OREM, Utah — Utah Valley women's volleyball travels for the first time in 2026 when it heads to the South Dakota Classic this weekend in Vermillion, South Dakota. It will be the Wolverines' first visit to South Dakota since their days in the Great West Conference. The three-day tournament will feature matches against host South Dakota, Northern Iowa and Air Force.
 
SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 3 — at South Dakota, 6 p.m. MT
Friday, Sept. 4 — vs. Northern Iowa, 3 p.m. MT
Saturday, Sept. 5 — vs. Air Force, 10 a.m. MT
 
BROADCAST INFO
The entire tournament will air on Midco Sports Plus, where fans can purchase a subscription to stream the matches. The match against South Dakota will include an announcer, while the other two matches will be single-camera productions.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines opened the season 0-3 with tough matches against Oregon State, Utah and Utah Tech. Madi Standifird had a career weekend, setting career highs in two matches, including 22 kills against the Beavers. She enters the weekend leading the Big West Conference in kills, kills per set and points, while ranking in the top 25 nationally in kills.
 
Evalyn Medaris earned all-tournament team honors after recording 99 assists and averaging 9.00 assists per set, along with 14 kills and five blocks.
 
SCOUTING THE COYOTES
South Dakota finished the opening weekend with a 2-1 record at the Drake Tournament, earning victories over Drake and Milwaukee. Lauren Medeck finished with 43 kills, while Audrey Nelson recorded 34 and Gabi Zachariasen added 31. Medeck was named to the Summit League Player of the Year watch list.
 
Senior setter Avery Van Hook earned second-team All-Summit League honors in 2025 and averaged 11.27 assists per set during the opening weekend.
 
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Northern Iowa went 1-2 during opening weekend, with both losses coming against teams that received votes in the AVCA preseason poll: Georgia Tech and host Iowa State. Jadyn Petersen was named the Missouri Valley Conference Libero of the Week after averaging 3.58 digs per set, including 18 against in-state rival Iowa State.
 
Cassidy Hartman is one of the Panthers' leading hitters, recording 47 kills and averaging 3.92 kills per set during opening weekend. Fellow hitters Isabelle Elliott and Lily Dykstra also average more than three kills per set.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Air Force enters Vermillion with a 1-1 record after being swept by Boston College before returning the favor against Quinnipiac. The Falcons were picked to finish eighth in the new-look Mountain West. Alysa Walker averaged nearly five points per set over the Falcons' first six sets of the season. Middle blocker Grace Fiaseu recorded six total blocks, including three solo blocks, during the opening weekend.
 
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will travel next weekend to face another Summit League opponent and former conference rival, Kansas City, at the Kansas City Klassic. Utah Valley will then return to the Beehive State for matches against BYU, Utah State and Weber State to conclude nonconference play.