Due to a scheduling conflict at the UCCU Center and ongoing renovations to the PE Building, the Utah Valley University volleyball team will host WAC foe Seattle University on Saturday afternoon at nearby Pleasant Grove High School in Pleasant Grove. First serve is set for 1 p.m. MT, and admission is free.
The contest, which will be held at PGHS's new gym that opened just last year, will be the lone home match of the season that the Wolverines will have to play off campus.
"It's not ideal, but under the circumstances it is a location that should work well for everybody. Seattle had to go through the same situation last year, as they played the majority of their games off campus so we're lucky that this is the only match that we have to play off of our campus," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "It's another game that we feel is quite important for us in the first half of the WAC season and we expect it to be a good match."
UVU (6-11, 2-2 WAC) enters Saturday's match having won two in a row after sweeping Chicago State at home last Thursday (Sept. 29) and holding on late to defeat UMKC in a five-set battle on Saturday (Oct. 1). After taking care of business against the CSU Cougars (25-13, 25-14, 25-8), the Wolverines then won the first two sets against the Kangaroos before UMKC came back to win the next two to send the match to a decisive fifth set. UVU then managed to pull out the tightly contested final game, 17-15, thanks to a late Kiahna Vernon kill and a critical UMKC attack error (25-15, 25-23, 19-25, 19-25, 17-15).
Four Wolverines finished in double figures in kills to lead UVU to the victory over the 'Roos. Lexi Thompson and Madison Dennison topped the group with 17 and 15, respectively, while Izzie Hinton added 12 and Vernon chipped in 11. Besides finishing with a team-high 17 kills, Thompson also added seven digs and three blocks, while Dennison notched a match-high six blocks and a .467 hitting percentage. Sierra Starley and Nakisha Willden too played well for UVU, as they each recorded career outings in the match. Starley finished with a career-best 58 assists, nine digs, three blocks, two kills and a service ace, while Willden added a career-high 35 digs and six assists. Dennison and Hinton too tied career highs in the contest with their respective 15 and 12 kills.
Preseason all-conference selection Dennison led Utah Valley last week by averaging 3.00 kills, an even .500 hitting percentage, 1.88 blocks and 0.38 service aces in the two matches. Dennison paces UVU on the season with 151 kills, a .253 attack percentage, 102 blocks and a 1.57 blocks per set average. Her 102 blocks and her 1.57 blocking average are also both good enough to lead the WAC and rank her fifth and 11th nationally, respectively. As a team, UVU also leads the conference in total blocks (198.5) and blocks per set average (3.05). Those tallies are good enough to rank the Wolverines fourth and seventh in the nation, respectively.
Pleasant Grove High School Connection
Saturday's match will mark a homecoming for three Wolverines, as Dennison, Brooklynn Bodily and Bailey Nixon all played their high school volleyball for the Pleasant Grove Vikings. Two former Utah Valley greats are also currently on the coaching staff at Pleasant Grove High School, as Allyce Jones (who ranks second all-time at UVU in digs) is the Vikings' head coach and Kayli Doxey (who is UVU's all-time leader in kills and points) is her assistant.
About the opposition
Seattle U comes to town with a 9-8 overall record and is currently tied with UVU for fourth place in the WAC standings with a 2-2 conference clip. The Redhawks have also won two-straight matches after defeating UMKC and Chicago State at home last week. SU recorded both of those victories in straight sets. Seattle was picked to finish third in the WAC this season after tying with UVU for third place a season ago with a 9-5 league record.
Matea Mamic leads SU on the year with 233 kills and a 3.76 per set average, while the reigning WAC Player of the Week Maja Stojanovic fronts the team in hitting and at the net with a .367 attack percentage and a 1.08 blocks per set clip.
All-time against Seattle U
Saturday's contest will mark the 10th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and the Redhawks. Seattle U enters play holding a slight 5-4 series advantage after having won three of the past four meetings between the two schools.
Up next for UVU
Following Saturday's contest, UVU will return to the road to face CSU Bakersfield in Bakersfield, California, on Thursday, Oct. 13, and Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday, Oct. 15.
James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.