BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Despite taking the opening set, Utah Valley University had its three-match winning streak halted on Thursday night as it fell in four sets on the road to Bakersfield (32-30, 18-25, 14-25, 20-25). With the loss, the Wolverines (13-17, 7-6 WAC) now drop into fifth place in the WAC standings with just one regular season match remaining.
 
"We did a nice job in that first set, but we just didn't have it in us to sustain that throughout the next three sets," said head coach Sam Atoa. "Bakersfield executed well tonight. They hit the ball harder than us and outplayed us. We've got to get better at knowing how to play on the road."
 
Despite the loss, junior Lauren Bakker and sophomore Macky Treanor led UVU with 14 and 13 respective kills. Senior Kalani Norris also topped double digits in kills with 11 while fellow senior Jen Hardman recorded her second career double-double as a Wolverine with 20 assists and 11 digs.
 
In a marathon of an opening set that featured 10 ties, the home 'Runners (12-14, 8-5 WAC) were the first to jump ahead as they took a 15-9 lead midway through the frame. With CSUB later holding a 24-22 set-point advantage, UVU struck back with a pair of crucial points to tie the frame at 24-all. The score than seesawed back and forth from there until Bakker and Treanor teamed up for a block assist and Bakker finished the set off the very next point with a kill to give the Wolverines the set by a score of 32-30. Treanor, the reigning WAC Player of the Week, led the Wolverine attack in the opener with eight first-set kills.
 
With the second set all squared up at 15-15, Bakersfield managed to reel off a 7-1 run to take a late 22-16 advantage. UVU countered with two straight points to pull within four but it wasn't enough as the Roadrunners took the set after three consecutive points of their own to tie the match at 1-1.
 
CSUB continued to hold the upper hand in the third set as it jumped out to a quick 12-4 lead. The Wolverines cut the deficit to five a couple of times, but that was as close as they could get as the 'Runners went on to take the frame by 11 points.   
 
The fourth set stayed tight until Bakersfield managed to go on a 10-3 run to take an 18-11 advantage. UVU didn't go away however, as it pulled to within four, at 22-18, following back-to-back kills from Norris and Bakker. CSUB managed to finish off the match in four sets thanks to a kill from Kelsee Sawyer.
 
Molly O'Hagan paced the 'Runners in the contest with a match-high 19 kills while Sawyer finished right behind her with 17. Luiza Martens also had a nice match for Bakersfield as she recorded a double-double with 52 assists and 10 digs.
 
The Wolverines will now travel to Phoenix, Arizona, for their regular season finale against Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon. The Antelopes currently sit just one game back of UVU in the conference standings with a 6-7 league record.
 
Following Saturday's match, UVU will return home to prepare for next week's WAC Tournament that will be played back at CSUB's Icardo Center in Bakersfield, California.