OREM, Utah – Utah Valley women's volleyball team will travel to the Lone Star State for a pair of matches this week against Tarleton on Oct. 27 and Abilene Christian on Oct. 29. UVU will meet Tarleton in Stephenville for the second time, while the program makes it first trip to Abilene Christian.
The Wolverines have a six-match winning streak after defeating in-state foes Utah Tech and Southern Utah. UVU beat Utah Tech for the second time this year in a 3-0 fashion.
Kazna Tanuvasa led UVU with 14 kills in the match.
Natalie Palmer and
Avery Shewell led the UVU charge from the service line with three aces each in the match.
Tori Dorius had 15 kills against Southern Utah to lead UVU to a 3-1 victory on Oct. 22. The Wolverines dropped the second set before coming back strong and winning the next two sets to earn the win.
Abbie Miller had 25 assists, with Palmer adding 20. UVU had three players reach double figures in digs with Tanuvasa (11),
Bryton Nixon (10), and Shewell (10).
Tarleton is 11-13 overall and is 3-6 in WAC play. Tarleton dropped a match against Abilene Christian a week ago, 3-1. The Texans are led by a strong front line, with Grayson Schirpik and Megan Haynes having over 200 kills this year. Allie Hair is a dual threat at the net, averaging 2.02 kills/set and 0.96 blocks/set.
Abilene Christian is 6-15 and 3-6 in WAC play. The team of Bryley Steinhilber and Ashli Edmiston lead the Wildcats in kills and points this year. The Wildcats have won two of their last three matchups with victories over Grand Canyon and Tarleton.
The match against Tarleton will air on ESPN+ at 5:00 p.m. MT, and the Abilene Christian match will air on WAC International at 11:00 a.m. MT. WAC International is on the WAC website and does require a free account. The broadcast is free.
Following the two matches in Texas, Utah Valley returns home for the final two home matches of the year against New Mexico State on Nov. 3 and UTRGV on Nov. 5. Fans can get a free ticket to the match if they bring slightly used sports equipment for a local youth group to donate to Togo, Africa.
