United Athletic Conference

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Utah Valley dropped a hard-fought match to in-state rival #16 Utah, 3-1 (16-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-11) at Smith Fieldhouse in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. With the loss, UVU finishes its historic season with a record of 16-13 as the Utes advance to the next round.

 

Kendra Nock and Kristen Bell started the match off with a block as UVU got out to an early 5-3 lead. Utah ripped off an 8-1 run to take the lead, 11-6, but Bell sparked a 6-1 run to tie the set up at 12-12. The Utes countered with a 5-1 run, regaining the lead, 17-13. Kazna Tanuvasa led a 3-1 run, but Utah finished the set on a 7-0 run to take the first set, 25-16.  

 

A pair of aces by Bryton Bishop helped the Wolverines take a 7-3 advantage in the second set. The Utes chipped away at the lead, cutting the UVU lead down to 10-8. Sadie Hamson extended the Utah Valley to 12-8, but Utah used a 6-2 surge to tie the set up at 14-14. Hamson and Kalea Kennedy sparked a 5-2 run to push the lead back out to 19-16, but three straight points by Utah knotted the set up at 19 apiece. Tori Dorius hammered home a pair of kills to put UVU up 24-22 before Bell hit the final kill, giving the Wolverines the set, 25-22, to tie the match up at 1-1.

 

Both teams battled back and forth to start the third set as Utah Valley clung to a 6-5 lead. The Utes ripped off a 6-1 run to take the lead, 11-7, Nocked sparked a 3-0 UVU run to pull the Wolverines to 11-10. Following a 3-0 run by Utah, Dorius and Tanuvasa led a 4-2 run to cut the deficit to 16-14. The Utes pulled away down the stretch, using an 8-2 run to get to set point. Utah Valley scored three-straight points to cut into the lead but Utah was able to get the final point, securing the set, 25-19, to go up 2-1.  

 

Utah took advantage of several UVU errors in the early going of the third set to go up 14-4. The Wolverines played the Utes even over the next eight points but were unable to challenge from there as Utah took the fourth set, 25-11, to win the match, 3-1.

 

Dorius led the Wolverines with 13 kills and a pair of blocks. Tanuvasa finished with nine kills while Bell added seven kills and four digs. Nock had a team-high six blocks to go along with five kills and Hamson tallied five kills. Abbie Miller chipped in 17 assists and six digs and Bishop finished with 11 digs and a pair of aces. Natalie Palmer added 15 assists, eight digs and an ace, putting her second in aces among freshman in a single season in UVU history.

 

The bracket for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) was announced on Sunday night and of the 31 participating teams, five will come from the Western Athletic Conference.

 

Sam Houston was one of 10 automatic qualifiers with Chicago State, NM State, Stephen F. Austin and UT Rio Grande Valley all earning at-large selections.

 

Sam Houston will open tournament action on Thursday against Evansville in a match played at Chicago State. The host Cougars will then host Bradley with the two winners facing off on Friday.

 

Stephen F. Austin was also announced as a host, taking on Jackson State on Friday with the winner facing off against Arkansas on Saturday.

 

The final two WAC squads will both travel to Tucson, Ariz. with UTRGV taking on the host Arizona Wildcats on Friday. Preceding that match will be NM State battling UNLV in a neutral-court match with winners advancing to play Saturday.

 

This is the fourth edition of the NIVC since its reboot through Triple Crown Sports; the event previously ran from 1989-95. Previous champions of the current NIVC are Georgia Tech (2019), Iowa State (2018) and Ole Miss (2017).

 

The 2021 NIVC features Round 1 and 2 action from Dec. 2-5, with Round 3 scheduled for Dec. 6-8. The semifinals will be held Dec. 8-11, and the championship match be played Dec. 12-14.

 

Feliz Earns AVCA All-American Honors 

Chicago State's Yanlis Feliz was recognized as an honorable mention All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

 

The native of Pedernales, Dominican Republic was also the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year this season in helping the Cougars to a 17-win campaign; the best mark as an NCAA Division I program. 

Feliz, a second-year outside hitter, turned in one of the NCAA's most prolific seasons. As a redshirt sophomore, she capped the year with 540 kills, the most in Chicago State history. That number placed her fifth in NCAA Division I and third in the nation with 5.19 kills per set. She also finished fourth with 5.76 points per set. She led the WAC in all three categories.

 

She is the first Chicago State student-athlete to earn an All-American honor since 1987.

 

Sam Houston's Catherine Krieger, Grand Canyon's Ashley Lifgren and Klaire Mitchell, Utah Valley's Kendra Nock and Stephen F. Austin's Valeria Rosado were named WAC All-Tournament team at the end of the championships.

 

Along with them is Utah Valley's Kazna Tanuvasa who was named Tournament MVP after recording 10 kills, seven digs, two assists and a block in the championship match.

 

 

Utah Valley took home their second consecutive WAC Tournament Championship along with a ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 win over grand Canyon, Saturday. 

 

The Wolverines now await their placing in the tournament bracket which will be announced on Sunday evening.

 

A trio of WAC programs are among the nation's best at defending home court. Grand Canyon, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin each carry home winning streaks of 10 matches or longer. Grand Canyon currently sits at 8-0 inside GCU Arena this season and is riding a 14-match win streak. Last weekend, Sam Houston won its eighth and ninth matches at home this season to push the Bearkats streak to 10 matches. Meanwhile, Stephen F. Austin carries the longest home winning streak in the WAC at 22 matches, managing a 10-0 record inside Shelton Gym this season.

 

Chicago State earned their 13th win of the season two weekends ago to give the Cougars their most wins since 1987 and eclipse the program's mark for most wins in a season since it became Division I in 1988. In an incredible turnaround, CSU finds itself just one match back of a tie for first place in the West Division after a season in which they finished 0-8 in WAC play.

