Box Score ST. GEORGE, Utah – Utah Valley women's volleyball dropped a five-set match to Utah Tech (27-29, 22-25, 25-22, 27-25, 14-16) on Saturday at Burns Arena. UVU (16-8, 7-5) was led by Sami Blackett with 27 kills, and Avery Shewell added 20 in the match. Reigning WAC Player of the Week, Kennedi Knudsen, finished with a match-high 34 kills for Utah Tech (15-7, 9-3).

"This was a tough loss, but I am very proud of how they battled. We win some, and we lose some. Losing doesn't define who we are, but it motivates us to keep trying. We are a resilient team. We will keep learning and will get better each day," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. 
 
Utah Valley used a 4-0 in the middle of the opening set to go up 17-15. Bella Wooden came up with one of her 13 blocks in the match with a solo before attack errors on the next two points set up the Wolverines. Utah Tech fought right back and, after a 6-1 run, took a 21-18 advantage. The set would continue to go back and forth, but UVU worked it back into their favor and forced a set point after a kill from Alyvia Jaffa. The Trailblazers took control the rest of the set and went up 1-0.
 
Evalyn Chism tallied ten assists in the first set to pass Jaysa Funk-Stratton for eighth all-time in the record book. She finished the match with 45 assists and now 1,330 for her career. Natalie Palmer had three assists of her own in the first, which put her at 1,000 for her UVU career. Palmer is the tenth in school history to achieve the mark.
 
Tonight's match saw 41 ties and 24 lead changes, with seven ties in the second set. The Trailblazers broke a 15-15 tie with a kill from Tessa Treanor before the Wolverines looked to rally, starting with a block by Chism and Maranda Woolf to make it 18-17. Knudsen had a pair of kills during a stretch that aided Utah Tech to go up 22-18. Blackett responded with two kills, and a kill from Wooden made it 22-21 before Knudsen rallied with two kills for the final two points of the set.
 
Utah Valley recorded all of their six aces in the third, starting with an ace from Chism during a 7-1 run to start while trailing in the match 2-0. Later, a block assist from Woolf and Jaffa made it 5-0. The run ended with Chism once again having two more aces. The next six points went to Utah Tech, and it was quickly a one-point set. The Wolverines found themselves trailing 15-12 before going on a tear, this time with Wooden at the service line; she added consecutive services to tie it up at 15. UVU looked to pull away a couple of times in the set, but their attempts were answered each time. Blackett broke a tie at 22 with a kill before an error, and a kill from Steliyana Chakarova forced a fourth set.
 
The Wolverines had a comfortable 16-10 lead in the fourth set; Blackett had eight of her kills in the set, with Shewell adding five. The Trailblazers mounted a comeback after UVU was the first to hit 20 points. Knudsen gave Utah Tech the lead and match point at 25-24 before Blackett tied it at 24, but her service error gave the advantage back to the home team. Shewell quickly responded with three kills to force a fifth set.
 
Utah Valley went up 3-1 in the deciding set after a kill from Jaffa. She finished the match with a career-high four kills and added six blocks in the match. Shewell scored the next four points for the Wolverines to an 8-5 lead as the teams switched sides. Utah Tech stayed hot and cut the UVU lead to 9-8. Wooden and Jaffa blocked Knudsen before the Trailblazers scored four points to take a 12-11 lead. Blackett got the set-to-match point with a kill, but UTU responded by scoring the following three points to secure the match win.
 
The Wolverines had 19 blocks in the match, the seventh most in program history and the most by UVU this season. Wooden's 13 blocks are tied for the third most in a single match. Sadie Hamson was the last to have 13, which came against Grand Canyon in 2021.
 
Utah Valley heads to the Lonestar State next week for matches with Abilene Christian on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 5:00 p.m. MT from Moody Coliseum. The road trip will wrap up on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 10:00 a.m. MT in Arlington against UT Arlington.