OREM, Utah – Utah Valley volleyball will finish up the 2022 home schedule this week as they play for a conference regular season championship. UVU welcomes New Mexico State to Orem on Nov. 3 before hosting UT Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 5 in a match that could decide the conference regular season champion. The Wolverines and Vaqueros are tied for first with a 9-1 WAC record.
 
The Wolverines went to Texas last week and won both matches. UVU swept Tarleton 3-0 in Oct. 27 behind nine kills from Kazna Tanuvasa, Tori Dorius, and Avery Shewell as the Wolverines got the win over the Texans. UVU was tough at the net with 10 blocks in the match, as Caleigh Vagana had eight blocks to lead UVU.  Abilene Christian won the first set on Saturday before UVU came back and won the following three sets as Tanuvasa led the way with 20 kills in the match. Abbie Miller added a season-high 32 assists, and Bryton Nixon reached 20 digs in the match.
 
New Mexico State dropped matches to UT Arlington and Stephen F. Austin. The Aggies enter 12-10 and 4-6 in WAC play. Preseason WAC Player of the Year, Katie Birtcil, leads the NM State with 261 kills on the year and averages 3.43 kills/set. The Aggies are holding opponents to just a .186-hitting percentage of the year.
 
UTRGV enters 20-5 overall and 9-1 in the WAC. The Vaqueros suffered their first conference loss on Oct. 27, 3-1, to Stephen F. Austin in Edinburg. They rallied to sweep UT Arlington 3-0. Sarah Cruz leads the WAC with 4.46 kills/set and has 419 kills on the year. Emiliano Luanna leads the WAC in assists and averages 10.71 assists/set.
 
This week's matches will be broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats on uvustats.com. Fans wanting to attend the matches can donate lightly used sports equipment and receive a free ticket. The donations will be sent to Togo, Africa.
 
Utah Valley will conclude the regular season next week with road matches at California Baptist on Nov. 10 at 8:00 p.m. MT and at Grand Canyon on Nov 12 for a 2:00 p.m. MT start. Utah Valley will play in the 2022 WAC Tournament, which begins on Nov. 17 in Edinburg, Texas.