OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University women's volleyball fell on Thursday evening to Utah State 3-0 (10-25, 19-25, 23-25). The Aggies (7-3) attack hit .385 in the match, and it was too much for the Wolverines (3-7).
Hailey Cuff led UVU with eight kills against her former team, and setter
Abbie Medeiros had 15 assists and eight digs in the match.
Kendra Nock got off to a fast start opening the tying the match at 2-2 after a kill and a block assist with
Tori Ellis. The Aggies built a lead in the opening thanks to hitting .515, and six kills from Kaylie Ray and often outscored Utah Valley two to one. Ellis,
Avery Shewell, and Cuff each had two kills in the opening set for Utah Valley.
The Wolverines started the second set on a 4-0 run after a service error and kills from Cuff and
Caleigh Vagana before ending the run on a block assist by Vagana and Nock. After the two teams traded points until the match was tied at 10, Utah State broke the tie with a 7-0 run to go up 17-10. The Wolverines went on a 3-0 run later with kills from
Evalyn Chism, a ball handling error on USU, and ended with a block assist from
Vittoria Price and Ellis.
Shewell caught fire in the third set and led UVU out to a 3-1 lead early with two service aces. Later in the set, she had back-to-back kills to put the Wolverines in front 10-6. Cuff had four kills in the set and had her own two consecutive kills, followed by a pair of kills from Ellis, giving UVU a comfortable 16-11 lead. Utah State rallied and went on a 5-2 run to get the set to 19-17. USU regained the lead at 21-20. Cuff had her fourth kill to tie the set at 22, and after Utah State took a one-point lead, Ellis tied it at 23, before a kill and a block assist ended the match for the Aggies.
Ellis and Shewell finished with seven kills, and Price added five in the loss. Nock finished with six blocks for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines will host No. 12 BYU on Friday, Sept. 14, in the Crosstown Clash before embarking on WAC play with matches at Tarleton State on Sept. 21 and Abilene Christian on Sept. 23.
