OREM, Utah – Utah Valley women's volleyball defeated Southern Utah 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-16) on Thursday evening inside Lockhart Arena. UVU (10-16, 7-8) limited SUU (6-19, 2-13) to a .105 hitting percentage in the match. Tori Ellis led the match with 12 kills as she passed Lexi Thompson for seventh place all-time in kills.
 
"So happy for the way we competed tonight and to share it with our fans. This was huge for us! A great team effort!" said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.
 
The Wolverines took the opening set behind four kills from Shewell, while UVU as a team hit .294 with a side out percentage at 70%. UVU looked to pull away multiple times, but SUU responded each time to keep the set close. The match was tied at 15-15 and 20-20 before UVU took control with kills from Caleigh Vagana and Shewell. Hailey Cuff held control of the serve and added a service and two SUU errors to clinch the opening set on a 6-1 run.
 
After the opening set, which featured 13 ties and three lead changes, the second set was far different, with only two ties and one lead change. A pair of 5-1 runs helped Utah Valley pull away for the second set victory. Kalea Kennedy led the way in the set with four kills, and Ellis chipped in with three. The Wolverines had their highest side out percentage of the match in the second set, finishing at 81%.
 
Abbie Medeiros started the third set with a service ace, which moves her into a tie for fifth all-time with Brookelyn Hall with 111 for her career. The UVU attack scored five out of the next six points on kills to take a 7-2 lead in the set. SUU was able to get back to 12-8 later in the set, but the Wolverines, led by Kennedy and Hailey Cuff, added kills to make it 15-8 before Maranda Schneberger helped push the lead to 18-10 with a pair of kills. Eliza Hakes ended the match with her first career kill to secure the match.
 
Kennedy had one of her best matches of the year and finished with eight kills on 16 swings for a .500 hitting percentage. UVU had their best three-set match of the season in digs with 57. Lani Matavao had 15, Avery Shewell added ten, Cuff and Medeiros added nine.
 
Utah Valley clinched a spot in the WAC Tournament with the win tonight. As the host school, they will play at 7:00 p.m. MT on Thursday, Nov. 16. The opponent will be announced with the entire bracket, which will likely be announced on Monday night.
 
Utah Valley closes out the regular season with a match on Saturday, Nov. 11, against Utah Tech in the Old Hammer Rivalry. The Wolverines will honor seven seniors before the match. UVU currently holds an 8-0 record against the Trailblazers since 2016.