OGDEN, Utah – Weber State used the momentum of two previous wins in its own tournament to overtake Utah Valley State in three games, 30-20, 30-26, 30-24, in the nightcap match of the Weber State Classic Saturday night.

The Wolverines went 1-2 in the tournament, while WSU ran away with the championship finishing 3-0.

"Weber State came to play," said head coach Sam Atoa. "I thought our girls played hard, but there is a lot of room for improvement and we are going to keep getting better."

In game one the Wildcats took an early 9-2 lead forcing a Wolverine timeout. The Wolverines would regroup and chip away at the WSU lead, eventually cutting the lead to one point at 14-13. WSU then extended its lead to six at 20-14, and maintained control due to a late 9-1 run to close out the game 30-20.

The Wolverines came out with better energy in game two, using four Larissa Laycock kills to take a 13-7 lead early in the set. WSU would battle back and tie the game at 15-15. The teams would trade points the rest of the way until the Wildcats used a 4-0 run to take a 28-24 lead. The Wolverines scored two of the next three points and forced a WSU timeout, but Wildcat freshman Chelsea Bair closed out the game with her fifth kill of the game.

A 3-0 run gave Utah Valley a 5-2 lead in game three. The Wildcats countered with a 6-0 run of their own to take the lead 8-5. WSU extended its lead to nine at 21-12, aided by a couple of Bair kills. The Wolverines made an 8-3 run capped by a Carlyn Cadmus smash to cut the lead to four at 24-20, but that is as close as the Wolverines would get. The Wildcats were too tough down the stretch winning the game 30-24, to take the match.

Laycock led the way with 9 kills for the Wolverines, and Anne Olsen added 8. Maegan Hoyt had 20 digs, and Lacee Koelliker finished the match with 32 assists and 14 digs, tallying her fourth consecutive double-double.

Koelliker and Endres were named to the All-Tournament team. WSU had four players named to the All-Tournament team including tournament MVP, Chelsea Bair. Shelby Walford, Leah Burmeister, and Keelee Kap were the other three receiving honors for the Wildcats.

"Everyday Lacee and Jessica are getting better working together," said Atoa. "A lot of good things are going to continue to come from those two."

The Wolverines play host to a tournament of their own next weekend, welcoming Idaho State, UC Davis, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to Orem for the La Quinta Inn Utah Valley State Invitational.

Ogden Marriott Weber State Classic All-Tournament Team
Whitney King, Northwestern State
Kristin Hamlett, Air Force
Lacee Koelliker, Utah Valley State
Jessica Endres, Utah Valley State
Shelby Walford, Weber State
Leah Burmeister, Weber State

Libero of the Tournament:
Keelee Kap, Weber State

Tournament MVP:
Chelsea Bair, Weber State