UVU (3-10, 1-0) recorded its first sweep of the season behind career-high performances from Miley Thunstrom, who finished with 17 kills, and Bree Carson, who added a career-high 13 kills. UCR (4-8, 0-1) was led by Malia Tanksley, who had 10 kills. The Wolverines held the Highlanders to a .152 hitting percentage and totaled eight blocks. Senior setter Evalyn Medarisled the effort with three total blocks, 34 assists and a service ace. Lani Toutaiadded 20 digs and an ace for UVU.

Thunstrom and Carson led the charge from the outside in the first set. Thunstrom finished with seven kills, including the final two, to help the Wolverines secure a 27-25 victory. Carson added six kills, setting a new career high for the freshman. Utah Valley responded to two strong UC Riverside leads, including advantages of 5-1 and 18-13. A 4-0 run, featuring two Carson kills, a block assist and a service ace from Myka Christensen, pulled UVU within 19-18. The Wolverines later used a 5-0 spurt to take the lead and reach set point. After the Highlanders rallied to tie the score, Thunstrom put the set away for Utah Valley.

The Wolverines kept the pressure on early in the second set, taking a 5-0 lead after four UCR errors and a service ace from Toutai. Alyvia Watkins recorded four kills in the set and gave the home team a 13-7 advantage with back-to-back kills. UVU extended its lead to 17-9 on a service ace from Medaris. Thunstrom continued her strong play with four kills in the set, including two during a late run that helped Utah Valley close it out.

The Carson-Thunstrom combination continued to challenge the UCR defense in the third set, combining for 13 of UVU’s 17 kills. The Wolverines built an 11-5 lead, with Watkins adding two kills. The Highlanders rallied to cut the deficit to 20-17, but Carson and Thunstrom helped extend the lead to 22-19. Freshman London Armstrong saw the first action of her collegiate career and recorded a kill to make it 23-19 before Carson finished off the match with two kills to complete the sweep. The victory marks the third time the Wolverines have won their first match in a new league.

UVU previously earned victories in its first conference matches in both the Great West Conference and the Western Athletic Conference.

The Wolverines will wrap up the first weekend of conference play on Saturday against California Baptist. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. MT inside Lockhart Arena.