The Wolverines headed up to Pocatello, ID on Tuesday, Sept. 3 to face off against the Bengals of Idaho State University.
The Bengals played against the University of Albany, University of Nebraska, and Abilene Christian University so far this season winning two and losing one to the University of Nebraska. The Bengals ended last season with a winning record of 19-14. ISU took a loss when playing UVU in Aug. 2018.
Set one started well for UVU, with two net violations for ISU and some strong plays with no resistance. Freshman Tori Dorius started the set off with two back to back kills, while sophomore Kazna Tarawhiti followed with a strong ace from the backline. After this strong start, UVU would fall flat throughout the rest of the set against the Bengals. After a run of three kills and two service aces, ISU would go on to win the set 21-25.
In the second set UVU continued to hold their own. Sophomore Kali Downs and junior Bailey Christiansen in front being responsible for four out of the five points at the start. Set two continued to be back-and-forth between the two teams, which resulted in a final kill by Downs that won the second set for UVU 25-23.
Set Three would go a little differently with a lead from ISU to start it. Senior Jasmine Niutupuivaha turned the game around with a pair of kills, followed by a double block by Downs and sophomore Sadie Hamson. The set continued to be much like the second in a battle play-by-play but resulted in UVU dropping set three 19-25.
The Final set started pretty poorly for UVU and continued with a widening gap as the Bengals pulled ahead. UVU was able to close this gap, but in short fell in the final set to ISU 22-25.
Even with this loss, the Wolverines played well and showed off some of their freshmen talent. There is still plenty of good to come this season for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines continue their season with their first home tournament taking place this weekend at the Lockhart Area. UVU will play Portland State at noon, and UC Davis at 7 pm Friday, Sept. 6. With the third game on Saturday, Sept. 7 as the Wolverines face off against the University of Utah at 5 pm.
Catch the Wolverines in-action at any of these three games this weekend.
Photo by Natasha Colburn
