PHOENIX – Utah Valley women's volleyball fell on Thursday evening to Grand Canyon 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 23-25,16-25) inside Antelope Gymnasium. Utah Valley (7-13, 4-5) fell despite holding an advantage in service aces and blocks over GCU (15-5, 8-1).
Avery Shewell had a team-high 15 kills and 11 digs in the loss, while
Hailey Cuff added a career-high five service aces.
"There was so much that we did very well in the match, which I am very proud of. Unfortunately, we made one too many errors in the first and 3rd set, which cost us the sets. We will learn from this and keep getting better," said UVU head coach
Sam Atoa.
The Wolverines used a balanced attack in the opening with kills by five different spikers as
Tori Ellis had three of her ten in the opening set, and she was joined by Cuff, Shewell,
Vittoria Price, and
Kalea Kennedy with two each. The two sides traded 3-0 runs as GCU led 7-4 before UVU fought back and tied the set at 11-11 after a service ace from Cuff. The first set saw ten tied scores, including 20-20 after a service error by Bella Anderson. The Lopes closed the set on a 5-3 run.
In the second set, the Wolverines hit .571 behind 13 kills on 21 attacks and one attack error. UVU tied the second set at 6-6 behind a hot-hitting Shewell, who finished the set with five kills on seven swings, and Ellis chipped in with a kill and a service ace. A 6-0 run sparked the set victory for Utah Valley, with Cuff starting with a kill and later from the service line, adding an ace to end the run. The Wolverines' defense at the net was tough, with Kennedy and
Kendra Nock helping out with blocks to extend the lead 21-14. The set was clinched with kills from Shewell and Cuff, as
Lani Matavao delivered the fourth ace of the set.
The see-saw battle continued in the third set as the largest lead was three until GCU took a 24-18 lead and they looked to go up 2-1, but UVU had some fight in them after a block made it 24-19 before Shewell added a kill, and Cuff had a service ace to make it 24-22 forcing the first timeout by the Lopes. Utah Valley kept the momentum as Cuff was tough from the service line with a second ace in the set, and Ellis's kill forced the second timeout by GCU to make it 24-23. The dramatic comeback fell short, as the set was decided on the next ball.
Grand Canyon pulled away in the fourth set with a 7-2 run, putting them in front 18-11, and then added three of the next four points to take a 21-12 lead. Shewell caught fire down the stretch with six kills in the final set and three during a 4-1 spurt to bring UVU back to 22-16 before GCU closed the match on a 3-0 run for the 25-16.
Abbie Medeiros had 20 assists in the match as she moves closer towards 2,000 for her career. She now needs two assists to pass 1,900 for her career. Utah Valley led tonight in service aces, digs, and blocks. The nine service aces is a team-high for the season.
The Wolverines return to action on Saturday, Oct. 21 at California Baptist. The match will start at 1:00 p.m. MT from Van Dyne Gymnasium in Riverside. UVU returns home next weekend for matches against Abilene Christian on Oct. 26 and Tarleton State on Oct. 28. They will both be making their first trips to Orem.
