Kenzie Jones, Sports Editor, @KenzieScribbler
On Thursday evening the PE Building was buzzed with excitement as junior Lauren Bakker lead Utah Valley to a 3-0 sweep over Chicago State. The final scores being 25-13, 25-16, and 25-13. The victory was even sweeter as Bakker became UVU’s all-time leader in career solo blocks as she now has 47.
Jessica Endres was the previous record holder at 46 and Bakker passed her late in the first set. The middle blocker from Layton, Utah, sits just seven total blocks back from becoming the program’s leader in that category. Not to mention Bakker is also only eight blocks shy of becoming the school’s all-time leader in that category as well.
After finishing the evening off with six kills and four blocks Bakker was joined in leading the team by sophomore Macky Treanor who made 11 kills, a .647 attack percentage, and four service aces. With these two middle class-men continuing such strong play it will be exciting to see how the lady Wolverines tackle the WAC Tournament in a fortnight.
Utah Valley started off to on a strong foot as they opened up a 15-6 lead in the opening set. The Wolverines upped their lead to as many as 12 points as the Cougars struggled to find a stance of defense. With a final score of the frame almost doubling that of Chicago’s, it comes as no surprise that UVU out-hit the Cougars .433 to -.036 in the first set.
The second set was opened by CSU coming back seemingly ready to battle back hard as they held a 11-13 lead midway though. It was a short lived rally for the Cougars as Utah Valley reeled off five straight points to flip the advantage at 16-13. Treanor led the scoring run with a pair of aces and a pair of kills. UVU controlled the frame from there and went to take it by nine points.
The Wolverines continued to control the match as they held the upper hand early in the third and soon to be final set. After UVU jumped out to a 6-0 lead, Chicago managed to cut the score to five a couple of times. Sadly for the visiting team that would be as close as they would managed to get. Utah Valley went on to take the third frame by 12 points and ended the match.
The volleyball final homestand of the season continues Saturday at noon when the lady Wolverines face off against first-place Missouri-Kansas City.
