UVU recorded a season-high 17 total blocks, with Alyvia Watkinsposting a season-high 10 blocks and Evalyn Medarisadding seven. Victoria Marthaler led the Hornets (10-10, 5-4) with 23 kills. Lani Toutaihad 28 digs in the match, four shy of her career high of 32 set against Radford earlier this season. The senior libero also reached a career milestone, becoming the fourth player in program history to record 1,500 career digs. She joins Seren Jardine, McKenna Tait and Allyce Jones in the exclusive club.

The Wolverine block party started early as Utah Valley recorded eight total blocks in the first set. Watkins led the way with four blocks, while Brielle Rueckert and Medaris each added three. Olivia Gloeckner finished with a team-high 13 kills in the match, but it was her defense that helped spark the comeback in the opening frame. Gloeckner and Rueckert combined for a block before Gloeckner added a solo block to cut the deficit to 12-11. The Hornets jumped in front 20-15 before UVU rallied, starting with a kill from Miley Thunstromand a service ace from Toutai. Gloeckner gave the Wolverines a 22-21 lead with a kill before helping lead a 3-0 run with a block assist alongside Watkins. Utah Valley secured the set, 27-25.

Utah Valley got out to a 6-2 lead in the second set with Medaris serving back-to-back aces. UVU recorded five service aces in the set, with Thunstrom tallying two and Toutai adding one to help the Wolverines reach a season-high nine aces in the victory. The set was tied at 16-16 when UVU used a 4-0 run behind kills from Gloeckner and Thunstrom. A second ace from Thunstrom made it 20-16. Utah Valley held off a late Hornet rally as Chloe Hansenand Watkins finished off key points to secure the set.

Sacramento State answered in the third set, erasing an early 6-2 deficit to take a 7-6 lead before using a 12-3 run to build a 20-10 advantage. Utah Valley had its toughest set of the night, hitting .000, as the Hornets forced a fourth set.

The Wolverines quickly bounced back from the challenging third set as the pin hitters of Gloeckner, Hansen and Thunstrom helped the team race out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth. The Hornets chipped away at the UVU lead and got back within two points multiple times, but Utah Valley answered each challenge. Gloeckner finished with seven of her 13 kills in the fourth set to help the Wolverines close out the match.

Utah Valley (6-15 overall, 4-5 Big West) improved to 3-0 all-time against Sacramento State, and Thursday’s victory marked the first win in the series on either team’s home court.

The two teams travel to Orem and wrap up the home-and-home series on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m. MT inside Lockhart Arena. The Wolverines then hit the road again next week for matches against California Baptist and UC Riverside.

No. 20 BYU women’s soccer, Kansas play to 1-1 draw

LAWRENCE, Kan. — No. 20 BYU women’s soccer tied No. 18 Kansas 1-1 at Rock Chalk Park Thursday night.

BYU forward Emma Hamberlin scored her fifth goal of the season and Mika Krommenhoek added her fifth assist of the year.

After going down 1-0 in the first half, the Jayhawks equalized with just eight minutes remaining in the match.

Kansas outshot BYU 17-14, but the Cougars led with eight shots on frame compared to the Jayhawks’ three. In an aggressive Big 12 battle, 14 fouls were called with nine being called on the Cougars.

BYU pushed the ball quickly up the field to start the match, forcing a diving save by Kansas goalkeeper Sophie Dawe. The Cougars continued to press high, forcing the Jayhawks’ backline to make several key stops early.

In the 15th minute, Mika Krommenhoek sent a ball forward to Afton Perry, who fired a low shot across the goal that was punched away by Dawe. Sophie Sivulich followed with a shot of her own, slipping as she sent the ball over the crossbar.

Just two minutes later, Krommenhoek drove up the left side of the pitch and sent a ball into the box to Emma Hamberlin, whose shot deflected off a Kansas defender to give BYU a 1-0 lead.

The Cougars continued to apply pressure as a corner kick in the 19th minute found Bella Woods, who fired a shot from outside the 18-yard box that was tipped away by Dawe.

In the 23rd minute, Woods made a key defensive play as a Kansas forward found space in the box. Woods timed her slide tackle to prevent a shot on goal, clearing the ball wide.

The Jayhawks increased their offensive pressure, capitalizing on a few BYU miscues to create scoring opportunities. Paiton Collins made a save on one Kansas attempt, while the others sailed off target.

The teams continued to battle back and forth for the remainder of the half, as both teams struggled to keep possession of the ball.

BYU entered halftime outshooting Kansas 6-4, with three shots on goal compared to the Jayhawks’ one. In a physical first half, the Cougars committed seven fouls to Kansas’ three.

Just three minutes into the second half, Kansas fired a shot from near the penalty spot that struck the crossbar before being cleared by the BYU defense.

The Jayhawks continued to pressure the BYU backline, but the Cougars turned away each scoring opportunity. BYU responded with a shot from a wide-open Krommenhoek in front of the goal, but Dawe made the save.

BYU earned its first corner kick of the half in the 62nd minute, leading to another shot by Woods from outside the 18-yard box that was collected by Dawe. The Jayhawks responded with a corner kick of their own, sending the ball bouncing around the box before the Cougars cleared it.

The Jayhawks capitalized on an errant BYU pass in the 70th minute, driving down the field before Avery Frischknecht got a foot on the ball at the last moment to prevent a shot. Kansas earned a corner kick on the play, finding the head of London De Fini, whose attempt sailed over the crossbar.

Kansas created another scoring opportunity in the 77th minute, sending a shot just wide of the goal. BYU responded immediately with a shot from Sivulich near the top of the six-yard box, but her attempt went straight to Dawe.

In the 82nd minute, the Cougars were unable to clear the ball from inside the box, allowing a Kansas forward to split two defenders and slip a shot past Collins to even the score at 1-1.

With less than three minutes remaining, BYU pushed numbers into the box and fired three consecutive shots, but Kansas defenders blocked the attempts before Dawe collected the ball to end the scoring threat.

A free kick in the 89th minute from the left side of the pitch got through the BYU backline and Frischknecht stretched out to clear the ball from the goal line, holding onto the 1-1 draw.

Up Next

The Cougars (9-3-3 overall, 5-1-2 Big 12) head to Iowa State on Monday, Oct. 26 to take on the Cyclones for the final road match of the regular season. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.