“We are playing at a different level right now, and I’m excited for what the girls are doing offensively and defensively,” said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. “I think that even in our losses last weekend, we played very well and just did not play well enough to win. We have taken a different outlook and mindset of what we needed to do to protect our home court.”

The Wolverines jumped out to a 7-0 lead after kills from Caleigh Vagana and Hailey Cuff, with a pair of services aces from senior setter Abbie Medeiros. The Texans made a push after calling both timeouts to make it 16-14. UVU pulled away using a 7-0 run with three kills from Tori Ellis before Cuff added a service ace. Shewell had a pair of kills to make it set point before adding a final kill to end the set.

Utah Valley middle blocker Kendra Nock had three blocks of the team’s five blocks in the set. The first block put UVU up 5-3 with a block assist from Nock and Ellis. The lead increased to 7-4 after Shewell and Nock teamed up for the block. The steady offensive attack kept the Wolverines in front during the set. As UVU led 20-14, they used a 5-1 run to set up match point before Kalea Kennedy’s kill ended it.

UVU’s Shewell used four kills down the stretch to help clinch the match as they got out to an 8-2 lead early in the set. After Tarleton State chipped away at the lead, the Wolverines went up 12-6 after a block assist by Kennedy and Nock. Utah Valley later pushed the lead out to 20-13 before a 4-0 run with a Nock solo block put the match away.

The .460 hitting percentage is the third-highest in the program’s history. The highest is .543, which they hit against Southern Utah on Oct. 28, 2013. UVU had five players hit over .500 in the match, with Shewell at .714, Ellis at .500, Vagana at .500, and Nock at .800.

Utah Valley travels next week to the Lonestar State when they play at UT Arlington on Nov. 2 and Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 4. UVU will look to continue to move up the WAC standings in their first trip to both schools. The 2023 WAC Tournament is coming up on Nov. 16-18 in Orem at the Lockhart Arena.

Green teams wins annual intersquad wrestling match

Utah Valley wrestling held their annual Green and Black match, with the Green topping Black 31-19 inside the Lockhart Arena.

The Green team used a fast start to jump out to an early lead, winning four out of the first six matches, with freshman Kael Bennie scoring six with a pin, Mark Takara winning by major decision, James Emmer and Jaxon Garoutte both picked up decisions for the Green. No. 28 Isaiah Delgado picked up a 7-2 decision over fellow NCAA qualifier Ty Smith.

The Black team was led by No. 12 Evan Bockman, who won in the final match of the night on Mat 1 by major decision by a 16-4 final score, and No. 14 Haiden Drury won by decision over Kase Mauger 7-1. Black picked up other wins by Caleb Uhlenhopp, Jacob Armstrong, and Jayden Woodruff.

Utah Valley will officially start the 2023-2024 season at the Southeast Open on Nov. 4 in Salem, Va. The tournament will be aired on FloWrestling, beginning at 7 a.m. MT. The backups and redshirts will open the year at the Rookie Open on Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. MT.

UVU men’s soccer set for Senior Night

Utah Valley hosts WAC foe Grand Canyon for a Senior Night showdown on Monday at Clyde Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, with the Senior Night ceremony taking place 20 minutes prior. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Wolverines will be honoring four of their seniors on Monday — Floris van Nijnanten, Michele Signorelli, Ura Miura, and Leon Olacio.

Monday’s match figures to be a dramatic one, as both the Wolverines and Lopes vie for the final WAC Tournament spot. A win or draw for Utah Valley would see them through to the WAC Tournament, while GCU needs a win to get in.

The Wolverines were in the same situation last year and pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind victory over California Baptist. That game featured the latest regulation game-winning goal in program history, scored by Mark Andros in the 88th minute.

Should the Wolverines take care of business on Monday with a win or a draw, Utah Valley will qualify for the WAC Tournament, set to begin Nov. 5 in Las Vegas. Further information about game times would be posted following Monday’s game.