MALIBU, Calif.—Behind a 13 kill performance from sophomore Lexi Thompson, the Utah Valley University women's volleyball team topped tournament foe Incarnate Word three sets to one (26-24, 25-23, 19-25, 25-19) in the Pepperdine Asics Classic on Saturday.
 
Senior Lauren Bakker added 11 kills on the day while Abby Jensen finished with 10, and Macky Fifita recorded eight. Bakker was also named to the Pepperdine Asics Classic All-Tournament team.
 
"Today we were able to execute better, we still struggled with passing, but in the situations where we were able to set up defensively, our offense executed and won some of those tight situations," head coach Sam Atoa said. "It was nice to get a win and we hope to continue to improve and impress."
 
Sophomore setter Sierra Starley recorded a match high 28 assists, while sophomore Kelcee Munk added 16.  Starley also found three service aces on the day and nine digs. Freshman Sabrina Tanner led the Wolverines with 10 digs, while Bakker paced the team at the net with six block assists.
 
Utah Valley won the first two sets, then dropped the third to Incarnate Word 25-19. In the fourth set, Bakker and Thompson's kills helped the Wolverines jump out to an 17-13 lead, followed by a 5-0 run to give UVU a 22-13 gap. The Cardinals answered with a 5-0 run of their own, closing the gap to just 22-18, when a Brooklyn Bodily service ace and a Cardinal error gave the Wolverines a 24-18 lead. UIW was able to add one more kill, before Jensen closed the match with a kill to secure the UVU win.
 
The Wolverines will next travel to Idaho State University on Sept. 1 in what will be the fourth of 11 straight road games to open the Utah Valley 2015 campaign.