OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University managed to finish off Grand Canyon in four sets on Thursday night as it overcame a large fourth-set deficit to win the match 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-22. Sophomore
Macky Treanor and junior
Lauren Bakker led the Wolverines with 15 and 14 respective kills.
With the victory, the Wolverines improved to 9-12 on the season and 4-2 in Western Athletic Conference play while the Antelopes dropped to 12-8 overall and 2-5 in league play with the loss.
Grand Canyon looked poised to send the match to the full five sets as they jumped out to a quick 14-7 advantage in the fourth set. UVU then got things going, scoring 11 of the next 15 points to tie the score at 18-all. The Wolverines then took their first lead of the set on the very next point (19-18) thanks to a GCU attack error. UVU continued to hold the upper hand from there, taking a late 24-20 match-point advantage. After a pair of Antelope points, the Wolverines managed to put the match away on a Treanor Kill.
Besides 14 kills, Bakker also added a match-high five blocks and a .542 attack percentage. Senior
McKenna Tait too had a big night as she put up a career-high-tying 33 digs as well as seven assists, while freshman
Madison Wolford added nine kills and three blocks.
In a tightly contested opening set that featured 17 ties and 11 lead changes, UVU broke a 22-all tie with back-to-back kills from Treanor and Bakker to give the Wolverines a 24-22 set-point advantage. Following a Lope point, UVU put the set away the very next point on another kill from Treanor.
With GCU holding a 15-13 lead in the second frame, the Lopes scored six of the next eight points to take a 21-15 advantage. The Wolverines managed to cut the deficit to four late but that was as close as they would get as Grand Canyon took the set by five points.
With the third set all knotted up at 9-9, UVU went on a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 lead. Treanor led the spurt with a pair of kills and a block assist. GCU quickly erased the deficit as it tied it up at 18-all. Utah Valley used one more decisive run down the stretch to put the third set away by a score of 25-21.
Despite the loss, Natalie Tardy paced the Lopes with a match-high 17 kills.
The Wolverines will wrap-up their three-match homestand Saturday afternoon against fellow conference foe Bakersfield. The matinee will begin at 1 p.m. in the PE Building. Folllowing the contest, UVU will step out of conference play to face Southern Utah Tuesday night in Cedar City.
