On Sept. 17, 2024, Weber State University’s women’s volleyball team traveled to Orem to face the Utah Valley University Wolverines. The Wildcats have had the Wolverines’ number, achieving a six-game winning streak against UVU. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Utah Valley was able to break the streak and the Wolverines took the 3–1 win at home.
The team previously traveled to Springfield, Missouri, from Sept. 12-14 for the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational, in which they won two of three games. Their first win of the tournament was against Saint Louis University, the first meeting between both teams, which ended 3–0. The second game of the invitational was a 3–2 win against Missouri State University. They ended the tournament with a loss against the University of Texas at Arlington in five sets, putting the Wildcats record at 3–5 this season.
In the first set against Utah Valley, Ashley Gneiting ended the first rally with a kill and put Weber State on the board. Utah Valley went on a 6–0 scoring run that put them into the lead. Weber then began to play catchup for the majority of the set and took the lead at 17–16. But Utah Valley fired back and won the set 25–22, with an ace by Bella Wooden.
Weber started off the second set 5–0. Gneiting, with eight kills, kept Weber in the lead with a score of 9–2. The Wildcats showed no mercy, obtaining an 18–8 lead. Service errors by Utah Valley played a big part in this set and gave Weber State the win.
Being 1–1, the teams continually exchanged points, fighting for the win in the third set. After an unsuccessful challenge on a “touch call” by the Wolverines’ Head Coach, Sam Atoa, the Wildcats and Wolverines remained tied, 24–24. Utah Valley took their second win after a back-and-forth match, 27–29.
Weber started off the fourth set with a 4–0 scoring run. However, the Wolverines’ blocking made it hard for the Wildcats to score, bringing them back into the lead. Utah Valley ended up winning the set off of a “tool” having a final score of 23–25. Winning this set allowed the Wolverines to win the match 3–1, breaking the six-game winning streak for the Wildcats. UVU outperformed Weber in about every category.
On kills alone, the Wolverines won the battle 65–51. Utah Valley played a team match achieving a game high of 61 assists to the Wildcats 46. Weber had twice as many aces as UVU with eight, but it wasn’t enough to bring home the win. Gneiting led the way for the Wildcats with 14 kills in the match.
The Wildcats are 3–6 this season and will play BYU, the second of three Utah teams they will face this season. Following this will be a match against Utah State University. Come support the Wildcats as they face BYU on Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. in the Swenson Gym.
