Utah Tech volleyball fell to in-state rival Utah Valley in three sets in the Old Hammer Rivalry on Thursday evening.
What Head Coach
Camilla Hafoka said: "UVU is a great team. I won't take anything away from them. We had some good moments in the match, we just have to build off of those good moments and be able to execute better. We will take tonight's match and learn from it as we move forward to get ready for our next match on Saturday."
How it happened: Utah Valley started the first set off by getting a 7-3 jump on the Trailblazers. The Wolverines never let up the pressure and took a 20-12 lead that drove them to a 25-17 first set win over Utah Tech.
Utah Tech trailed early in the second set with a 10-7 score. The Trailblazers didn't stand and went on an 8-0 run with each point served by MyKenna Nelson. Kate Hardy slammed a kill to start the run and recorded three more. She also recorded a block scoring five of the eight points in the run.
UT pushed on for a 17-13 lead and then the Trailblazers faltered as the Wolverines went on a 7-0 run to take a 20-17 lead. Utah Tech couldn't gain any more momentum as Utah Valley finished the second set with a 25-19 win.
In the third set, the two teams matched each other point for point. Neither team pushed on for any big leads at the 9-9 score. Utah Valley surged ahead with a 7-0 run. A kill by Hardy broke up the run but it wasn't enough to spark any Trailblazer momentum. The Trailblazers battled but couldn't finish as Utah Valley ended the third set with a 25-19 score for a sweep.
Killin' It: Utah Tech was led by Hardy who had nine kills from 20 attacks with two errors for a .350 percentage.
Whittnee Nihipali had eight kills from 20 attacks with four errors for a .200 percentage to help out the Trailblazers.
In total, Utah Tech had 32 kills with 16 errors from 97 attacks for a .165 percentage.
Taela Laufiso led the Trailblazers with 23 assists on the night for the team high.
Diggin' it: Mykenna Nelson led with 12 digs on the night. In total, Utah tech ended the match with 31 digs.
Notes to know: Utah Tech is now 9-8 overall on the season and 3-5 in WAC action.
Next Up: The Trailblazers will host four consecutive games starting with Seattle U Oct. 22 and Southern Utah Oct. 29.
