UVU drops heartbreaker to in-state foe USU
Reading Time: 2 minutesTough five set match against rival
Annie Hansen | Sports writer | @anniejhansen
Logan, Utah – It was the start of rivalry week for Utah Valley University but it didn’t start off right as the Wolverines lost in five sets to rival Utah State University Tuesday evening in Logan (25-27, 26-24, 25-16, 19-25, 12-15).
A close first set saw the Wolverines hang on until the end of the set, where USU scored three straight points on two kills and an attack error by UVU’s Lauren Bakker to win the first game.
Despite double digits in kills for Abby Jensen (16), Madison Dennison (11), and Macky Fifita (11), the Aggies led the Wolverines in that category 65-54 as Rachel Gale led the way for the Aggies by recording a match-high 27.
Trailing most of the second set, the Wolverines made a comeback and took the lead at 22-21. From that point on it was a back and forth game until UVU was able to win set two on back-to-back hitting errors by USU’s Kaylie Kamalu
UVU took a strong lead in the third set as they scored five consecutive points to start the set. Utah Valley led the entire game and never let USU get closer than six points. The Wolverines had a total of 13 kills to win the third set.
Leading two sets to one, the Wolverines fell behind in the fourth set. After the Wolverines scored the first point, the Aggies took control and never let the Wolverines get within more than three points. As the Wolverines tried to hang on at 22-19, there were two Wolverine errors and a kill by Gale that gave the Aggies the fourth set.
The fifth set was a battle between both teams with each taking the lead once. In the final frame, UVU lost the lead with two attack errors. Utah State took advantage of the errors and won the last point on a UVU error to win the game and the match.
As rivalry week continues, the Wolverines take on 9th-ranked BYU in their first home match Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. MT.