The Utah Valley University volleyball team heads to the Midwest this weekend for a pair of Western Athletic Conference matches at UMKC and Chicago State. The Wolverines and Kangaroos will first do battle on Thursday at 4 p.m. MT, in Kansas City before UVU heads to the Windy City for an 11 a.m. MT matchup with the CSU Cougars on Saturday.
Thursday's match will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network, while fans can follow the action on Saturday via live stats.
UVU (10-12, 6-3 WAC) enters the weekend in sole possession of second place in the WAC standings after earning a hard-fought five-set victory over UT Rio Grande Valley at home last Saturday. After winning the first two sets, UTRGV battled back to take the next two to send the match to a decisive fifth game. With the Vaqueros holding to an 8-6 lead midway through the fifth set, UVU got managed to turn things around by reeling off a 5-0 run to take an 11-8 lead. After UTRGV pulled it to within three late at 13-10, the Wolverines responded with back-to-back clutch points to take the set and the match, 3-2.
Senior outside hitter Kiahna Vernon paced the Wolverines in the contest with a career-high 18 kills, while junior middle blocker Madison Dennison tied her career best with 17 and fellow junior outside Lexi Thompson added 16. Junior setter Sierra Starley and senior libero Nakisha Willden also had solid outings by adding respective tallies of 49 assists and 24 digs.
The Wolverines have now won six of their last seven matches with the victory. UVU also tied a pair of program records with Saturday's win, as the triumph marked Utah Valley's fifth five-set victory on the year as well as its eighth five-set contest overall.
Dennison paces UVU on the season in hitting and blocking with a .279 attack percentage, 130 total blocks and a 1.48 blocks per set average. Her 130 blocks and her 1.48 per set average are also good enough to lead the WAC and rank her fifth and 12th in the nation, respectively. As a team, UVU also leads the league and ranks fourth and seventh, respectively, with a 260.0 total team blocks and a 2.95 per set blocking average.
Thompson leads the Wolverines offensively on the year with a 2.83 kills per set average, while Willden paces the team and the WAC from the back row with a 5.11 digs per set average.
About the opposition
UMKC enters Thursday's contest with an 11-10 overall record and currently in fifth place in the conference standings with a 4-4 league mark. The Roos swept past Chicago State at home last weekend, but prior to that dropped a pair of road matches at New Mexico State and UTRGV the previous week. UMKC was picked to finish fourth in the WAC this season and is just two years removed from winning the league title in 2014.
Emma Hagedorn leads the Roos and the WAC in hitting with a stellar .449 mark. She also tops the team in kills with a 2.97 per set average, while Mykal Sadler fronts the team in blocking with a 0.98 per set clip.
Thursday's match will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Kangaroos. UVU enters play holding a 5-2 series advantage after pulling out a five-set victory over UMKC on Oct. 1, in Orem.
Chicago State enters the weekend with a 3-20 overall record and in seventh place in the WAC standings with a 1-7 league ledger. The Cougars have dropped five-straight contests but will first host Seattle U on Thursday prior to Saturday's tilt with the Wolverines. CSU's lone league win was a five-set thriller over Grand Canyon on Oct. 6, and snapped a 47-match WAC losing streak. The Cougars were picked to finish eighth in the conference the season.
Dzeni Hadzisehovic paces the Cougars offensively with a 2.68 kills per set average, while Sofia Gruden leads the team at the net with a 0.84 blocking average.
Saturday's matchup will mark the 20th all-time meeting between UVU and CSU. The Wolverines enter play holding a perfect 19-0 record that dates back to Oct. 1, 2007.
Up next for UVU
Utah Valley will return home for its first match of the season in the newly renovated PE Building on Tuesday, Nov. 1, against in-state rival Weber State. Following the non-conference contest, UVU will return to WAC play at Seattle U on Saturday, Nov. 5.
James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.