ATHENS, Ga. – Utah Valley University fell to the University of Georgia on Saturday night at Stegemen Coliseum. Avery Shewell finished with a match-high 16 kills in the defeat for UVU (7-2), and Evalyn Chism finished with 41 assists and ten digs in the match. Georgia (6-3) was led by Sophie Fischer, who recorded 14 kills, five service aces, and six block assists.
 
"There's so much we did through the weekend that will help us be prepared to be a little bit better. We have to give Georgia credit for keeping the pressure on us," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. "Earlier in the day, we kept the pressure on Boston College. Tonight, the ball just didn't bounce our way, and this team is very resilient, especially after losses."
 
Shewell had seven kills in the opening set on 12 swings, while Sami Blackett added six kills on ten swings with a service ace for Utah Valley, who hit .343 in the first set. The Wolverines benefited from four service aces. UVU pulled in front after breaking a 4-4 tie with back-to-back kills from Shewell followed by two service aces from Chism. Later in the set, Utah Valley extended their lead and put pressure on the Bulldogs after a kill from Bella Wooden, who later controlled the serve with an ace to make it 16-11. They went on to hold off a late rally by Georgia.
 
The Bulldogs quickly rallied in the second set and limited the Wolverines to one service ace and a hitting percentage below .200. Preseason All-SEC Sophie Fischer took over in the second set for Georgia with six kills in the set as they went on to a 25-12 win.
 
Utah Valley looked to rally in the third set, and they finished by hitting .296 with five kills by Shewell on her eight swings in the set. The Wolverines trailed 13-8 before a quick 3-0 spurt got the deficit back to 13-11, but Georgia quickly responded with a 5-1 run later in the set to help them go onto win the set 25-17.
 
Georgia controlled the match's final set, limiting the UVU attack to a .074 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs stayed hot with a 7-0 run that changed the course of the set in Georgia's favor with a 10-3 lead. Leading 14-6, the host team went on another 3-0 run to push the lead out to 16-6 and went on to finish the set and the match.
 
Utah Valley will be in Utah for its next three matches, starting with Weber State on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 6:00 p.m. MT. They will then travel to Utah State on Thursday, Sept. 19, for an 8:00 p.m. MT contest and then wrap up the week with No. 17 BYU on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 6:00 p.m. MT to close out non-conference play.