OREM – Utah Valley earned its spot in the WAC Volleyball Tournament championship with a hard-fought win over Grand Canyon, 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 27-25) in Lockhart Arena. After dropping the opening set, UVU won the final three sets to secure its third-ever trip to the conference championship match. Saturday's championship match marks the first appearance by the Wolverines since 2018 in Bakersfield, California.
 
With the win, UVU improves to 13-5 on the season as GCU finishes its season at 11-4 on the year.
 
"We did not take care of things a week ago in that first match against them and we call those warrior moments where we see who will step up," said Utah Valley head volleyball coach Sam Atoa. "We practice those situations each day and, even in that second set that we almost blew, we were still able to take care of things at the end.
 
"We made a few too many mistakes in that second set. When it starts to get to that point, you start to play cautious and play on your heels, but we were able to stay composed those last few points and close it out."
 
Both teams battled back and forth to start off the match as the Wolverines used a 3-0 run to take an early 7-6 lead. Grand Canyon responded with a 6-1 run to take a 12-8 advantage. After UVU cut the deficit down to two points, the 'Lopes scored three-straight points to push its lead out to 15-10. After the Wolverines scored three-straight points to cut into the lead, GCU was able to coast to 25-19 win in the first set.
 
The Wolverines got off to a hot start in the second set, taking an early 12-4 lead. WAC Player of the Year Kazna Tanuvasa helped UVU hold off the 'Lopes as Utah Valley built a 23-14 lead. Grand Canyon fought back, using a 9-1 surge to cut the lead down to 24-23, but Tanuvasa got the kill to finish off the set, 25-23, to tie the match back up at 1-1.
 
After UVU scored to first two points of the third set, GCU ripped off four-straight points to take a 4-2 advantage. After both teams went back and forth, Tori Dorius led a 3-0 run by the Wolverines to retake the lead, 9-8. Kristen Bell kept UVU close as the 'Lopes were unable to pull away from Utah Valley. With Grand Canyon holding a 18-17 lead, UVU went on a 5-1 run to take control of the set, 21-18. After a pair of GCU points, Kendra Nock led the way as the Wolverines secured the third set, 25-23.
 
Utah Valley raced ahead in the fourth set, taking an early 11-4 lead behind a balanced attack. Grand Canyon chipped away at the lead, using a 5-1 run to cut the advantage down to 12-9. The Wolverines responded with a 4-1 run to push its lead back out to 16-10. The 'Lopes rallied back, using a 9-3 run to tie the set up at 19-19. A Kaili Downs kill got the Wolverines back out in front as UVU scored three-straight points to take a 22-19 advantage. Grand Canyon made one last push, using a 6-2 run to take a 25-24 lead to get a point away from tying the match up. Nock got UVU back on track with a kill as the Wolverines scored the final three points of the match to take the final set, 27-25, to finish off the 3-1 victory.

Tanuvasa led the Wolverines with 16 kills and Bell added 14 kills to go along with a season-high four blocks. Nock finished just shy of career-highs in both kills and blocks, totaling 12 kills to go along with a game-high eight blocks. Dorius chipped in six kills to go along with a career high seven blocks and Sadie Hamson added tied a career-high with seven blocks of her own. Seren Jardine collected a game-high 33 digs and Jaysa Funk Stratton finished with her third double-double of the season, dishing out 27 assists to go along with 10 digs. Abbie Miller added 22 assists and Bryton Bishop chipped in nine digs.
 
Utah Valley finished with 17 blocks, falling a half block short of the season high 17.5 blocks UVU finished with against Chicago State on Feb. 23, 2021. The 17 blocks is the most the Wolverines have had in a four-set match since a 21 block outing in a 3-1 Wolverine win over the 'Lopes on Nov. 17, 2018.
 
"We needed all 17 blocks, especially with it being a two-point game," said Atoa. "We knew that they were going to set the ball in the middle and we read it right. Throughout the week, we've been working on our eye game and we felt that if we had our timing right, we would have our chances. I think we did a great job at the net but we also did a great job of digging that kept us in the game and gave us more opportunities to convert.
 
"Being able to go to the championship is special, especially being at home and amongst all the craziness that is going on, our team stayed focused on the court and off the court. I'm excited for them and we've worked extremely hard to be able to have the chance to go to the finals tomorrow."
 
The Wolverines head to championship Saturday where UVU will take No. 1 New Mexico in Lockhart Arena on April 3. The match is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. MT and will broadcasted on ESPN+. With a win, Utah Valley would qualify for its first ever NCAA Volleyball Tournament appearance in school history.