OREM, Utah – Utah Valley women's volleyball opens the 2024 regular season at home this weekend with the Utah Valley Invitational. The Wolverines will see action in three matches starting with Eastern Washington on Aug. 30 at noon before facing a pair of old WAC foes in Kansas City at 7:00 p.m. MT on Aug. 30 and CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 2:00 p.m. MT.
 
BROADCAST INFO
All games will be streamed from the Utah Valley Invitational. UVU's matches will be on ESPN+ with Matt Baiamonte and Kayli Doxey on the call. All non-UVU matches will be streamed on Youtube.com/GoUVU. Live stats for all matches will be available on UVUstats.com.
 
ABOUT THE EAGLES
Eastern Washington finished 2023 with a 13-17 record and 6-10 in the Big Sky. They were picked sixth in this year's Big Sky Coaches' Poll. BYU transfer Bri Gunderson is a returning leader for the Eagles after finishing 2023 with 241 kills and 131 blocks, while setter Kate Hatch tallied 676 assists and 39 aces after transferring from Northern Arizona.
 
ABOUT THE ROOS
Kansas City wrapped up 2023 in the NIVC after a 22-9 season and 12-4 record in the Summit, all while finishing 9-2 away from their home court. Summit League Defensive Player of the Year Leah Green returns after leading the Summit and ranking No. 36 in digs a year ago. She is joined by All-Summit Watchlist member, Kaia Dunford after earning Honorable Mention honors last year.
 
ABOUT THE RUNNERS
CSUB went 9-21 last year and 5-13 in the Big West. They return Samia Bhakata, who, among returners, leads them in hitting percentage (.231) and blocks (57), while Nene Hawkins tallied 777 assists, 29 aces, and 380 digs a season ago. Paige Duran had 156 kills a season ago and is the returning kill leader for CSU Bakersfield.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES
The Wolverines will meet their first opponent of the year for the first time in school history when they match up with EWU. Utah Valley holds the edge 8-7 all-time against Kansas City, but the Roos have gotten the best of the last four matchups. The last two matchups in Orem have gone to five sets. UVU holds a 16-9 advantage all-time against CSU Bakersfield and won the previous four matchups. They haven't met since 2019, when CSUB left the WAC. The Roadrunners are looking for their first win in Orem since 2014.
 
SHEWELL, MATAVAO EARN ALL-WAC HONORS
UVU sophomore Lani Matavao was named Preseason WAC Libero of the Year, and the freshman had 20 digs or more six times in 2023 en route to 376 digs during the season. She was awarded WAC Libero of the Week for her performance at last year's UVU Invitational, where she had 18, 20, and 25 digs in a pair of matches against NC State and one against Utah.
 
Shewell adds to her decorative career with her first Preseason All-WAC selection. The junior is coming off a career year with 347 kills while receiving All-WAC honors for the second time. She added 80 total blocks at the net and 37 service aces last season.
 
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will travel to Big Sky country next weekend for the Ellesyn Invitational in Missoula, Mont. They will face Montana, Southern Miss, and Boise State in an action-packed week at Dahlberg Arena at Robin Selvig Court.