After opening Western Athletic Conference play with a 2-1 mark on the road, the Utah Valley University volleyball team returns home this week for a pair of key league matches against UT Rio Grande Valley and New Mexico State. The Wolverines will first host the defending WAC Tournament champion UTRGV Vaqueros on Thursday, before capping the homestand with a Saturday matinee against the 2016 WAC regular-season champion NM State Aggies.

Thursday's WAC home opener against UTRGV is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest is at 1 p.m. Both league matches will be contested in Lockhart Arena and air on the WAC Digital Network.

"It's always good to play at home. I wish we would've gotten the win at Bakersfield on Saturday, but we will learn and grow from that match in practice this week," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "We look forward to hosting two very good teams in UTRGV and New Mexico State."

UVU enters the weekend with a 7-11 overall record and a 2-1 start in WAC play after splitting a pair of road matches last week. After opening conference play with a 3-0 win at Seattle U on Sept. 23, Utah Valley picked up a 3-1 win at Grand Canyon on Sept. 28, before concluding the week with a five-set setback to the undefeated CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (26-28, 25-22, 25-23, 16-25, 15-17) on Sept. 30.

The Wolverines held a two sets to one lead over Bakersfield on Saturday, as well as a late lead in the decisive fifth set, but the 'Runners managed to respond late in the fifth set en route to recording a 3-2 victory. The contest marked the fifth-consecutive five-set match between UVU and CSUB.

Senior outside hitter Lexi Thompson led Utah Valley on the week with a 4.56 kills per set average, a .293 hitting percentage and a 2.11 digs per clip. Thompson posted a match-high 22 kills in the four-set victory at GCU and followed that up with a double-double of 19 kills and 11 digs in Saturday's setback to CSUB. Fellow senior Madison Dennison was next by averaging 2.33 kills, a .320 hitting percentage and an impressive 2.00 blocks per set clip. Dennison had 11 kills and eight blocks against the Lopes, as well as a double-double of 10 kills and 10 blocks against the 'Runners.

Thompson paces the Wolverines on the season offensively with a 3.46 kills per set average. She also leads the WAC in kills in league-only play with a stellar 4.33 kills per set clip. Dennison is second on the team in kills with a 2.81 kills per set clip and leads the way in hitting with a .312 attack percentage. She also not only fronts the Wolverines and the WAC in blocks on the season with 109, but her 109 total blocks are good enough to lead the nation in that category. She also enters the weekend ranked fifth nationally in blocks per set with a 1.60 per set average.

About Rio Grande Valley

The Vaqueros enter Thursday's match with a 9-7 overall record and an unblemished 3-0 conference mark. UTRGV first picked up a 3-2 win at home over New Mexico State, before sweeping UMKC and Chicago State in Edinburg last week. UT Rio Grande Valley has now won six-consecutive matches, as it also defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Incarnate Word and Texas Southern during the streak. The Vaqueros were picked to finish second in the WAC this season after going 21-14 overall, 7-7 in conference play and winning the WAC Tournament title a season ago.

Preseason all-WAC selection Ragni Steen Knudsen leads UTRGV on the season with a 3.55 kills per set average, while Preseason WAC Player of the Year Bojana Mitrovic is next with an average of 2.98 kills per set. Talita Oliveira fronts the squad at the net with a 1.08 blocks per set clip.

Thursday's matchup will mark 33rd all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Vaqueros. UVU holds a 28-4 series lead, which includes a perfect 16-0 mark in Orem. UTRGV has won three of the last four meetings, however, including a 3-0 victory over the Wolverines in the 2016 WAC Tournament title match in Las Cruces last November.

About New Mexico State

The Aggies enter the weekend with a 10-6 season record and a 2-1 start in WAC play. NM State first heads to Seattle to face fellow conference foe Seattle U on Thursday before coming to Orem. After dropping a five-set match to UTRGV on Sept. 23, New Mexico State rebounded with back-to-back sweeps over Chicago State and UMKC at home last week. The Aggies have won four of their last five matches, as they also hold wins over UTEP and William & Mary during the stretch. NM State was picked to win the WAC again in 2017 after going 24-7 a year ago and 13-1 in conference play en route to winning the 2016 WAC regular-season title.

Kassandra Tohm paces the Aggie attack with a 3.00 kills per set average, while preseason all-WAC selection Tatyana Battle is right behind her with a 2.88 per set clip. Lia Mosher paces the team in blocks with a 1.04 per set average.

Saturday's contest will mark the ninth all-time meeting between UVU and NMSU. The Aggies enter play holding a 7-1 series advantage, which includes a 3-1 record in Orem. UVU's lone win came in the first meeting between the two squads in a 3-0 sweep on October 19, 2013, in Orem.

Up next for UVU

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The Wolverines will return to the road to continue WAC play at Chicago State and UMKC next week. UVU will first face the CSU Cougars in the Windy City on Thursday, Oct. 12, before capping the trip on Saturday, Oct. 14, against the Kangaroos in Kansas City.

Closing in on 500 career blocks

Senior middle blocker Dennison enters this weekend's matches just 10 blocks shy of 500 for her career. Dennison looks to become just the second Wolverine in program history to surpass 500 career blocks, as she enters Thursday's match with 490 total blocks in her career. Former UVU great Lauren Bakker (2012-15) is the program's all-time leader with 579. Dennison also sits just 168 kills shy of 1,000 for her career, as she enters the weekend with 832 kills in her career.

James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.

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