PROVO, Utah – Utah Valley University dropped its second match of the day to a top-10 ranked opponent as it fell to No. 10 Brigham Young University in the BYU Invitational finale on Saturday night in straight sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-16).

"It was a rough match. BYU played a lot better than we did. We had some great energy on the court but our execution needs to be better," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. " We were a little inconsistent and you can't make these types of mistakes against good teams like this. If we can take care of some of these things, then I think we'll be OK."

The 10th-ranked Cougars (5-1) got off to a solid start on their home court in the opening set as they built a quick 9-2 advantage. BYU later stretched its lead to as many as 12, but back battled the Wolverines (1-6) as they reeled off an 8-2 run to cut the score to 22-16. The deficit proved too large to overcome, however, as the Cougars eventually won the set, 25-18.

UVU stayed right with BYU early in the second set but the Cougars used a 5-1 run to take a 9-4 lead. With BYU later holding a 15-6 advantage, the Wolverines scored five straight points to cut the score to 15-11. Junior Lauren Bakker led the rally with a pair of kills and a block.

UVU hung around the rest of the second set but eventually the Cougars put it away by seven points. Bakker paced the Wolverines in the frame with five second-set kills.

BYU took an early six-point lead in the third set as it jumped out to an 8-2 lead. The Wolverines later pulled within four but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way as the Cougars managed to finish off the match in straight sets.

Despite the loss, Bakker led both teams with a match-high 13 kills. The UVU junior middle blocker was named to the BYU Invitational All-Tournament Team following the match as she posted 29 kills on the weekend. She also added nine blocks and a 3.22 kill per set average.

"I like what Lauren is doing and she is well deserving of the award. She comes in ready to play and compete every day," added Atoa. "I wish as a team we could've played better. But that's our challenge to get them ready to play for every competition, including Tuesday's match at Utah." 

Senior libero McKenna Tait also had a solid match for the Wolverines as she recorded a match-high 20 digs while freshman setter Sierra Starley chipped in 30 assists and eight digs.

Jennifer Hamson paced the Cougars with eight kills and eight blocks.

The contest marked UVU's fourth match against a nationally ranked program on the young season as it previously face No. 22 Kansas and No. 23 Creighton last weekend before squaring off against both No. 5 Washington and No. 10 BYU on Saturday.

The Wolverines will take on their second straight in-state foe on Tuesday night, as they'll face Utah at Crimson Court in Salt Lake City. Following Tuesday's meeting with the Utes, UVU will continue its 11-match road stretch at the Mean Green Classic in Denton, Texas, next weekend.

BYU Invitational All-Tournament Team
Lauren Bakker, Utah Valley
Jennifer Hamson, BYU
Hannah Robison, BYU
Casey Griffith, UMBC
Lianna Sybeldon, Washington
Krista Vansant (MVP), Washington