OREM, Utah—Abby Jensen recorded a team-high 13 kills while Lauren Bakker and Lexi Thompson each added 12 to lead the Utah Valley University volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Missouri-Kansas City Thursday night in the PE Building (25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19).
 
Utah Valley improves to 10-10 overall and 6-2 in WAC play. The win is the fourth-straight home victory for the Wolverines and moves UVU into sole possession of second place in the conference standings. UMKC falls to 11-9 on the season and 4-4 in league play.
 
"The girls were superb tonight and I was really proud of the way that they were able to control the match," head coach Sam Atoa said. "I was pleased with our offense and pretty much how we played as a whole. We had a couple of girls really come through for us at the service line and we also did a nice job of controlling the net with 14 blocks. Overall I was very satisfied with our play." 
 
Utah Valley jumped out to a 10-7 lead over the defending conference champion 'Roos in the opening set. A Thompson kill then capped off a 5-0 run to give the Wolverines a 15-7 advantage. UVU never trailed in the opener and held on to its lead to win the set by a score of 25-14.
 
Trailing 14-10, midway through the second set, Utah Valley rallied to tie the match 17-17 following a solo block by Kiahna Steiner. The Wolverines never gave back the lead as the team took the set, 25-22.
 
Three Thompson kills helped UVU take a quick 7-0 lead early in the third set. Down 17-10, UMKC fought back with an 8-0 run of its own to take a one-point advantage, at 18-17. The two teams then went back and forth, compiling five ties and three lead changes before the 'Roos secured the third set win, 25-23.
 
The Wolverines responded in the fourth set, jumping out to a quick 15-6 lead following a UMKC attack error. UVU never trailed in the frame and held on to its lead to take the fourth set by a score of 25-19, helping to secure the four-set victory.
 
As a team, the Wolverines outhit (.295-.157) and outblocked (14-11) the 'Roos en route to the victory.
 
Bakker and Steiner led UVU at the net defensively by tallying seven blocks apiece, while Madison Dennison chipped in six. Dennison also tallied nine kills and a .533 attack percentage while Steiner added eight kills of her own. Setter Sierra Starley and libero Sabrina Tanner too played well for the Wolverines, as they recorded match-highs of 44 assists and 18 digs, respectively.   
 
The Wolverines will continue conference play at home on Saturday against Chicago State. The contest is set for 1 p.m. MT and will air live on the WAC Digital Network.