ARLINGTON, Texas – Grand Canyon defeated Utah Valley, 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-17) in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at the College Park Center. UVU (20-10) was led by 15 kills from Sami Blackett, with Avery Shewell adding 12 and Alyvia Jaffa finishing with ten. GCU (20-10) was led by Tatum Parrott, who finished with 22 kills.
 
The Wolverines won the opening set with four kills from Blackett and Jaffa. Avery Shewell recorded a kill to give UVU a 13-9 lead before Grand Canyon went on a run to take their first lead since 6-4 at 16-15. The run didn't last long before Utah Valley answered with a 4-0 run on three GCU attack errors and a kill from Eliza Hakes. The door was shut on a Lope comeback with a Jaffa kill before Evalyn Chism had a setter dump to clinch the set.
 
Grand Canyon's offensive attack, led by Tatum Parrott, jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the second set before UVU started to chip away at the deficit with a 3-0 run with a kill from Blackett and a pair of GCU attack errors made it 13-9. UVU kept cutting into the Lope lead and eventually made it 19-18 with a kill from Blackett. Bella Wooden and Steliyana Chakarova provided a pair of block assists to even it up at 22. Down the stretch, the No. 2 seeded Lopes came up with two kills to even the match.
 
The Wolverines wanted to get back on track in the third set, but the Lopes' defense held them to a .103 hitting percentage. Despite the offensive struggles, UVU continued to try to cut down the deficit. Trailing 16-10, they started to find some offensive rhythm with a kill from Jaffa before a block assist by Wooden and Blackett. The comeback continued with a 4-1 run that made it 21-18, but GCU fired right back with a run of their own and held on to win the set.
 
UVU started the fourth set in a 10-3 hole but quickly climbed out after a 5-1 run with a kill from Natalie Palmer and a solo block by Wooden. After GCU tried to pull away and led 14-9, it was the Wolverines who punched back, starting with a kill from Hakes before a Shewell ace and a Blackett kill made it 14-12. Grand Canyon quickly extended their lead out to 18-13 before holding on to secure their spot in the WAC Championship match.
 
Lani Matavao finished the match with a match-high 18 digs, as she was all over the court helping keep balls in play for the Wolverines. Chism finished the match with 38 assists and Wooden's nine blocks, which tie Madison Dennison for the most single-season total blocks in school history.
 
The Wolverines season comes to an end with their first 20-win season since 2018. The season was highlighted by wins over Weber State and Utah State. A sweep in Georgia over the ACC's Boston College. The regular season was highlighted by Shewell and Wooden winning a WAC Player of the Week honor, Chism taking home five Setter of the Week awards, and Matavao winning three Libero of the Week awards.