KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The third-seeded Utah Valley University volleyball team had its 2015 season come to a close on Thursday night by falling to the sixth-seeded UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros in straight sets in the first round of the WAC Tournament at UMKC's Swinney Recreation Center (21-25, 20-25, 14-25).
 
"It was a tough one tonight. It was for sure a result that we didn't expect," head coach Sam Atoa said. "You've got to give credit to UTRGV, they played a lot better than we did. Overall, it was a disappointing showing from us."
 
Despite the setback, the newly named WAC Freshman of the Year Abby Jensen posted her fifth double-double of the season with a team-high 11 kills and 12 digs on a .455 hitting night. Sophomore Lexi Thompson was next for UVU (14-14) with seven kills while senior Lauren Bakker capped her stellar career with a five-kill, two-block outing.
 
With the opening set all knotted up at 8-8, UTRGV made its move with a 5-0 spurt to take a 13-8 advantage. The Vaqueros later stretched their lead to as many as seven, but back came the Wolverines with a 7-1 of their own that was capped by a pair of Jensen aces to pull within one at 22-21. Rio Grande Valley managed to withstand the rally, however, by bouncing back with back-to-back-to-back points to take the first frame by a score of 25-21.
 
The Vaqueros then held the upper hand in the early stages of the second set as they scored the first four points to take a 4-0 advantage. UVU later pulled to within two following consecutive block assists from Bakker and Thompson, at 13-11, but that was as close as the Wolverines would make it as UT Rio Grande Valley went on to take a two sets to none advantage with a 25-20 second-set victory.
 
UTRGV once again jumped out to a quick lead in the third game as it took an 8-3 advantage following four unanswered points. The Vaqueros later extended their lead to 13, at 21-8, after an 8-1 run. The Wolverines made it a 10-point deficit, at 23-13, after a Bakker ace and block assist from sophomore Madison Dennison and junior Kelcee Munk, but Rio Grande Valley managed to finish the match a couple of points later.
 
The loss not only marks the conclusion of the 2015 season for the Wolverines but also the careers of Bakker and fellow senior Jaramey Barney and Megan Jenkins. The four-time first team all-conference performer Bakker concludes her stellar career with 1,025 kills and 579 blocks, as she'll go down as the all-time leader in UVU history in total blocks, block assists (512), solo blocks (67) and blocks per set average (1.32) and fourth in kills.
 
"You ache mostly for the seniors. You want to kind of write a storybook ending for them every year and unfortunately it just didn't happen," Atoa added. "I'll miss them. I'll miss what all three of them have brought to our program and I'll cherish who they are as individuals the most."
 
With a 14-14 overall record, Utah Valley finishes with a .500 or better winning percentage for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.