ATHENS, Ga. – Utah Valley University defeated Boston College on Saturday afternoon in Stegemen Coliseum. UVU (7-1) had 14 kills from
Avery Shewell and
Sami Blackett, with
Bella Wooden finishing second all-time in hitting percentage with .769. She only committed one attack error against BC (5-3).
"This was a great team effort today to beat a good BC team. I was proud of how poised we were during challenging moments in the game. I am so happy on how Bella is playing both on offense and defense in this tournament. It's also been great to see our pin players do well," said UVU head coach
Sam Atoa.
Utah Valley got off to an early 7-4 lead with after a kill from Wooden and a service ace from
Natalie Palmer. The lead was extended out to 11-5 after a 4-0 run by the Wolverines when they took advantage of an attack error before Blackett added a service ace and a kill from Wooden. The Eagles fell behind 19-9 as UVU got a pair of kills from
Steliyana Chakarova before Utah Valley's setter
Evalyn Chism had a pair of block assists to help close the set.
Boston College jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set before the Wolverines answered with a 7-0 run to take a 8-5 lead in the second set. After the Eagles chipped away and got the deficit cut to 10-9, it was UVU's turn to go on a run led by three kills from Shewell that pushed the lead out to 17-10. She later helped UVU close the set with Wooden, who had three kills.
In the match's final set, Utah Valley gained early momentum with a 7-1 run. Palmer helped start the set with a service ace before Blackett scored the following two points on kills before ending the run with a service ace. The Eagle's errors helped put the Wolverines in front 15-7, and the Wolverines looked to finish out the match, holding off another run by BC for the sweep.
The Wolverines return to the court later this evening with a match at 5:30 p.m. MT against the tournament host (RV) Georgia. The match will air on SEC Network+ on ESPN+. Utah Valley will return home to Lockhart Arena on Sept. 17 at 6:00 p.m. MT against Weber State.
