OREM, Utah – Utah Valley women's volleyball heads to Wyoming for the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. They will meet Washington State of the West Coast Conference on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 4:00 p.m. MT. The match winner will meet either Idaho State or Wyoming on Friday, Dec. 6 at 6:00 p.m. MT.
 
The Wolverines finished their run at the WAC Tournament with a 1-1 record after a quarterfinal victory over in-state foe Southern Utah. However, they fell in their eighth consecutive semifinal appearance to No. 2 Grand Canyon.
 
BROADCAST INFO
The match on Thursday is scheduled to air on the Mountain West Network, and live stats will be available.
 
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
The Cougars are 16-11 and finished 11-7 in their first season in the WCC. They are one season removed from hosting the NCAA Tournament after a 26-8 season. This will be the first meeting between the two since 2015, with WSU holding a 3-1 edge. The Wolverines prevailed in the only neutral site contest back in 2003. They are led by Katy Ryan, who has tallied 367 kills and averages 3.37 kills per set, with Sage Brustad adding 335 kills this season.
 
RECORD WATCH
The Wolverines have a couple of single-season records that could be broken this week in Wyoming. Middle blocker Bella Wooden tied Madison Dennison's 2017 record with 191 total blocks this season. The Summerfield, N.C. native set a career-high with 13 blocks against Utah Tech in the Old Hammer Rivalry. She had nine matches this season with at least nine blocks.
 
Avery Shewell has been lethal from behind the service line with 52 aces this season. That's the most since she had 37 last season. She needs three to tie Lacee Koelliker (2005) and McKenna Tait (2013) with 55. Earlier this season, the junior had a season-high five against the Thunderbirds in UVU's home finale. The five-ace match was one off her career-high of six set back in 2022 against California.
 
ATOA GOES FOR 500
A win this week will give UVU head coach Sam Atoa his 500th career win. In his 26th season, he has led UVU to its fourth postseason berth this season and its first since going to the NCAA Tournament in 2021. During his time, Utah Valley went from junior college to Division I and played in the Great West Conference and the Western Athletic Conference.
 
UVU IN THE NIVC
This will be UVU's second appearance in the NIVC after earning their first Division I postseason berth in 2018; they went to Laramie and defeated Wyoming in five sets to advance to the second round, where they fell to Portland in a five-set match. The Wolverines have been in two NCAA Tournaments after winning the WAC Tournament, but they fell in both appearances.
 
UP NEXT
The winner of the Laramie group would meet with the winner of either Arizona, Pacific, or Weber State. They are playing this weekend in Tucson.