STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Utah Valley University defeated Tarleton State University 3-0 (25-17,25-22,25-19) on Thursday night inside Wisdom Gymnasium. The win marks the seventh straight for Utah Valley (14-7, 8-1 WAC) as Kazna Tanuvasa had nine kills and three services to provide a spark with nine kills from Tori Dorius, and Avery Shewell provided too much offense for Tarleton (11-14, 3-7) as the Texans' errors were too much to overcome.
 
"Tonight's win was amazing! Our serving was very tough tonight. I was proud of their focus and fight! We executed well our offensive and defensive plan," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.
 
The Wolverines used a 6-0 run to combat an early 9-8 Tarleton lead to take control of the first set and go up 13-8. A second 5-0 run with kills from Kalea Kennedy and Makayla Broadbent and two service aces from Tanuvasa put UVU up 18-9. Utah Valley won the first set 25-19.
 
Utah Valley got out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a kill from Dorius and two service aces from Shewell. Later in the set, a 5-1 run gave UVU a 13-7 lead after two TSU errors and kills from Kennedy and Tanuvasa. The Texans chipped away at the UVU lead and got to 23-21 before the Wolverines benefited from two Tanuvasa kills to put the set away.
 
The Wolverines used a 7-1 run to pull away 13-6 in the third set. Broadbent, Kennedy, and Tanuvasa had kills during the run, and two service aces from Tanuvasa held control of the set. A 5-1 run closed out the third set with three errors and kills from Shewell and Dorius.
 
Natalie Palmer had 20 assists and three of UVU's nine service aces. Abbie Miller added 18 assists in the match. Caleigh Vagana had four kills and five block assists. Bryton Nixon added 13 of UVU's 30 digs. Megan Haynes led Tarleton with 13 kills in the match, which was a match-high.
 
Utah Valley heads to Abilene Christian for a match on Oct. 29 at 11:00 a.m. before returning home for the final home stand with New Mexico State on Nov. 3 at 6:00 p.m. before UTRGV heads to Orem for a Nov. 5 match at 1:00 p.m.