OREM, Utah – Utah Valley women's volleyball defeated Tarleton State University 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-16) on Saturday afternoon inside Lockhart Arena. UVU (9-14, 6-6) was led by Avery Shewell, who had 15 kills on 21 attacks to finish with a .714 hitting percentage. The Wolverines in the match hit .460 as a team, while Tarleton State (13-13, 4-8) hit under .200 in the match.
 
"We are playing at a different level right now, and I'm excited for what the girls are doing offensively and defensively.  I think that even in our losses last weekend, we played very well and just did not play well enough to win. We have taken a different outlook and mindset of what we needed to do to protect our home court," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.
 
The Wolverines jumped out to a 7-0 lead after kills from Caleigh Vagana and Hailey Cuff, with a pair of services aces from senior setter Abbie Medeiros. The Texans made a push after calling both timeouts to make it 16-14. UVU pulled away using a 7-0 run with three kills from Tori Ellis before Cuff added a service ace. Shewell had a pair of kills to make it set point before adding a final kill to end the set. 
 
Utah Valley middle blocker Kendra Nock had three blocks of the team's five blocks in the set. The first block put UVU up 5-3 with a block assist from Nock and Ellis. The lead increased to 7-4 after Shewell and Nock teamed up for the block. The steady offensive attack kept the Wolverines in front during the set. As UVU led 20-14, they used a 5-1 run to set up match point before Kalea Kennedy's kill ended it.
 
UVU's Shewell used four kills down the stretch to help clinch the match as they got out to an 8-2 lead early in the set. After Tarleton State chipped away at the lead, the Wolverines went up 12-6 after a block assist by Kennedy and Nock. Utah Valley later pushed the lead out to 20-13 before a 4-0 run with a Nock solo block put the match away.
 
The .460 hitting percentage is the third-highest in the program's history. The highest is .543, which they hit against Southern Utah on Oct. 28, 2013. UVU had five players hit over .500 in the match, with Shewell at .714, Ellis at .500, Vagana at .500, and Nock at .800.  
 
Utah Valley travels next week to the Lonestar State when they play at UT Arlington on Nov. 2 and Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 4. UVU will look to continue to move up the WAC standings in their first trip to both schools. The 2023 WAC Tournament is coming up on Nov. 16-18 in Orem at the Lockhart Arena.