LARAMIE, Wyo. – Utah Valley fell on Friday night to Wyoming, 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 12-15) inside the UniWyo Sports Complex. Sami Blackett finished with 22 kills, and Avery Shewell added 21 to lead UVU (21-11) on the night. Wyoming (17-12) tallied 16 blocks to help them rally late to top the Wolverines.
 
The Cowgirls held a 15-14 lead at the first media timeout after a back-and-forth contest early, with both teams hitting over .300. Avery Shewell had three kills, including her 1,000th of her career during the stretch, with Eliza Hakes adding three. Following the media timeout, Wyoming scored the next two points to go up 17-14 and held on to win the opening set, holding off a pair of late rallies by the Wolverines.
 
Sami Blackett led the charge back from an 8-5 deficit with four consecutive kills to get Utah Valley back in the second set. Wyoming took an 11-9 lead before the resilient Wolverines battled back after a service error. It was Alyvia Jaffa and Evalyn Chism who blocked Sarah Holcomb, and later, Blackett added a kill to make it 15-14 at the media timeout. The two sides traded points until UVU broke a 21-21 tie with a service error from the Cowgirls, Skylar Erickson. Lani Matavao clinched the set with three consecutive aces.
 
The Wolverines answered two Wyoming runs early in the first set, starting with a 4-0 run that put the Cowgirls in front 8-6 before UVU tied the match after a kill from Blackett. Later, when they trailed 13-11, Utah Valley responded with a 3-0 run to take a 15-14 lead into the media timeout, and they continued until they took a 17-15 advantage. The lead was pushed out to 19-15 following a block assist by Chism and Wooden and later was extended to 23-20 with a kill from Shewell forcing a timeout by Wyoming. The set went in the Wolverine's favor, 25-23.
 
Utah Valley took a 6-2 advantage in the fourth set after a pair of kills from Shewell, with Molly Cummard serving. Wyoming quickly responded and chipped back into the set, trailing 9-7, forcing a UVU timeout. The Cowgirls took a 14-13 lead after a block assist before Utah Valley tied the set. The steady offensive attack from the hosts sent the match to a five-set and brought the home crowd back into the match.
 
The momentum on the side of Wyoming helped them score six of the first seven points in the final set. The Wolverines responded after Sam Atoa used his second and final timeout of the set with the team trailing 10-4. They went on a 7-1 run that was led by the freshman Blackett, Shewell, and a block assist from Shewell and Wooden. The Cowgirls scored three of the final four points to secure the match.
 
The Utah Valley season comes to an end in Laramie, Wyoming. They saw many successes this year, including two All-WAC First Teamers in Blackett and Shewell. Wooden was second in the country in total blocks and blocks per set for most of the season. Chism won five WAC Setter of the Week honors and was named to the All-WAC Second Team. Their 21 wins on the year marked the first time UVU has won 20 matches since 2018.