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Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald
Willy the Wolverine poses for a photo after the green-and-white scrimmage at Clyde Field in Orem on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
Utah Valley snapped an 11-match losing streak to Utah on Friday night inside Lockhart Arena. The last UVU victory in the series was in 2009, also in Orem. Avery Shewell recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs to lead UVU (1-1) over Utah (0-1). Caleigh Vagana had nine blocks to come within one of tying a career-high.
“It was an amazing win tonight, “UVU head coach Sam Atoa said. “Beating Utah was huge for us. I am so proud of the team for their resilience and determination to fight back after a tough loss earlier. They showed a lot of grit.”
Utah Valley took the first set 25-19 after capitalizing on ten Utah attack errors. Avery Shewell and Kalea Kennedy each had three kills in the set. Utah Valley took a 6-3 lead following kills from Kendra Nock and Kennedy and later pulled away from Utah with a 7-0 run, with kills by Kennedy, Nock, and Shewell and blocks from Shewell and Caleigh Vagana. UVU took a ten-point lead at 19-9 before the Utes started chipping away at the lead and making it as close as 20-17. The Wolverines held strong to win the first set 25-19 after two attack errors clinched the set.
UVU and Utah played a close second set with eight ties and four lead changes. The Wolverines took the first lead at 2-1 after a service ace from Shewell. Later in the set, as UVU looked to pull away, the Utes went on a 5-1 run to make it 19-18 Utes. Utah Valley tied it up at 19-19 on the next point, but then a 6-3 run by Utah tied the match at one set.
UVU had their highest hitting percentage of the night at .400 as Tori Ellis led the charge with five kills in the set. Utah Valley took a 6-3 lead in the third after a 4-0 run with two Ute errors and kills from Ellis and Kendra Nock. The lead later grew to five at 12-5, following four of the Utes’ nine total errors in the set.
Utah climbed back within one at 13-12 after a 5-1 run as they approached the media timeout. Out of the timeout, Ellis, Shewell, and Hailey Cuff all added kills to help put UVU in front 19-14. Leading 23-16, the Wolverines held on for the set after a late Utah rally fell short.
The match’s final set went back and forth early before the Wolverines used a 9-1 run late to pull away after taking advantage of Utah errors, with kills from Cuff, Nock, and a service ace from Lani Matavao.
Abbie Medeiros had 16 assists in the match and was joined by freshman Setter Evalyn Chism who added 16 assists and eight digs, just two short of a double-double. Tori Ellis had 11 kills.
The victory over the Utes was sandwiched by a pair of losses to North Carolina State, including a 3-1 (21-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-12) defeat on Friday and a tough 3-2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 16-14) heartbreaker on Saturday.
The final match featured 26 ties and 11 lead changes. Avery Shewell had a match-high of 18 kills, Tori Ellis added 17, and Evalyn Chism recorded a double-double with 22 assists and ten digs.
The fifth set had seven ties and four lead changes. UVU took an early 3-1 set lead after two errors and a kill from Shewell, but the Wolfpack quickly fired with a 5-1 run to take a 6-4 lead and took the 8-7 lead into the timeout. Following a 3-0 run out of the timeout, NC State looked to take control with an 11-7 lead.
The Wolverines had a run of their own, scoring the next five points off three errors and kills from Ellis and Kendra Nock. The senior Ellis was key down the stretch with two kills to tie the match, including one with an NC State match point, but in the end, Amanda Rice from NCSU had two kills to clinch the match.
Utah Valley travels this next weekend to the United States Naval Academy, where they will meet Navy on Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. MT and then face Old Dominion and Maryland on Sept. 2. All matches will be played at the Wesley L. Brown Fieldhouse.
The Wolverines are next home for Utah State on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. MT.
UVU women’s soccer wins at Idaho State
Faith Webber recorded a brace and the Utah Valley defense picked up its first clean sheet of the season in a 6-0 shutout on the road over Idaho State on Sunday at Davis Field in Pocatello, Idaho.
“It was a collective effort and a shared workload today,” said Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay. “We picked up our first shutout of the year and checked that box. A handful of our players also played their first-ever collegiate minutes and Sadie Beardall scored her first college goal. Those are the things we celebrated today. Now, it’s time to get back to work and prepare for a very good Utah team on Wednesday. It’s a game we’ve looked forward to for a long time.”
Utah Valley fired a season-best 33 shots on the day, including 16 on frame. UVU held Idaho State to just 10 shots and only one on goal. The Wolverines also tallied eight corner kicks while keeping the Bengals without a corner.
Utah Valley now travels up I-15 to take on in-state rival and Pac-12 foe Utah on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
Wolverine men’s soccer falls to No. 23 Western Michigan
Charlie Hodgson’s brace spoiled Kyle Beckerman’s return to America First Field, as the No. 23/RV Western Michigan Broncos surged to a 3-1 victory over the Utah Valley men’s soccer team on Sunday afternoon.
After the Wolverines fell behind early, Michele Signorelli scored his first UVU goal early in the second half to tie the game.
Things were on level terms for only a few minutes MAC Hermann preseason watch list honoree Charlie Sharp put the Broncos ahead for good in the 55th minute.
An increasingly chippy match reached a boiling point in the 70th minute when WMU’s Tom Cooklin fouled Omar Yehya. In the ensuing fracas, Yehya shoved another Bronco player and was shown a straight red card.
Despite being down a man, the Wolverines were still able to maintain their attacking pressure. Utah Valley got off seven shots, including two on goal, in the final 20 minutes of the game.
Hodgson put the game on ice in the 88th minute when he was able to flick a cross into the back of the net off a cross from Sharp.
Up next, the Wolverines will head to Oregon to face a pair of tough opponents. Utah Valley will face off against Oregon State on Friday before facing the No. 13 Portland Pilots the following Monday.
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