OREM, Utah - Utah Valley University was defeated by the United States Naval Academy on Friday night inside the UCCU Center. UVU (1-1) was led by sophomore middle blocker Alyvia Jaffa, who recorded a career-high 12 kills from her middle blocker position and added six blocks defensively at the net for the Wolverines, who battled Navy (1-1) to a 39-37 score in the fourth set.
 
Utah Valley began the first set with a strong 5-0 run, highlighted by two kills from Alyvia Jaffa and a block by Evalyn Chism and Jaffa. The Wolverines extended their lead to 9-1 as Chism provided key assists, including a kill by Avery Page. The Midshipmen attempted to close the gap with a brief 3-0 run, but the Wolverines maintained control, leading 17-6 after an Olivia Gloeckner kill. Jaffa's fast start included her six kills on seven swings in the opening set.
 
In the second set, Navy started strong with an early lead to take a 9-4 advantage before the Wolverines responded with a series of points, narrowing the gap to 9-7, highlighted by a service ace from Natalie Riggs, who earlier in the day broke the 100 career aces barrier. A back-and-forth exchange ensued, with the Wolverines managing to tie the score at 21-21 after a kill by Page. As the set neared its conclusion, Navy's Julia Humphrey and Grace Burgoyne secured crucial points, eventually leading to Navy's 28-26 win, finishing with a service ace by Arleigh Hanson.
 
In the third set, Navy took an early advantage with a 6-0 run that included kills by Humphrey and Hanson, as well as a service ace. The Wolverines responded with a few points, highlighted by Gloeckner's kill to bring the score to 8-3. The University of Idaho transfer and Utah native had a strong performance for UVU, finishing the match with nine kills while adding seven blocks. Lani Matavao served up back-to-back service aces for the Wolverines to help narrow the gap, but one final Navy run pushed them over the top to take a 2-1 advantage.
 
The fourth set was highly contested with 30 ties and 11 lead changes, as the match saw a total of 40 ties and 15 lead changes.  The Wolverines started strong with a kill by Sami Blackett from Riggs, but Navy responded, and both teams exchanged points, leading to a 7-7 tie. The Wolverines answered back after the Midshipmen tried to pull away multiple times, with Page and Bella Wooden contributing key kills. Page and Blackett each had eight kills in this thrilling last set, and the two traded punches with Navy. As we moved to a 35-35 tie, each team fought off multiple match points, with the Wolverines leading at both 36-35 and 37-36 before the Patriot League foes used a 3-0 run to clinch the match.
 
Page led the Wolverines with 16 kills and contributed 16 points. Blackett added 15 kills and was the top scorer with 18.5 points. Chism directed the offense with 42 assists over four sets. Matavao anchored the defense with 18 digs, while Jaffa was effective both offensively and defensively, recording 13 kills on a .500 hitting percentage and six total blocks.
 
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will wrap up their opening weekend of the 2025 season on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 3:00 p.m. MT against Boise State inside the UCCU Center. The first road trip will take Utah Valley across the Pacific to the Outrigger Invitational, hosted by Hawai'i, with action beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 3, against another Mountain West foe, San José State.