OREM – Utah Valley is set to host New Mexico State, on Saturday, Sep. 25, in Lockhart Arena. The match is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. This marks the 18th matchup on the court as the Wolverines hold an 15-2 record against the Lopes all-time. UVU took two of three matchups last season, including a 3-1 win in the WAC Volleyball Tournament semifinals.
Grand Canyon is from Phoenix, Ariz., and calls the Western Athletic Conference home. GCU is 8-2 this season, including an 0-1 record in WAC play. The Lopes went 11-4 a season ago, tying with the Wolverines for second place in the conference.
Utah Valley dropped a hard-fought match to New Mexico State, 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 24-26, 20-25) in Lockhart Arena. With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 5-7 on the season, including 0-1 in the WAC. The Aggies improve to 10-3 on the year and 1-0 in conference play.
Tanuvasa led the Wolverines with 16 kills while Bell added nine kills and six digs. Fink chipped in eight kills to go along with four blocks and Hamson led UVU with six blocks to go along with five kills. Miller had with a double-double, finishing with 18 assists, 10 digs, and a pair of aces. Palmer collected 18 assists to go along with seven digs and Bryton Bishop led Utah Valley with 14 digs.
Utah Valley Libero Bryton Bishop was named the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of September 13 through September 19. Bishop, a sophomore from Pleasant Grove, Utah, recorded a pair of 20-plus dig outings to lead the Wolverines to a 2-1 record during last week's homestand. On the week, she averaged 5.00 digs per set, including 5.75 digs per set in a four-set victory over Idaho State. She also notched 12 digs against No. 15 BYU on Saturday. Bishop now ranks second in the WAC in total digs with 190 across 11 matches, leading UVU in both digs and digs/set.
Senior outside hitter Kazna Tanuvasa is currently fourth in UVU history in career kills (1368), needing 34 to pass Jessica Endres for third all-time. Tanuvasa also ranks third in career attacks (3630) and fourth in career points (1529.0). Senior outside hitter Kristen Bell currently ranks eighth in career points (1057.5), eighth in kills (891), fifth in career attacks (2822), and eighth in solo blocks (21). Abbie Miller now currently ranks eighth in career assists with 571 assists.
