OMAHA, Neb. – Utah Valley's historic season comes to an end in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament with a loss to Sun Belt champion, Texas State, 3-1 (21-25, 16-25, 25-20, 22-25) in CHI Health Center Arena. With the loss, UVU finishes its season with a 14-6 record and the Bobcats improve to 31-8 on the year and advance to the second round to take on No. 5 Nebraska.
 
"You always want to keep going and unfortunately sometimes things come to an end," said Utah Valley head volleyball coach Sam Atoa. "We felt that it was in our hands for us to advance and we fell short and made a few too many errors after digging ourselves into a hole.
 
"I was really proud of how hard they fought and how they kept going. Any time that the season comes to an end, there's some level of disappointment but I think we, as a team, are focused on seeing how we can prepare for next season and make this become an every-year opportunity. It was an awesome experience because of these ladies and it was a proud moment, as a coach, to have a program with kids that will just battle for you. I'm elated and thrilled that I get to be their coach."
 
The Wolverines took an early 3-2 lead before Texas State ripped off an 8-1 run to take a 10-4 lead. UVU used a quick 4-1 run to cut the deficit down to 11-8 but the Bobcats countered with four straight points to take a 15-8 lead into the media timeout. Kristen Bell led a quick 3-1 run to cut the lead down to 16-11. After back-to-back points by TSU, the Wolverines used a 5-1 run to trim the lead to 19-16. The Bobcats responded with three-straight points to extend its lead to 22-16. Tori Dorius led the rally to keep UVU in the set, sparking a 5-2 run to bring Utah Valley with three, 24-21. Texas State was able to get the final point, taking the first set, 25-21.
 
After a block by Kendra Nock and Kaili Downs, Texas State scored the next five points to take an early 5-1 lead. After a pair of points by the Wolverines, the Bobcats countered with a 7-1 surge to extend its lead to 12-4. Dorius and Bryton Bishop led the rally as UVU cut into the lead with a 6-3 run, trimming the deficit to 15-10. Texas State responded a 5-0 run to push its lead to 20-10. Utah Valley fought back, using a 5-2 run to pull the set to 22-15, but TSU scored three of the last four points to take the set, 25-16, to extend its lead to 2-0.
 
Dorius got the Wolverines going in the third set, scoring the first three points for UVU as Utah Valley took an early 6-2 lead. After a pair of points by the Bobcats, the Wolverines used an 8-4 run to extend its lead to 14-8. Texas State scored-three straight points to cut into the lead but Natalia Andrus and Dorius sparked a 4-1 run to extend its lead to 18-12. TSU countered with a 7-3 run, cutting the Wolverine lead down to 21-19. A Kazna Tanuvasa kill and an ace by Seren Jardine pushed the lead out to 23-19. Jardine got her fourth kill of the year and a block by Tanuvasa and Andrus finished out the set as UVU took the third set, 25-20, giving Utah Valley its first ever set in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
 
The Bobcats got off to a quick start, scoring the first six points of the set to take a 6-0 lead. The Wolverines responded with a 6-3 run to cut the lead down to 9-6, but an 8-3 surge by Texas State extended its lead to 17-9. After exchanging points, the UVU defense stepped up as the Wolverines went on a 10-2 run, powered by five blocks a pair of Bishop aces, to cut the lead to 22-21. TSU made the final push, though, scoring the final three points of the match to take the last set, 25-22.
 
Dorius led the Wolverines with 14 kills, on an impressive .355 hitting percentage, to go along with five blocks. Tanuvasa pitched in 11 kills and Nock had a game-high six blocks. Andrus tied a career-high with six blocks to go along with four kills and Bishop tied a career-high with four service aces.
 
Jardine finished with 14 digs, finishing her career tied for fourth in WAC history with 1864 career digs. Jaysa Funk Stratton led UVU with 19 assists to go along with six digs and Abbie Miller chipped in 16 assists and four digs.
 
"I'm grateful for everything our two seniors did for us and this program," said Atoa. They were a huge part of keeping us together and driving us to the NCAA Tournament. We will definitely miss Jaysa and Seren and the value and stability that they added. With those girls that are coming back, we have kids that work hard and are extremely unselfish and we'll work on refining those fundamentals. The future is bright at UVU with the talent that we have and what we will continue to bring in."