ABILENE, Texas — Utah Valley University edged Abilene Christian in a five-set thriller, winning 25-17, 16-25, 13-25, 25-20, 15-11 on Saturday at Moody Coliseum. The victory clinched Utah Valley's first WAC regular-season championship and secured the No. 1 seed in next week's WAC Tournament.
Avery Page led Utah Valley (14-10, 10-2) with 13 kills and four service aces, three of which came in the deciding fifth set. Abilene Christian's Aubrey Beaver had a match-high 20 kills for the Wildcats (12-16, 5-7).
Sami Blackett posted 13 kills and 12 digs for 16.5 points.
Alyvia Jaffa added six kills and seven total blocks, while middle blocker
Bella Wooden finished with five kills and three blocks.
Natalie Riggs tallied 24 assists, and
Evalyn Chism handed out 17.
"I am overwhelmed and so excited for the team. This was a huge team win! They deserve it," said UVU head coach
Sam Atoa. "Being WAC champs is something special, especially for the hard work and tough experiences we have had to endure this year. I can't be prouder of them!! We will enjoy this for now, but we have another goal we are preparing for next weekend."
Utah Valley used a 6-0 run to take control of the opening set behind blocks from Wooden, Jaffa and
Olivia Gloeckner. The lead grew to 12-7 after a service ace from
Lani Matavao and a kill from Wooden. Kills by
Alyssa Erickson and Blackett pushed the Wolverines ahead 19-13 before Matavao added another ace to close out the set, 25-17.
ACU rebounded in the second, jumping out to a 10-5 lead and maintaining control throughout. The Wildcats sided out at 94 percent (16-for-17) in the frame and evened the match with a 25-16 win, despite blocks from Jaffa and kills from Page and Erickson for UVU.
The Wildcats continued their momentum in the third. Wooden scored the first point for UVU, but ACU surged ahead early and hit .414 in the set while holding the Wolverines to a negative percentage. Jaffa provided a bright spot with three kills on eight swings, but ACU rolled to a 25-13 win.
Utah Valley answered in the fourth with a service ace from Blackett to open the set. The Wolverines used a 10-1 run—fueled by kills from Blackett and Erickson and several ACU attack errors—to build a 15-6 lead. ACU cut the deficit to 16-12, but kills from Blackett, Page and Gloeckner pushed UVU to a 25-20 win. Gloeckner scored two of the final three points, and Wooden added a late ace.
In the fifth, Page took over. After a tight opening stretch, she delivered consecutive kills and aces to give UVU a 7-6 lead. Erickson and Blackett extended the advantage to 12-9, and Chism added a service ace. Blackett pushed the score to 13-9 before the match ended on a reversed call, overturning an initial ruling of a Utah Valley touch on an ACU attack.
Utah Valley improved to 9-0 all-time against Abilene Christian, with the last three meetings in Texas going five sets.
Up Next
Utah Valley enters the 2025 WAC Women's Volleyball Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will play its first match Friday, Nov. 21 at 6:00 p.m. MT / 7:00 p.m. CT. The Wolverines will play the winner of the No. 4-seeded Abilene Christian vs. the No. 5-seeded UT Arlingto
