OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University held on in a five-set thriller over the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 15-25, 15-10) on Saturday in a battle for second place in the WAC volleyball standings.
 
Kiahna Vernon set a new career-high with 18 kills while Madison Dennison matched her career best with 17 and Lexi Thompson had 16. Nakisha Willden added 24 digs and two service aces for the Wolverines (10-12, 6-3) while Sierra Starley chipped in a match-high 49 assists.
 
"I was very proud of the girls for battling back after that fourth set. We've been in this situation before, so it was great for our team to know how to turn things around," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "I'm very pleased with the result and the way the girls truly fought in that fifth set." 
 
The Vaqueros (15-9, 5-4) led 8-6 midway through the decisive fifth set before an attack error began a 5-0 Utah Valley run. Kelcee Munk and Dennison had kills before an ace from Willden, followed by another UTRGV error, allowed the Wolverines to take an 11-8 lead.
 
UVU lead 13-10 when a ball that was hit wide by UTRGV set up match point, where Dennison and Starley combined for the decisive block assist to win the set and match, pushing the Wolverines into sole possession of second place in the league standings.
 
"You always want to win at home. We kind of let one slip away from us on Thursday, but it was great that we were able to turn things around and win this one today," added Atoa.
 
Alisha Watson led UTRGV with 18 kills while Ragni Steen Knudsen finished with 17 and Bojana Mitrovic added 16. The Vaqueros hit .317 for the match, but could not overcome the 2-0 deficit.
 
Utah Valley prevailed, 25-23, in an opening set that featured 11 ties and five lead changes with neither team leading by more than three. UVU led 22-21 when a Starley kill and a UTRGV setting error pushed the Wolverines within a point of the win. The Vaqueros scored two quick points to pull within one before Vernon finished off the set with a kill. In the opener, UVU hit .343 in the set -- with Vernon's five kills leading the way -- while UTRGV hit .379.
 
The Vaqueros jumped out early in the second set and built a 13-7 lead following an Alexandra Ecker kill. The Wolverines responded with an 8-1 run with consecutive aces by Thompson, tying the game and giving UVU its first lead of the set.
 
With the scored deadlocked at 16-16, another Utah Valley run -- of 7-2 -- made it 23-18. A Starley kill eventually clinched the set and gave the Wolverines a 2-0 lead. Both teams continued to swing well, with UVU hitting 353 and UTRGV.333 in the set.
 
UTRGV prevailed in another tight one, 25-23, to make it a 2-1 match after three sets behind a .364 attack percentage in the set. The Wolverines trailed for much of the third before tying it twice down the stretch including at 23-23, but Ragni Steen Knudsen recorded back-to-back kills to secure the two-point win for the Vaqueros.
 
UT Rio Grande Valley cruised in the fourth set to force a deciding fifth. The Vaqueros jumped out to an early 10-3 lead and didn't allow the Wolverines to chip into the lead, eventually winning the set 25-15.
 
With the victory, UVU improves to 5-3 on the season in five-set matches, which includes a 3-2 mark in league play.
 
Saturday's game was the final match to be played in the UCCU Center. The newly-renovated PE Building is set to open on Tuesday, Nov. 1 when the Wolverines host in-state rival Weber State.
 
Next week Utah Valley heads to UMKC and Chicago State for its final two-game road trip of the regular season. Following that trip, the Wolverines will play two of their three final league matches at home.