PULLMAN, Wash. – Despite taking the opening set over Washington State in the WSU Cougar Challenge finale on Saturday evening, the Wolverines fell to the Pac-12 Cougars in four sets (26-24, 16-25, 13-25, 11-25) at Bohler Gym in Pullman.
 
With the loss, UVU (4-6) finishes its final preseason tournament of 2015 with a second-place showing after going 2-1 on the weekend with a pair of sweeps over Ball State and Morehead State on Friday.
 
"I was really proud of how hard the girls played this weekend, but we were beat by a better team tonight," said head coach Sam Atoa. "We had a real nice battle in that first set and I was very pleased with the hard work and determination that we showed on the court. We've still got a few things to work on, but I'm proud of where we are at right now and the direction that we're headed."
 
Senior Lauren Bakker and sophomore Sierra Starley led the Wolverines on Saturday, as Bakker put up a team-high 14 kills and five block assists and Starley added a team-best 30 assists, as well as six digs, two blocks and an ace. The two were each named to the Cougar Challenge All-Tournament Team following the contest as Bakker averaged 3.10 kills, 1.40 blocks and an impressive .519 attack percentage on the weekend while Starley averaged 8.90 assists and 1.50 digs per frame.
 
UVU did a nice job of playing from behind in the opening set as it managed to overcome a late five-point deficit and take the first frame, 26-24. Trailing 20-15, the Wolverines pieced together a 7-2 spurt to tie the score at 22-all. The action then seesawed back-and-forth from there until sophomore Madison Dennison and junior Kiahna Steiner delivered consecutive kills to give the Wolverines the opening frame.
 
The second set too remained tightly contested for the majority of the frame as it featured 11 ties and four lead changes. With the Cougars (8-1) leading by a mere point, at 17-16, WSU managed to reel off eight straight points to take the set and even the match at one set apiece.
 
The Wolverines then once again kept things close in the early stages of both the third and fourth frames, but the home Cougars would eventually use a big run in each set to put them away.
 
Three players finished in double figures in kills for WSU, who picked up its eighth straight victory on the season, and tournament MVP Kyra Holt led the way with 20.
 
Other than big matches from UVU's two all-tournament team members -- Bakker and Starley -- freshman Abby Jensen and sophomore Madison Dennison too played well for the Wolverines as they finished with eight and seven kills, respectively. Fellow freshman Lindsey Tagge also had a solid outing on the back row as she chipped in a season-best 16 digs.
 
UVU will now return to the Beehive State to conclude its season-opening 11-match road stretch at Utah State on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Following Tuesday's match at USU, the Wolverines will welcome No. 9 BYU to town for their 2015 home opener on Saturday, Sept. 19.