Wolverines use big runs to shut out Seattle U 3-0 

The Utah Valley University women’s volleyball team shut out the Seattle University Redhawks in a 3-0 victory on Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Redhawk Center in Seattle, Washington. The Wolverines won three straight sets 25-16, 25-18, and 25-22, and used big runs in each of the sets to power their way past the Redhawks. 

UVU now moves to a record of 9-7 on the season and 4-3 on the road. The Wolverines are also third in the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 3-1 record in conference play. 

The Wolverines finished the match leading the Redhawks in scoring 58-46, kills 46-37, blocks 10-6, assists, 43-34, and digs 51-37. 

Kazna Tanuvasa led the Wolverines in kills with 12 while Tori Dorius and Hailey Cuff followed with 10 and 9 kills, respectively. Caleigh Vagna and Makayla Broadbent each had four blocks apiece while Hailey Cuff had three. Abbie Miller had 21 assists and 11 digs and Bryton Nixon had 14 digs and six assists. Tanuvasa also had 10 digs. 

The Wolverines began the first set back-and-forth with the Redhawks, leading 11-10. After a 2-0 run by the Redhawks to retake the lead, the Wolverines accumulated four kills as a team to go on a 4-1 run to go up 15-13.

Merima Smajlovic got a quick kill to keep the Redhawks close; however, the Wolverines used four attack errors to go on a 6-0 run and take a commanding 21-14 lead. The Redhawks would never recover as the Wolverines closed out on a 4-2 run to win the set 25-16 with Cuff closing the game off with a kill. 

The second set also began in a seesaw as the Wolverines scored all eight of their first points off of kills to bring the set to an 8-7 lead early. After the Redhawks tied the set 8-8, the Wolverines went on a 9-0 to go up 17-8. 

The Redhawks would fight back, scoring while using a pair of 2-0 runs to cut the deficit 19-12. The Wolverines responded with a 4-2 run with two kills each from Tanuvasa and Kalea Kennedy to get back to a commanding 23-14 lead. 

However, the Redhawks weren’t finished as they 4-0 run to bring the lead down to five. The Wolverines promptly used a kill by Kennedy and a service ace by Abbie Miller to finish the set with a final score of 25-18 and take a 2-0 match lead.

The third set began in runs with the Wolverines using four 2-0 runs and the Redhawks using three 2-0 runs in making their way to a score of 12-11 in favor of the Wolverines. UVU then went on a 7-1 run to take another 19-12 lead. 

The Redhawks answered with a 10-5 run, using one 3-0 run and three 2-0 runs to cut the score within two, 24-22. However, Dorius scored the set-winning kill to finish the finished match off with a 3-0 victory and a final set score of 25-22. 

UVU is now on a two-game winning streak. 

The Wolverines will compete next against WAC-newcomer the University of Texas Arlington Mavericks on Thursday, Oct. 13, back home at the Lockhart Arena in Orem, Utah. The match can be streamed on ESPN+.

Gavin Lee

Writer

Sophomore at UVU. Writer for the UVU review, statistician for UVU ESPN+, and play-by-play commentator for UVU Men’s Lacrosse.