OGDEN - Utah Valley snapped a five-match losing streak with a 3-0 road victory over in-state foe Weber State at Swenson Gym on Tuesday night (25-17, 25-17, 25-19). Junior Kalani Norris and freshman Macky Treanor led the way for the Wolverines as each recorded double digits in kills and hit over .400 apiece.
"We played well on both sides of the ball tonight," head coach Sam Atoa said. "The girls did a great job of being able to take control of the match and I felt like they really disrupted Weber State's offense, which allowed us to score some points."
Norris' 15 kills and .481 attack percentage led the way for UVU, but Treanor finished right behind her with 12 kills of her own and a .407 hitting percentage. Senior setter Brookelyn Hall and junior libero McKenna Tait too had solid matches as both recorded match-highs in assists and digs with 36 and 10, respectively. Hall also chipped in seven digs while Tait added two aces.
In a match that saw just one lead change and three ties, UVU (3-8) dominated the Wildcats (4-10) from start to finish as it outhit the home team .358 - .156, as well as held a 70-50 sideout percentage advantage.
The Wolverines scored the first six points of the opening set and never looked back from there as they extended their lead to as many as 10 in the frame. UVU never trailed in the set, and Norris paced the Wolverines with five kills.
Set two was more of the same as the Wolverines used a pair of 5-0 runs to take command of the game. Norris and Treanor combined for 10 kills and a .579 hitting percentage in the set as the Wolverines outhit the Wildcats .440 - .087.
Back-to-back kills from Norris gave UVU an early five-point advantage in set number three, but Weber State countered back for one of the few times on the night and pulled to within one, at 11-10, after a pair of kills from Ciero Borho. Moments later, however, the Wolverines answered with kills from Norris and junior Cassie Wahlin as well as an ace from Treanor to give UVU a 15-11 lead.
Utah Valley held onto its lead from there to put the contest away in straight sets. Late kills from Norris, Treanor, Wahlin and senior Katie Fritzler down the stretch helped the Wolverines complete the sweep.
The victory marks UVU's fifth straight over the Wildcats and now gives the Wolverines a 9-6 advantage over WSU in the all-time series.
"I was happy with both Kalani and Macky's efforts tonight. They each hit the ball very well for us," Atoa said. "I also felt like Brookelyn did a nice job setting as it was a complete team effort."
Utah Valley will now head to Colorado Springs, Colo., for its final pre-season tournament of the season this weekend. The Wolverines will face UC Riverside and Wyoming on Friday and close the tournament with a match against Air Force on Saturday. The Wolverines will then begin their inaugural season of conference play in the Western Athletic Conference on the road the following week.
James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit www.WolverineGreen.com.