ARLINGTON, Texas – The 2024 WAC Volleyball Tournament began on Thursday at the College Park Center on the campus of UT Arlington. No. 3 Utah Valley, No. 2 Grand Canyon, No. 5 California Baptist and No. 1 UT Arlington won quarterfinal matchups and advanced to the semifinal round that will take place Friday.
No. 3 Utah Valley will battle No. 2 Grand Canyon in the first semifinal match at 3 p.m. CT and No. 5 California Baptist will face No. 1 UT Arlington in the second semifinal at 6 p.m. CT.
No. 3 Utah Valley 3, No. 6 Southern Utah 1 | Box Score
The third seeded Wolverines defeated the Thunderbirds 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17) in the opening match of the 2024 WAC Volleyball Tournament. Utah Valley improved its overall record to 20-9 while Southern Utah wrapped up the season at 10-18.
Junior outside hitter Avery Shewell led the Wolverines offensively as she recorded 22 kills, her season-high of kills in a four-set match. Shewell also tallied seven digs and four blocks. Sophomore setter Evalyn Chism led Utah Valley to a .278 team hitting percentage with 45 assists in the match. Co-Freshman of the Year Sami Blackett registered 11 kills as Alyvia Jaffa and Bella Wooden also notched nine kills apiece.
The Thunderbirds got a career night out of freshman outside hitter Finley Charapata as she recorded a career-high in both kills (18) and hitting percentage (.424). Charapata joined graduate outside hitter Andrea Spasojevic (12 digs, 11 kills) as the two Thunderbirds to secure a double-double in the match. Senior setter Teniyah Leuluai led the team in assists (41) and digs (13) against the Wolverines.
No. 2 Grand Canyon 3, No. 7 Seattle U 0 | Box Score
No. 2 Grand Canyon swept No. 7 Seattle U (25-21, 25-17, 25-19) to secure the second spot in the first semifinal match. The Lopes moved up to 19-10 in their overall record as the Redhawks concluded their 2024 campaign at 8-19.
The Lopes accumulated a team hitting percentage of .384 (50-7-112) against the Redhawks which was the third best hitting percentage by a WAC team this season (minimum 100 attacks) and GCU’s second-best of the year. Six different Lopes registered at least a .292 hitting percentage (minimum 10 attacks) with senior middle blocker Trista Strasser leading the way with .538 (8-1-13). Junior outside hitter Tatum Parrott led the team in kills with 13 and collected 11 digs for a double-double. Graduate setter Ava Mason also notched a double-double with 16 assists and 13 digs.
Senior outside hitter/right side Arianna Bilby collected the most kills for Seattle U with 14 and was one dig shy of a double-double. Senior libero Katlyn Sipes tallied 21 digs for a season-high in a three-set match.
No. 5 California Baptist 3, No. 4 Utah Tech 0 | Box Score
The fifth seeded Lancers continued their hot streak by winning their fourth straight match and swept the Trailblazers 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-20) for the first WAC Tournament win in program history. California Baptist’s overall record improved to 8-21 and Utah Tech finished its season at 15-12.
Junior setter Reese Reed recorded her eighth double-double of the season and led the Lancers in assists (19) and digs (16) on the night. Graduate outside hitter Kali Wolf tallied the most kills for CBU with 13. The team leader in aces for the Lancers, senior outside hitter Mia Jerue, continued her dominance on the service line by serving up four aces against UTU.
Junior outside hitter Kennedi Knudsen led the way for the Trailblazers offensively with a team-leading 16 kills and collected nine digs. Freshman setter Ireland Avalos picked up her first double-double of the season with 10 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore libero Mya Laufiso led the digs category with 16 and sophomore setter Marley Roe registered the most UTU assists with 16.
No. 1 UT Arlington 3, No. 8 Abilene Christian 0 | Box Score
No. 1 UT Arlington took care of business in front of the home crowd and swept No. 8 Abilene Christian 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-14) to move onto the semifinals. The Mavericks boosted their historic overall record to 27-2 as the Wildcats concluded their season at 10-18.
The 2024 WAC Player of the Year, graduate outside hitter Brianna Ford, powered the UT Arlington offense once again with 12 kills, six digs, four aces, and three blocks. The WAC Setter of the Year, graduate setter Mollie Blank, was a dig short of a double-double with 26 assists and nine digs and drove UTA to a .345 team hitting percentage. Sophomore libero Samantha Glenn recorded 22 digs on the night, which is her second highest of the season and the most in a three-set match.
Sophomore outside hitter/right side Alexis Strong led the Wildcat offensive with 10 kills and senior setter Madeline Guffy accounted for 22 of ACU’s 33 assists.
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