STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Utah Valley defeated Tarleton State, 3-2 (26-24, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 15-9) on Saturday afternoon inside Wisdom Gym. UVU (11-6, 2-3) was led by Avery Shewell, who had 15 kills, with Sami Blackett adding 13. Eliza Hakes set a new career high with ten kills in the match, while Bella Wooden had ten kills and nine blocks. Tarleton State (5-14, 0-6) was led by Allison Bryant, who recorded a match-high 20 kills.
 
I am excited for the win! I thought the team played well, especially overcoming challenges during the match," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.
 
Utah Valley took an early 7-5 lead in the opening set before Tarleton State went on their first run, outscoring UVU 8-2 over ten points to go up 14-10. The Wolverines fought back after a service error, and an attack error brought the deficit down to 16-12. Natalie Palmer came in to serve and after a kill from Wooden, she added a service ace before a kill from Shewell tied the match at 16. The set was tied again at 20 after Blackett recorded a kill and Maranda Woolf blocked Emma Burke at the net. The two sides traded points to remain tied before a block assist from Hakes and Woolf put them up 23-22 before set point came after an attack error, but the Texans rallied to tie the set at 24 before a kill from Shewell and Palmer's second ace put UVU in front 26-24.
 
Wooden and Shewell had four kills in the second set to lead UVU to a .314 hitting percentage. The set was close early before Utah Valley broke a 12-12 tie with a kill from Palmer and an ace from Shewell to go up 14-12. A 6-1 run pushed the lead out to 20-16. Hakes added three kills during the second, with Blackett adding three. Evalyn Chism recorded her 1,000^th career assist in her 45^th career match on an assist to Wooden that closed out the set following a late run from the Texans.
 
Up 2-0 heading to the third set, the Texans battled back into the match. They held a .230 to .030 hitting percentage in the third set, led by six of Bryant's 20 kills in the match. The Wolverines trailed 12-9 after a TSU service error before going on a run to take a 16-14 lead. Chism had a kill before setting Wooden for a pair of kills, and then the pair teamed up for a block to make it 14-12. Shewell's kill made it 15-14 before a service ace concluded the run. A 7-2 run by Tarleton State swung the set in their favor.
 
The Wolverines led 15-11 in the fourth set following blocks by Blackett, Hakes, and Woolf and a service ace from Chism. Two runs in the set, however, powered Tarleton State to even the match to force a fifth set. Utah Valley's Lani Matavao finished with nine of her career-high 26 digs in the fourth set, and five different players recorded kills to set up a dramatic fifth set.
 
Shewell started the fifth set by scoring on UVU's first four points of the decisive set with three kills and a block assist with Wooden to put the Wolverines up 4-1. They went up 7-3 after an attack error by Madison Frank and kills from Blackett and Chism. Molly Cummard came off the bench and helped with a 3-0 run, including a service ace to push the lead out to 10-5. Leading 13-9, Woolf, Chism, and Hakes all had kills to help UVU get the five-set win.
 
Utah Valley had four players record new career-highs in the match, with middle blocker Woolf finishing with eight total blocks, Chism with 17 digs, and Palmer with four aces.
 
The Wolverines will return to Lockhart Arena to play four of their next five matches. The action begins on Monday, Oct. 14, at 6:00 p.m. MT against Seattle U. During the homestand, they will welcome Abilene Christian, California Baptist, and UT Arlington.