OREM, Utah – The Wolverines return to Lockhart Arena to start a week of in-state rivals to close out non-conference play. UVU hosts Weber State (3-5) on Sept. 17 at 6:00 p.m. MT before heading to Logan for a showdown with Utah State (2-6) and capping the week with No. 19 BYU (4-3) on Sept. 21 at 6:00 p.m. MT inside Smith Fieldhouse.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The matches with Weber State and BYU will air on ESPN+, with Thursday's contest against Utah State streaming on the Mountain West Network. Live stats will be available on UVUstats.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines finished 2-1 at last weekend's Classic City Clash in Athens, Ga. UVU picked up a pair of sweeps, first over Jacksonville of the A-Sun, before sweeping Boston College from the ACC. They fell to Georgia in the final game of the tournament after winning the match's opening set.
 
ABOUT WEBER STATE
The Wildcats enter Lockhart Arena with a 3-5 record and are coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational in Springfield, Mo. They won their first two matches over Saint Louis and the host Missouri State before falling to UVU's WAC foe UT Arlington in a five-set thriller. They have been limited opponents to a .173 hitting percentage this season with Saane Munyer being a big part of it with 44 total blocks on the season while adding 43 kills offensively. The trio of Ashley Gneiting, Jayda Tupea, and Baylee Bodily all have over 70 kills so far this season in a balanced offensive attack.
 
ABOUT THE AGGIES
The Aggies are off to a slow start in 2024 and are currently 2-6. They finished 1-2 last weekend in three matches last weekend in Los Angeles. Andrea Simovski leads USU with 67 kills and 11 aces with Adna Mehmedovic adding 60 kills to the offense. Defensively, keep an eye on Jagoda Bialek, who has 85 digs, and Kelsey Watson, who leads them with 34 blocks.
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS
BYU is off to a 4-3 start in 2024 and has lost three straight matches, including a pair of losses to the top 25 teams. Claire Little leads the team with 120 kills, ten service aces, and a .429 hitting percentage. Setter Alex Bower had tallied 288 assists this season while tying Little for the lead in aces. Brielle Kemayor leads the Cougars in blocks with 32. This season they are 4-1 at the always tough Smith Fieldhouse.
 
BATTLE OF SISTERS
The matchup with Weber State will provide the second collegiate meeting between UVU's sophomore outside, Madi Standifird, and her sister, Kate Payne, Weber's senior setter. In last year's contest, Payne finished with 37 assists, and Standifird recorded her second collegiate kill in the match.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Wolverines will look to end a stretch that included six matches in eight days that went from Orem to Athens, Ga before making trips to Logan and nearby Provo. They will have one more trip later this month, with matches scheduled against CBU and Seattle U. It will be the busiest stretch of the season for UVU.
 
SUPER SHEWELL
UVU junior Avery Shewell is near the top of many WAC categories and is second in kills per set at 4.13, averaging nearly 5.00 points per set at 4.98, and has been deadly on the serve entering this week, leading the conference with 0.52 aces per set.
 
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will start WAC play with a match on Thursday, Sept. 26, in Riverside against California Baptist at 6:30 p.m. MT.