MANOA, Hawai'i – Utah Valley University defeated St. John's University 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 29-27) on Thursday night at Bankoh Arena in the Stan Sheriff Center. UVU (3-2) was led by Avery Page and Sami Blackett, who each recorded 12 kills. The Wolverines hit a season-high .330 as a team while limiting the Red Storm (0-4) to a .086 hitting percentage.
 
 "Our defense has been pretty good, and we've met or exceeded those standards that we put on ourselves. We struggled offensively a little bit last week, and we made some adjustments in practice that have carried over into our matches. We are a tough team to beat when our offense and defense are playing up to their standards," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. 
 
Utah Valley rebounded from an early deficit in the first set, falling behind 7-3 before quickly responding and tying the score at 8-8 on a service ace from Page. The opening frame remained back-and-forth before the preseason All-WAC trio of Page, Blackett and Bella Wooden took over offensively, scoring four of five consecutive points to give UVU a 21-20 lead. The Wolverines closed out the set with three kills from Page, while Alyvia Jaffa and Evalyn Chism added a key block.
 
UVU hit .394 in the first set, dropping slightly to .316 in the second, but the Wolverines' defense stepped up. They tallied eight blocks while holding St. John's to a -.179 hitting percentage. Wooden led the way with six blocks, while setter Chism set a new career high with six blocks of her own. UVU pulled away with two big runs in the second: a 7-1 stretch to take a 12-8 lead and a 6-0 run to close out the set.
 
The Wolverines built a 10-3 lead in the third set and looked poised to secure the sweep, but the Red Storm chipped away at the deficit. Blackett recorded seven kills in the frame, while Jaffa added five kills on five swings from the middle to lead UVU to 18 kills in the final set. After kills by the sophomore duo and a St. John's attack error, Utah Valley went up 21-16. A 6-1 run gave the Red Storm set point, but Jaffa tied it with a kill, and a solo block by Page set up match point. A St. John's setting error clinched the win for UVU.
 
Natalie Riggs recorded three service aces, bringing her season total to 14 and her career total to 113. She is now tied for sixth all-time at UVU with former teammate Abbie Medeiros.
 
UP NEXT:
The Wolverines will wrap up the Outrigger Invitational on Friday, Sept. 5, at 11 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. HT against host Hawai'i inside the Stan Sheriff Center. Utah Valley will then face No. 21 Utah on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m. MT.