.m. at NMSU's Pan American Center.