OREM, Utah - Utah Valley swept Tarleton State (25-21, 25-17, 25-17) on Thursday night inside Lockhart Arena. Alyvia Jaffa made her first collegiate start and finished with 11 kills on 16 swings for a .625 hitting percentage and added three blocks defensively. Sami Blackett finished with a match-high 15 kills for UVU (18-9, 9-6). Tarleton State (7-21, 2-13) was led by Allison Bryant, who had 11 kills.
 
UVU honored two seniors, Jules Fink and Charity Wilson, prior to the match. Fink finished the match with six kills and two blocks. "Tonight was a special night for our seniors, Charity and Jules, two young ladies who mean the world to me and who have worked so hard, especially with the challenges they have had to endure. I was so happy that Jules had the opportunity to play tonight. She has battled with so much her entire career," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.
 
Atoa continued, "I was also very pleased with the opportunity Alyvia had to start tonight. She embraced it and played very well tonight. I also can't say enough of what Avery and Sami continue to do for us. They carry most of the load and have done a tremendous job doing what we ask of them to do."
 
The Wolverines took a 7-4 lead after a 4-1 run in the opening set behind a kill from Avery Shewell before she added an ace to end the run. Despite the early run, Tarleton State held the edge at 15-13 at the media timeout. UVU responded after the timeout and scored eight of the next ten points behind four kills by Orem native Blackett. Leading 21-17, Utah Valley kept their foot on the pedal with kills by Fink, Bella Wooden, and Jaffa recording her fourth kill to finish off the set.
 
Jaffa cooled off in the second set, but the duo of Blackett and Shewell stepped up, recording 12 of UVU's 17 kills in the set. A 6-1 run pushed the lead out 11-8 after Blackett's service ace before the offensive attack continued as the lead went out to 15-10 with three kills coming from the tandem of Blackett and Jaffa. The Wolverines tallied nine blocks on the night, with Fink and Wooden teaming up to block Bryant to make it 20-13 before they would go on to win the set 25-17.
 
In the third set, the Texans took an early 9-6 lead before two consecutive blocks by the Wolverines made it 9-8. Blackett and Fink added kills to tie the match up at 10. The UVU defense took advantage of TSU attack errors to build a 12-10 lead before the first Tarleton State timeout. Evalyn Chism and Jaffa forced the final Texan timeout after a kill by the Wolverine setter and a block by the combo. Utah Valley pulled away when Jaffa had two of her six kills in the final frame as UVU completed the sweep.
 
Shewell's two aces in the match gives her 110 for her career, and is now seventh all-time, passing Camie Manwill. She needs two to move into sixth and pass Brookelyn Hall for sixth. She also moved into eighth all-time in points, passing her former teammate Tori Ellis.
 
Atoa said, "Overall, it was a fun night. It was a great team effort, both on offense and defense. We hope to carry this momentum to our final match on Saturday and onto the WAC tournament next week."
 
The Wolverines will close out the regular season with a match against Southern Utah on Saturday, Nov. 16, at noon. Utah Valley has clinched a spot in next week's WAC Tournament in Arlington. The bracket will be announced this weekend following the regular season.