LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The second-place Utah Valley University volleyball team battled with the first-place New Mexico State Aggies on Thursday night at the Pan American Center, but in the end the Aggies managed to remain undefeated in Western Athletic Conference play with a four-set win over UVU (25-19, 15-25, 25-12, 25-22).
 
With the loss the Wolverines fall to 8-10 overall and 4-2 in league play, while NM State improves to 16-5 and a perfect 6-0 in the WAC with the victory.
 
"We put ourselves in a pretty good position in that fourth set, however, we've got to be the better team there at the end," head coach Sam Atoa said. "We seem to find ourselves trading tips or roll shots with swings for one reason or another. We've got to be the aggressor and we have to play with more confidence."
 
Despite the setback, UVU posted five more team blocks (9-4) and five more service aces (9-4) than NMSU in the contest. Sophomore Madison Dennison paced the Wolverines in blocks with seven of them, while fellow sophomore Sierra Starley led UVU in aces by tying her career-high with four.
 
NM State was the first to pull ahead in the opening set, as it took a 16-8 lead following a 5-0 spurt. The Wolverines then used a run of their own to make it a three-point game, at 20-17, following a Starley ace. The Aggies answered back, however, by scoring five of the final seven points of the frame to take the first set by six points.
 
With the Wolverines holding to an early one-point advantage in the second set, UVU reeled off a 7-1 run to take a 13-6 lead. The Aggies later pulled to within four, but that was as close as they could make it in the frame as the Wolverines cruised to a 25-15 second-set victory to tie the match at 1-1. The setter Starley capped the frame for the Wolverines by drilling home three straight service aces, as UVU recorded five more aces than NMSU in the second game.
 
The Aggies bounced back in the early stages of the third set by jumping out to a quick 7-2 advantage. The Wolverines struck right back with a 4-1 run to trail by just two, at 9-7, but that was as close as UVU would make it, as NM State controlled the set from there to take the third game by a score of 25-12.
 
In a much tighter contested fourth set that featured 15 ties and 10 lead changes, New Mexico State took a late 24-20 advantage following five consecutive clutch points. The Wolverines answered back with a block assist from sophomore Madison Dennison and junior Kiahna Steiner and an Aggie attack error to pull within two, at 24-22, but NM State's Gwen Murphy finished off the match for the Aggies on the very next point with her ninth kill of the evening.
 
Freshman Abby Jensen paced the Wolverines offensively in the setback with a team-high 13 kills, while senior Lauren Bakker was next with eight. Besides putting up the four aces, Starley also added a match-high 32 assists, seven digs and three kills for UVU.
 
Tatyana Battle helped lead the Aggies to the victory by putting up a match-high 15 kills. The win on Thursday marked NM State's seventh consecutive victory.
 
The Wolverines will continue their conference weekend trip at UT Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas, on Saturday afternoon. First serve for UVU and UTRGV is set for noon CT/11 a.m. MT.
 
"Saturday's match is very crucial for us. It is the last match of the first half and every game following a loss is a big one," added Atoa. "We need to focus on being a little bit better and trying to get things back on track. The best thing that we can do is for us to play the way that we feel like we can control. When we do that, we find ourselves in a pretty good situation."