OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University women's volleyball defeated Stephen F. Austin University 3-1 (27-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-22) on Saturday afternoon inside the Lockhart Arena. Despite being outhit by SFA (18-3, 6-2) .229 to .199, UVU (11-7,5-1) came up with the points when it mattered most and was led by freshman Avery Shewell who had a career-high 20 kills in the match.
 
SFA took early control of the first set, using a 6-2 run to open the match and later employing a 7-1 run to go up 14-7. Shewell had eight of her match-high 20 kills in the first set, and Hailey Cuff added three kills in the opening set to lead the charge for UVU. The Wolverines tied the match at 22-22 after trailing to that point. Kazna Tanuvasa had two kills to end the set for a UVU 27-25 victory.
 
The second set had nine ties and three lead changes as both teams went back and forth. UVU trailed 17-13 before a 3-0 run put UVU down by one. The Wolverines closed the set on a 5-1 run led by kills from Caleigh Vagana, Tanuvasa, Makayla Broadbent, and Kalea Kennedy for the 25-23 victory.
 
SFA used a 10-3 run to close out the third set for the 25-16 victory as the outside hitters Ariana Pagan, Ielan Bradley, and Payton Cerny held control for the third set. Tanuvasa had five of her kills in the third set for UVU. In the set, SFA had their highest hitting, .536 of the match.
 
The Wolverines rallied after the challenging third set and continued to put pressure on SFA. The Lumberjack offense accounted for 11 errors in the final set as Tanuvasa and Shewell led the UVU attack with four kills each for a 25-22 win.
 
Cuff and Kennedy had six kills for UVU, as Broadbent added four kills and five block assists. Abbie Miller aided UVU with 26 assists, with Natalie Palmer chipping in 17. UVU now improves to 7-0 this year in four-set matches.
 
Utah Valley hosts Utah Tech in the Old Hammer Rivalry on Oct. 20 for a 6:00 p.m. start before playing the next three on the road at Southern Utah (Oct. 22), Tarleton (Oct. 27), and Abilene Christian (Oct. 29).