OREM, Utah – Oregon State University defeated Utah Valley, 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 27-25) on Saturday afternoon. OSU (1-1) was led by the tandem of AC Froehlich, who recorded 18 kills, and Taylor Treahy, with 17. Utah Valley (0-3) was led by
Madi Standifird, who, for the second time this weekend, set a new career-high this time with 22 kills.
Evalyn Medaris added six kills with 40 assists in the match. Freshman
Chloe Hansen had six kills and ten digs for the Wolverines, and
Lani Toutai had 16 digs and three assists.
Standifird recorded six kills in the opening set for Utah Valley to continue her hot start to the 2026 season. The Wolverines chipped away at the deficit early, and after a block assist by
Alyvia Watkins and
Evalyn Medaris and a kill from Watkins, they tied the set up at 7 after an OSU attack error. The Beavers held the lead despite UVU keeping it close and pulled away in the closing points for a 25-17 win.
Utah Valley opened the second set on a 5-0 run that started with a kill from Watkins, before Standifird added kills. They continued to apply pressure and extended the run to 7-0 after a kill from fifth-year middle blocker
Maranda Woolf. The Beavers began to cut into the lead and eventually went on a 4-0 run to make it 11-7 before Woolf and
Olivia Gloeckner blocked a ball at the net to end the run.
Myka Christensen dropped in her first serve ace of the season and of her UVU career to extend the lead out to 16-9 to end a 4-1 stretch by the Wolverines. Oregon State fought back and cut the second set to 22-21 and later completed a comeback to go up 2-0.
The Wolverines built a 10-6 lead in the third set and limited the Beavers to a -.154 hitting percentage through the sets for 16 points. OSU once again fought back and tied it up at 16 after a kill from Cheyenne Green. A 4-0 run by UVU broke the tie, starting with a kill from
Brielle Rueckert before
Chloe Hansen added a kill and Christensen aced the Beavers for the second time today to build a 20-16 lead. Despite one final comeback attempt, Utah Valley held off the Beavers to force a fourth set.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth set and later held a 12-11 lead following a service ace by Hansen and a kill from Standifird. The Beavers rallied and used a 6-1 spring to take an 18-14 lead. Oregon State held a two-point late in the fourth set when Standifird killed two balls, Toutai's service ace tied it up at 23 before UVU fought off a couple of match points before the OSU's Treahy recorded two kills to secure the match.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will travel to the South Dakota Classic next week for three matches, beginning on Thursday, Sept. 3 against the Coyotes before playing (RV) Northern Iowa and Air Force while in South Dakota.
