OREM – The Wolverines lost a hard-fought, four-set thriller to in-state rival #14 BYU, 3-1 (17-25, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25) in the Lockhart Arena. With the loss in the UCCU Crosstown Clash, UVU falls to 2-1 on the season and in WAC play as the Cougars improve to 3-0 to start its season.
 
"There were a lot of positives with the grit and the fight that our players showed," said Utah Valley head volleyball coach Sam Atoa. "It would have been very easy in that second set to have let it become a three-set match, but they were determined to figure things out and it was nice to see that. I feel like, if we can get the connection a little better, we can be a pretty good offensive team.
 
"You have to have the mentality to be prepared to compete, whether they are national ranked, crosstown, or across the country. Against a pretty nice BYU team that had some big blocks, I thought our hitting was alright and I like what I saw there. Our serving and our passing are areas that we did pretty well but if you are wanting to be a top-level team, you have to be able to elevate that and BYU did that."
 
BYU got the scoring going, scoring the first two points of the match. Utah Valley responded, scoring the next four points, led by a pair of service aces by Bryton Bishop. Both teams went back and forth until the Wolverines sandwiched an Abbie Miller ace between a pair of Kazna Tanuvasa kills to take an 8-6 advantage. The Cougars went on a 7-1 run to recapture the lead, 13-9. After a small run by UVU, BYU finished the set on an 11-5 run, scoring the final four points of the set to take the opening frame, 25-17.
 
UVU took an early 5-4 lead in the second set before BYU went on an 11-4 run to take control of the set, 15-9. The Wolverines stormed back, using a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 17-16. Utah Valley took the lead, 19-18, on another Bishop ace before BYU scored the next two points to take a 20-19 lead. UVU finished the set on a 6-2 surge to win the set 25-22, giving the Cougars its first lost set of the season.
 
BYU came out firing, scoring the first five points of the third set. The Wolverines countered back, going on a 9-4 run to tie it up at 9 apiece as Tanuvasa became the fifth player in school history to pass the 1,000-kill milestone The Cougars and Wolverines traded 4-0 runs before BYU went on a 6-0 to take a 19-13 advantage. Utah Valley used a 3-0 spurt to cut into the lead but the Cougars were able to coast to the win in the set, 25-20.
 
After a back-and-forth start to the set, UVU used a 4-1 run to take a 12-9 lead. BYU responded with a 4-1 run of its own as both teams played to a 15-15 tie. Following a Tanuvasa kill, the Cougars went on a 6-1 run to take control of the set, 21-16. The Wolverines were unable to challenge from there as BYU took the final set, 25-20.
 
Tanuvasa led the way for UVU with 18 kills to go along with six digs. Tori Dorius added 14 kills to go along with five digs and four blocks. Jaysa Funk Stratton led the Wolverines with 25 assists and six digs and Miller chipped in 17 assists, six digs, and a pair of aces. Seren Jardine had 16 digs to lead the team and Bishop had seven digs and game-high three aces.
 
The Wolverines return to conference play with a trip to Riverside, Calif. to take on California Baptist on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 8-9. Monday's contest is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. MT and Tuesday's match is set for 1:00 p.m. MT. UVU and CBU were originally schedule to face off on Jan. 25-26 but the matches were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Utah Valley will then stay on the road, traveling to Stephenville, Texas to take on WAC newcomer Tarleton State on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 15-16, with both matches set to start at 5:00 p.m. MT.