 

With twelve of the thirteen WAC schools first week of play coming at a pre-conference tournament, there was plenty of opportunities to shine against unfamiliar opponents. 11 athletes from five WAC schools earned honors for their play last weekend, including a trio of tournament MVP's. Abilene Christian's Lindsey Toney, Grand Canyon's Klaire Mitchell and Sam Houston's Morgan Janda each claimed MVP honors at their respective tournaments. Below is the complete list of athletes who garnered all-tournament team recognition:

 

Breanne Chausse, Sam Houston - Bearkat Invitational

Luanna Emiliano, UT Rio Grande Valley - New Orleans Invitational

Hannah Eskes, Grand Canyon - Idaho Volleyball Classic

Christine Graf, California Baptist - Georgia State Invitational

Morgan Janda, Sam Houston - Bearkat Invitational (MVP)

Ashley Lewis, Sam Houston - Bearkat Invitational

Klaire Mitchell, Grand Canyon - Idaho Volleyball Classic (MVP)

Madison Rohre, Abilene Christian - ACU Invitational

Luisa Silva Dos Santos, UT Rio Grande Valley - New Orleans Invitational

Lindsey Toney, Abilene Christian - ACU Invitational (MVP)

McKenzie Wise, Grand Canyon - Idhao Volleyball Classic

 

In week two of non-conference play, eight WAC athletes earned all-tournament honors, including Grand Canyon freshman McKenzie Wise who was named MVP of the GCU Invitational.

 

Berenice Almeyda, Chicago State - Windy City Classic

Jada Birkel, Abilene Christian - Wildcat Classic

Andrea Calderon, Chicago State - Windy City Classic

Teagan DeFalco, Grand Canyon - GCU Invitational (Outstanding Libero)

Hannah Eskes, Grand Canyon - GCU Invitational

Yanlis Feliz, Chicago State - Windy City Classic

Sydney Reed, Grand Canyon - GCU Invitational

McKenzie Wise, Grand Canyon - GCU Invitational (MVP)

 

WAC teams continued the trend in week three as eight athletes were named to all-tournament teams, highlighted by NM State's Shaney Lipscomb who earned MVP honors at the Colonel Challenge.

 

Katie Birtcil, NM State - Colonel Challenge

Teagan DeFalco, Grand Canyon - Portland State Tournament

Annabelle Kubinski, Grand Canyon - Portland State Tournament

Shaney Lipscomb, NM State - Colonel Challenge (MVP)

Darian Markham, NM State - Colonel Challenge

Makayla Pollard, Utah Valley - Lumberjack Classic

Kazna Tanuvasa, Utah Valley - Lumberjack Classic

Hannah Waters, Lamar - Lamar Invitational

 

The final week of non-conference tournament action resulted in seven more all-tournament honors, including Ariana Pagan who was named MVP of the SFA Tournament.

 

Katie Birtcil, NM State - Stetson Invitational

Kayla Brannon, Tarleton - Islander Classic

Payton Cerny, Stephen F. Austin - SFA Tournament

Carmen Kinsey, Tarleton - Islander Classic

Shaney Lipscomb, NM State - Stetson Invitational

Ariana Pagan, Stephen F. Austin - SFA Tournament (MVP)

Leah Powell, Stephen F. Austin - SFA Tournament

 

With the addition of several new programs to volleyball in the Western Athletic Conference, Stephen F. Austin is the coaches' pick to take home the regular season trophy in the Southwest Division while Utah Valley earned the nod in the West Division.

 

Southwest Division preseason favorite Stephen F. Austin heads to the WAC following a 13-1 overall record and a regular season title in the Southland Conference just last year. The Lumberjacks landed four of six possible first-place votes and 24 total points to finish atop the poll. Sam Houston was closely behind as they earned the remaining two first-place votes and 21 points. Tarleton saw its name in the third spot with 15 points followed by Abilene Christian who came in fourth with 13 points. UT Rio Grande Valley and Lamar rounded out the poll, finishing with 11 points and six points, respectively.

Coming off their first WAC Tournament Championship in school history, Utah Valley received four of the seven first-place votes and 34 total points to earn the top spot in the West Division. NM State earned the remaining three first-place votes to finish in second place with 33 points, followed by Grand Canyon which was slotted in third with 26 points. California Baptist picked up 20 points as they were selected fourth while Dixie State finished with 16 points to claim fifth. Chicago State collected 10 points for the sixth spot and Seattle U completed the West Division poll with six points of its own.

 

Utah Valley senior outside hitter Kazna Tanuvasa was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year. NM State had the most players named to the preseason All-WAC team as the Aggies garnered four spots. Carly Aigner-Swesey, Victoria Barrett, Shaney Lipscomb and Lia Mosher each represent NM State on the Preseason All-WAC team. Joining them are Grand Canyon's Hannah Eskes and Klaire Mitchell, Sam Houston's Morgan Janda and Ashley Lewis and Stephen F. Austin's Taya Mitchell and Leah Powell. Along with the Wolverines, Chicago State, Dixie State and Tarleton each landed one player on the Preseason All-WAC Team. The Cougars' Yanlis Feliz, the Trailblazers' Megan Treanor and the Texans' Lauren Kersey each earned honors.

 

The Western Athletic Conference is a little bit bigger this season as Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin have all joined the party. Due to the increase from eight teams to 12 teams, the league will play in a divisional format this season.

 

 

The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship return to its normal 64-team format following a 48-team bracket in Spring 2021. The bracket will consist of 32 automatic qualifiers and 32 at-large teams. The final site of the 2021 NCAA Championship will be Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The semifinals will be held on December 16 while the championship will be held on December 18.