Stephen F. Austin University defeated Utah Valley University (12-25,22-25,25-20,23-25) in the 2022 WAC Volleyball Championship Match.

SFA (25-4, 11-3) got a match-high 17 kills from WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Ieland Bradley, to keep the momentum. Utah Valley (18-11, 10-4) was led by Kazna Tanuvasa, with 16 kills in the match.

Utah Valley got off to a slow start in the opening set. SFA hit .394 in the opening set, allowing them to take early control of the match and win the opening set 25-12. The Wolverines regrouped between sets.

The Ladyjacks used a 4-0 run midway through the second set to go up 16-11. UVU got back within three after a kill from Caleigh Vagana and a pair of SFA attack errors to make the set 19-16. The Wolverines were looking to come back in the set and got within one after a Tanuvasa kill and a block assist from Kalea Kennedy and Makayla Broadbent. Bradley had two kills in the final minutes to secure the set for SFA.

The Wolverines and Ladyjacks traded points in the early moments of the third set. UVU took an 11-10 lead after two kills from Tanuvasa. The SFA errors started to add up in the third set, and UVU was ready to take advantage and held a late lead in the set. Kennedy had two late kills, with Broadbent adding one. UVU won the set 25-20.

Utah Valley held a 14-13 lead in the fourth set before SFA used an 8-2 run to swing the set into their favor. The Wolverines fought with all their might, as Hailey Cuff had a kill and teamed up with Vagana for a block assist making it 19-17 SFA. Tori Dorius added a kill after a second Cuff kill to make it 20-19 SFA. A short 3-0 run by the Ladyjacks gave them a close 23-19 lead before Dorius added brought UVU back to within two at 23-21. Tanuvasa got UVU back within one, but UVU came up just short to get to a fifth set.

Seniors Tanuvasa, Broadbent, and Ke’ilani Sedrick left everything on the court tonight, with Tanuvasa having 16 kills, six digs, and an ace. Broadbent had four kills for UVU. Sedrick provided a spark from the service line.

Abbie Miller had 19 assists and moved into fifth all-time in UVU history, passing Madi Wardle. Natalie Palmer added 18 assists for UVU.

Stephen F. Austin earns an automatic bid from the WAC to the NCAA Tournament. Utah Valley finishes the season at 18-11 and 10-4 in the WAC. UVU will say goodbye to Tanuvasa, Broadbent, and Sedrick, with their impact being left on the program.

Kemboi becomes UVU’s first All-American in cross country

Utah Valley University’s Everlyn Kemboi became the program’s first All-American in cross country after finishing 19th at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning at Oklahoma State University. The 27th-ranked Wolverines, making their first team appearance in program history, finished 26th overall.

Kemboi ran the 6k in 19:59.7 on a chilly but sunny morning in Stillwater. She was followed by Mazzie Melaney Preston, who was 140th with a time of 20:51.6. Caila Odekirk (154th, 20:57.3), Hannah Branch (167th, 21:04.1), and Maggie Zwahlen (182nd, 21:11.9) were the remaining three to factor into the team score for the Wolverines. Ari Trimble (198th, 21:20.0) and Madison Flippence (213th, 21:30.6) rounded out the Utah Valley student-athletes competing on Saturday.

“For Eva to become our first distance runner in cross country to be an All-American is special. She also ran 23 seconds faster than she did here (at the Cowboy Jamboree) a couple of months ago,” said UVU head coach Scott Houle.

Utah Valley had five seniors all race for the final time in cross country: Branch, Melaney Preston, Flippence, Kemboi, and Zwahlen. All but Branch have track & field eligibility remaining and will forever be part of the program’s first team NCAA Championships appearance. Branch was a five-time All-WAC selection in cross country and last season was alongside Kemboi as the program’s first female outdoor track & field All-Americans, with both achieving the feat in the 10k. Zwahlen had four All-WAC finishes during her cross country career with Melaney Preston achieving the feat three times. Kemboi — the 2022 women’s champion — and Flippence were both two-time All-WAC selections.

“The seniors have been a huge staple for us. I remember recruiting them and they came here and believed in a system and worked hard. They achieved some great things and really put our team on the map. We’re really going to miss them,” Houle said.

Odekirk, a sophomore, and Trimble, a true freshman, both are poised to lead the program going forward.

“Caila had a really good race today. She ran one minute faster than she did last year, which is a huge improvement, and Ari being a freshman just continues to impress. She’s our fastest freshman ever on this course so it’s exciting to have them in the program as they continue to develop,” said Houle.

UVU women’s basketball loses at Weber State

Utah Valley University fell cold in the middle quarters and couldn’t complete a late comeback attempt, falling 55-44 on Saturday at Weber State University.

Jaeden Brown led the Wolverines (1-3) with 13 points and nine rebounds while Eleyana Tafisi added seven points, eight rebounds and four steals and Saige Gibb scored a career-high seven points. Jadyn Matthews had 16 for the Wildcats (1-2) to lead all scorers.

UVU got off to a quick start and led 8-3 after Kylee Mabry scored four early points. With the game knotted at 16-16, Shay Fano buried a 3-pointer en route to a 19-18 lead after one quarter. The Wolverines were 7-for-15 from the field in the opening quarter.

Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net in the second quarter, with each team scoring just six points in the quarter. Utah Valley led 25-24 at the break.

Weber State took control of the game with a run in the third. UVU trailed 28-25 when Brown hit a 3-pointer to tie it, and she scored again to get the Wolverines within two, 32-30, at the 5:33 mark of the third quarter. However, the Wildcats kept Utah Valley off the scoreboard the rest of the quarter and extended the run to 12-0 when Daryn Hickock hit a three for the first points of the fourth.

The lead was eventually stretched to 19, 50-31, before Utah Valley made a late run to try and get back into the game. Gibb scored five points and Abby Conlee added four during a run of 11 straight points from UVU to make it 50-42, but time ran out on the comeback attempt.

The Wolverines were 15-for-54 (27.8%) overall while the Wildcats made 19-of-47 (40.4%). Utah Valley will next play at Portland State on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT.

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