OREM, Utah – Utah Valley women's volleyball opens up a four-game home stand this week by hosting Stephen F. Austin on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 5:00 p.m. MT and UT Arlington on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 1:00 p.m. MT. Both matches will be played inside Lockhart Arena.
 
Matt Baiamonte and UVU alum Kayli Doxey will have the call on ESPN+. UVUstats.com will have live stats for both matches.
 
"This is going to be a huge week for us. SFA and UTA are both playing well. I look forward to playing them at home in front of our fans. I feel our team is ready for the challenge," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.
 
The Wolverines are coming off a split in their first weekend of WAC play after falling to Tarleton State in Stephenville on Thursday; UVU came back with a 2-0 deficit to win three sets and beat Abilene Christian 3-2. It was the first five-set victory for Utah Valley since Nov. 18, 2021, against New Mexico State in the opening round of the WAC Tournament.
 
Utah Valley out-blocked ACU 15-5 in the victory, with Sophomore Avery Shewell recording 19 of her 30 kills on the week in the match.  Tori Ellis had one of her best matches of the season with 15 kills while adding four blocks defensively as she moved into the top 15 in UVU history in blocks.
 
Stephen F. Austin is making their second trip to Orem for this week's match. UVU will make its first trip to Nacogdoches on its final road trip of the season. The two teams have met three other times, all on neutral sites, including last year's WAC Tournament Championship match in Edinburg, Texas.
 
SFA is coming off a pair of sweeps in their opening weekend of WAC play after beating UTRGV and UT Arlington. They are led by the WAC Preseason Player of the Year, Ieland Bradley, who leads the Jacks with 195 kills on the season.  They will be led at the net by middle blocker Izabella Ortiz, who enters the contest third nationally in total blocks with 71 and is second in the blocks per set with 1.36, just behind UVU's Caleigh Vagana with 1.38. The Ladyjacks are 8-0 at home but are only 2-2 in true road games, with losses coming to South Alabama in Mobile and No. 18 Baylor in Waco.
 
UT Arlington went 0-2 after losses to UTRGV and Stephen F. Austin. The Mavericks are led by Preseason All-WAC outside hitter Brianna Ford, who has clipped 187 kills on the season. Setter Mollie Blank has clipped 454 assists and is second in the WAC with 9.66 assists/set. Similar to WAC foe SFA, UTA is 2-2 away from Arlington, with both losses coming this past weekend.
 
LEADING THE CONFERENCE
The matches this week will feature several statistical leaders in the conference. In kills a set, we will see UTA's Ford (3.90), SFA's Bradley (3.36), and UVU's Shewell (3.24). Three of the top five in digs/set in the conference will play here this weekend, with Hoang leading the way from SFA with 4.36, Ali Wells is fourth at 4.23, and Lani Matavao is fifth at 3.76.
 
STAYING AT HOME
This is an important stretch of matches for Utah Valley as they will play the next four matches at home and don't leave the state until their Oct. 19 match at Grand Canyon. The Wolverines are 24-10 inside Lockhart Arena over the past three seasons.
 
ATOA LOOKS FOR WIN NUMBER 475
Utah Valley head coach Sam Atoa currently has 474 wins at UVU; his next win will mark his 475^th and puts him 25 wins away from 500 for his career.
 
PASIFIKA NIGHT
When Utah Valley hosts SFA on Sept. 28, it will be Pasifika night with themed contests during timeouts throughout the match and lei presentations to coaches and student-athletes before and after the match. Tickets are still available at the link above. The Den will host a tailgate starting at 4:00 p.m. MT for UVU students coming to the match. UVU's Cultural Envoy will perform during the tailgate.