OGDEN, Utah – The Utah Valley University volleyball managed to overcome a 24-20 set-point deficit in the third set to sweep in-state foe Weber State in the first contest of a four-match road stretch on Monday night at Swenson Gym (25-21, 25-22, 29-27). The win marks UVU's fourth straight and its seventh in its last eight matches.
 
"That comeback there at the end was incredible," head coach Sam Atoa said. "We weren't playing our best ball at the time, but we had the right server back there and she managed to create a little bit of havoc for Weber. And that allowed us to gain momentum and get a few bounces our way."
 
With the Wildcats (5-17, 1-9 Big Sky) holding to a 24-20 set-point advantage in the third frame, UVU (12-10, 7-2 WAC) made its move by scoring five unanswered points to take a 25-24 set-point lead of its own. WSU answered back with two straight points, but back struck UVU with a pair of consecutive points of its own to take a 27-26 lead. Following a kill from Weber State's Audrey Hunter, the Wolverines converted back-to-back points on a kill from Madison Dennison and a Wildcat error to finish off the sweep.
 
Abby Jensen led the Wolverines in the contest with a match-high 16 kills and an even .400 hitting clip. Dennison was next for UVU by posting nine kills without committing an error for a .643 attack percentage, while Lauren Bakker added eight kills of her own and a .400 hitting clip. Setter Sierra Starley too had a solid outing for the Wolverines with a match-high 41 assists and a career-best five kills.
 
"Every learning experience is huge for us and this was a big one for us tonight." Atoa added. "Abby was fantastic for us and offensively we saw a lot of standout performances across the board."
 
The Wildcats were the first to jump ahead in the early stages of the opening set, as they took a 12-7 lead following a 4-1 spurt. UVU then pecked away at the deficit and later used a 4-1 run of its own to tie the frame at 16-all. The set then went back and forth from there until the Wolverines managed to reel off five of the final six points to take the opener by a score of 25-21. Jensen paced Utah Valley with seven first-set kills.
 
UVU continued to hold the upper hand in the second set, taking a 14-7 advantage following a 9-1 run. WSU later pulled to within two a couple of times down the stretch but that was as close as it could make it, as the Wolverines went on to take the second frame by three points.  
 
As a team, UVU posted a solid .321 attack percentage on the night en route to the victory. The contest marked the final non-conference match of the season for the Wolverines.
 
"You sometimes wonder about these midweek matches, but it's always good to go on the road and get a win," added Atoa. "It's great to be able to keep the momentum going as we look forward to returning to conference play this weekend."
 
The Wolverines will return to Western Athletic Conference play this weekend at Grand Canyon and CSU Bakersfield. UVU will first take on GCU in Phoenix on Thursday evening before traveling to Southern California to face CSUB on Saturday afternoon. UVU will then close its four-match road stretch at Seattle U on Nov. 7.