Aug. 26, 2006

TEMPE, Arizona - The Utah Valley State volleyball team took Loyola Marymount to four games, but fell in the end Friday night 28-30, 30-28, 26-30, 24-30 on the first day of the Sun Devil Classic hosted by Arizona State.

"We battled and we had opportunities to win this match," said head coach Sam Atoa. "We just need to be able to close out matches when we have those opportunities. I was proud of our girls tonight."

The Wolverines were actually up 28-23 in the first game, but the Lions scored seven consecutive points to close out the game and take a 1-0 advantage in the match.

"Give LMU credit for coming back and battling in the first game," said Atoa.

UV jumped out to a 15-2 lead in game two, but once again the Lions came storming back to tie the match at 22 all. The Wolverine kept their composure and hung on to win the game 30-28 and tie the match at one game apiece.

Games three and four went back-and-forth, but LMU was able to hang in both sets to take the match.

Camie Manwill led the way for the Wolverines with 20 kills and 23 digs to notch her first double-double of the season. Jessica Endres finished with 15 kills and hit .297, and Ashley Dallin tallied 12 kills and hit .306.

The match was the first of three matches scheduled for the Wolverines in the tournament. It was the first meeting between UV and LMU. The Lions are coming off a 19-11 year in 2005 where they received an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Wolverines had their eight match winning streak spilling over from last year snapped by the Lions. UV won nine of its last ten matches and eight consecutive to close out 2005. UV will take on host team ASU on Saturday at 1:00 pm (MST), followed by a 6:00 pm (MST) match against Northeastern to close out the round robin.