CHICAGO, Ill. – Utah Valley travels north to take on WAC-foe, Chicago State, on Saturday, Sep. 30, in Jacoby Dickens Center. The match is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. This marks the 29th matchup on the court as the Wolverines hold an 26-2 record against the Cougars all-time. Utah Valley swept both matchups against Chicago State last season.
Chicago State is from Chicago, Ill., and calls the Western Athletic Conference home. CSU is 9-5 this season, including a 1-1 record in WAC play. The Cougars went 1-9 a season ago, including a win over UTRGV in the WAC Volleyball Tournament quarterfinals.
Sadie Hamson's career night led Utah Valley to a record-setting match, however the Wolverines fell short against Grand Canyon, 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-18, 21-25, 14-16) in Lockhart Arena. UVU set a school-record with 22.5 total blocks while Hamson tied Makaila Jarema for the third most blocks in a match with 13 total blocks. Hamson and Jules also became the first UVU duo to each have double-digit blocks in the same match. The Wolverines were led by Hamson's 13 blocks, Fink's 10 blocks, and Kendra Nock's nine blocks.
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 (1380), needing 22 to pass Jessica Endres for third all-time. Tanuvasa also ranks third in career attacks (3675) and fourth in career points (1544.0). Senior outside hitter Kristen Bell currently ranks eighth in career points (1070), eighth in kills (902), fifth in career attacks (2849), and eighth in solo blocks (21). Abbie Miller now currently ranks eighth in career assists with 596 assists.
