Know thy enemy
Reading Time: 2 minutesPhoto courtesy UVU Athletics
Utah Valley University sports will split the week on the road and at home while reaching various mile markers in respective seasons. The women’s soccer team closed out the regular season against Seattle University and moves on to the conference tournament, while volleyball opens the renovated PE Gym. Meanwhile, the men’s soccer team closes the book on what has been a spectacular regular season.
The volleyball team will play at home against in-state rival Weber State Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. in the PE Gym. The Wildcats began the season by sweeping their out-of-conference schedule to a 9-0 start. Despite the strong start, WSU has lost six of their first 10 Big Sky matches. The Wolverines and Wildcats match up well against one another as both squads lead their respective conferences in blocks.
UVU will bookend the weekend with a trip to Seattle, Washington to take on Seattle U. In their previous meeting this season, the Wolverines topped the Redhawks three sets to one in a match played at Pleasant Grove High School. Seattle leads the WAC in service aces, but UVU topped the Redhawks by a margin of 8-7 in the ace column in their last contest.
The men’s soccer team will finish the regular season at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. UVU is 1-0-1 all-time against UIW, including a commanding 4-1 win at Clyde Field last season.
The Cardinals will test the Wolverine defense as they have outshot opponents by nearly 3.5 shots per game. However, as a middle-of-the-road Western Athletic Conference team, UIW still struggles to find the back of the net with an average of 1.29 goals per game, while UVU only allows an average of 0.69 per game.
Though the Cardinals have outshot opponents, their defense has not been efficient having allowed an average of one goal every 7.3 shots attempts.
The women’s soccer team wrapped up its regular season slate Friday night against Seattle U, and will begin play in the WAC Tournament Thursday, Nov. 3, in Kansas City, Missouri.
The wrestling team gets the season underway Saturday in Laramie, Wyoming at the Cowboy Open.
I’m a Pacific Northwest guy who loves his Pacific Northwest sports. An amateur movie buff who prefers the disc to digital. Chasing the sports writing dream while I geek out on Assassin’s Creed.