Box Score PROVO, Utah – Utah Valley dropped a hard-fought match to in-state rival #16 Utah, 3-1 (16-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-11) at Smith Fieldhouse in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. With the loss, UVU finishes its historic season with a record of 16-13 as the Utes advance to the next round.

"I have a lot of respect for Utah and for the program that they have built there," said Utah Valley head volleyball coach Sam Atoa. "I was really proud of our girls and their resilience. At one point in time it was a dream of ours to be able to get to the NCAA Tournament but this transition of where we've taken this program from has a lot to do with the young ladies that we have on our team. That dream is now an expectation, that we win our conference and get here, and these experiences help us to learn what we need to do to grow as a team and advance past the first round. It's unfortunate that it came to an end but it won't be the last time that you hear from the Wolverines." 

Kendra Nock and Kristen Bell started the match off with a block as UVU got out to an early 5-3 lead. Utah ripped off an 8-1 run to take the lead, 11-6, but Bell sparked a 6-1 run to tie the set up at 12-12. The Utes countered with a 5-1 run, regaining the lead, 17-13. Kazna Tanuvasa led a 3-1 run, but Utah finished the set on a 7-0 run to take the first set, 25-16.  
 
A pair of aces by Bryton Bishop helped the Wolverines take a 7-3 advantage in the second set. The Utes chipped away at the lead, cutting the UVU lead down to 10-8. Sadie Hamson extended the Utah Valley to 12-8, but Utah used a 6-2 surge to tie the set up at 14-14. Hamson and Kalea Kennedy sparked a 5-2 run to push the lead back out to 19-16, but three straight points by Utah knotted the set up at 19 apiece. Tori Dorius hammered home a pair of kills to put UVU up 24-22 before Bell hit the final kill, giving the Wolverines the set, 25-22, to tie the match up at 1-1.
 
Both teams battled back and forth to start the third set as Utah Valley clung to a 6-5 lead. The Utes ripped off a 6-1 run to take the lead, 11-7, Nocked sparked a 3-0 UVU run to pull the Wolverines to 11-10. Following a 3-0 run by Utah, Dorius and Tanuvasa led a 4-2 run to cut the deficit to 16-14. The Utes pulled away down the stretch, using an 8-2 run to get to set point. Utah Valley scored three-straight points to cut into the lead but Utah was able to get the final point, securing the set, 25-19, to go up 2-1.  
 
Utah took advantage of several UVU errors in the early going of the third set to go up 14-4. The Wolverines played the Utes even over the next eight points but were unable to challenge from there as Utah took the fourth set, 25-11, to win the match, 3-1.
 
Dorius led the Wolverines with 13 kills and a pair of blocks. Tanuvasa finished with nine kills while Bell added seven kills and four digs. Nock had a team-high six blocks to go along with five kills and Hamson tallied five kills. Abbie Miller chipped in 17 assists and six digs and Bishop finished with 11 digs and a pair of aces. Natalie Palmer added 15 assists, eight digs and an ace, putting her second in aces among freshman in a single season in UVU history.