KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Despite taking the first set on Thursday night over the first-place Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos, Utah Valley University fell to UMKC on the road in four sets in Western Athletic Conference play (25-22, 22-25, 21-25, 21-25).
 
With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 7-11 on the season and 2-2 in WAC play, while the Kangaroos improve to 14-3 overall and 3-0 in conference play with the win. The victory marked UMKC's 10th straight win.
 
"They played a lot better than we did. It was unfortunate because I felt like we had a great opportunity especially after that first set," head coach Sam Atoa said. "We struggled with our consistency throughout the match. Hats off to UMKC, they were the better team."

Despite the loss, junior Lauren Bakker led UVU by posting a career-high 19 kills and a solid .429 attack percentage in the contest. Sophomore Macky Treanor too played well as she added 15 kills while senior Kalani Norris chipped in 12. Freshman Sierra Starley also posted her second double-double of the year with a season-high 37 assists and 10 digs while senior McKenna Tait added a match-high 28 digs. 
 
The 'Roos got off to a hot start as they doubled the Wolverines up early in the first set by a score of 12-6. UVU struck back, however, with a 9-3 run of its own to tie the frame at 15-all. Norris led the spurt by posting five of her set-high six kills during the run. 
 
With the score later tied at 17-17 in the opening frame, Utah Valley reeled off three straight points to take a 20-17 lead. The 'Roos cut it to one late, but UVU managed to hold onto its lead as it pulled out the first set by three points.
 
The second set remained tight until the Kangaroos managed to score three unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead. The 'Roos later pushed their lead all the way to six but back came UVU, cutting the deficit to two late in the frame. UMKC managed to hold onto the lead, however, as it took the set, 25-22.
 
The third set went back and forth once again for the majority of the frame. UMKC was the first to break through, gaining a little breathing room by taking a four-point advantage at 19-15. The 'Roos held the lead from there as they went on to take the frame by four points.
 
Missouri-Kansas City's momentum carried over to the fourth set as it took a quick 10-5 advantage. UVU tried to stage a late comeback, pulling to within three a couple of times but that was as close as the Wolverines would get as UMKC managed to finish off the match in four sets.

Sydney Crimmins paced the Kangaroos with 17 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. 
 
The Wolverines will continue their Midwest swing at Chicago State on Saturday afternoon. UVU and CSU will do battle in the Windy City on Saturday at noon CT/11 a.m. MT. Following Saturday's contest, Utah Valley will return home to take on Weber State in non-conference action on Tuesday evening (Oct. 14).
 
"Playing on the road is tough," added Atoa. "But I feel like the best thing for us is to get back on the court so we can try to prove to ourselves that we are better. There are a lot of things that we need to work on as a team, but once we figure those out, we can be pretty good."