OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University defeated Seattle University 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon inside the Lockhart Arena. UVU (7-6, 2-0) used a steady offensive attack to get past Seattle U (4-6, 0-2). Utah Valley freshman Avery Shewell had a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Tori Dorius added 11 kills, and Kazna Tanuvasa had 12 double-digit kill performances for the Wolverines.
“We are home for most of our matches in the first half, and we need to win those matches to build momentum for when we play on the road later. I cannot be more pleased with how the team is responding to challenges, it is not always going to be perfect, but it is how you respond to challenges,” said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.
The Wolverines rallied late after trailing 21-17 late in the set. Natalie Palmer got the rally going with a setter dump for a point before Kalea Kennedy added a kill of her own, paired with a kill from Shewell to make it 23-20. Shewell added the next two kills to bring UVU within one at 23-22. UVU had set point at 25-24 after a Dorius kill and an SU attack error. Tanuvasa had a kill to win the set at 26-24.
Seattle U and UVU played to an 8-8 tie in the second set before the Wolverines went on a 3-0 run that was started by an SU service error and followed by a Tanuvasa kill and a block assist from Tanuvasa and Makayla Broadbent. Broadbent made her presence felt with a second kill and block assist to put UVU up 14-9. Seattle U tied the set up at 19-19 before UVU pulled away on a 6-1 run to close out the second set at 25-19.
The Wolverines used a 4-0 run in the third set to tie and take a 7-6 lead. Caleigh Vagana, Dorius, Broadbent, and Tanuvasa had kills in the run. Jules Fink had a kill and a block assist during a second 4-0 run to put UVU up 18-11. UVU closed the set on a kill from Caleigh Vagana, who had three kills in the final set to lead UVU.
Abbie Miller had 25 assists in the match. The Wolverines outhit the Redhawks .241 to .139. Broadbent had a strong performance for UVU with three kills to go along with seven block assists in the match.
Utah Valley stays at home for matches against Sam Houston on Oct. 1 and Chicago State on Oct. 6 before heading on the road for one match against Seattle U on Oct. 8. Tickets for both matches are still available.