KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Despite taking the opening set, the Utah Valley University volleyball team fell to Western Athletic Conference foe UMKC in four sets on Thursday evening at the Swinney Recreation Center in Kansas City (26-24, 22-25, 20-25, 23-25).
 
With the setback, the Wolverines drop to 10-13 on the season and into third place in the WAC standings with a 6-4 league record while the Kangaroos improve to 12-10 overall and 5-4 in conference play with the win. The loss marks just Utah Valley's second in its last eight matches.
 
"It was a tough loss. The girls battled, but UMKC was just a bit better with the little things tonight," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. This result wasn't because a lack of trying. We battled hard and I was proud of our effort. We'll now regroup and get ready for Chicago State on Saturday."
 
Despite suffering the defeat, three Wolverines finished in double figures in kills led by Lexi Thompson's match-high 21. Thompson also notched her first double-double of the season with 10 digs, while Kiahna Vernon and Madison Dennison added 13 and 10 respective kills. Sierra Starley too recorded a double-double for the Wolverines, as she finished with a match-high 49 assists and 10 digs.  
 
UVU was the first to get things going in the opening set by jumping out to a quick 7-3 lead following a 4-0 spurt. The Roos immediately answered back with three straight points to make it a one-point score at 7-6, but UVU later answered with a trio of consecutive points to take a 15-12 advantage. UMKC once again battled back with a 3-0 run of its own to tie the score at 15-15. With the Roos later holding to a 24-22 set-point advantage, Utah Valley made its move by notching four consecutive clutch points to take the opening set by a score of 26-24. Vernon led the UVU offense with seven first-set kills and a .429 hitting percentage, as the Wolverines outhit the Roos, .385 to .150 as a team in the frame.
 
The momentum stayed with the Wolverines early in the second set, as they erupted out to an early 6-1 advantage. Thompson led the spurt with a pair of kills, while Nakisha Willden and Madi Wardle each added a service ace. UMKC struck right back however, with a 6-0 run to take a 7-6 lead before UVU answered with four straight points to regain the lead at 10-7. With Utah Valley later holding to a 15-12 advantage, the Roos managed to reel off another 6-0 run to take an 18-15 lead. Facing a late 23-20 deficit, UVU struck back with back-to-back points -- thanks to a UMKC attack error and a Willden ace -- but it wasn't enough as the Roos answered with a pair of points to take the second set, 25-22.
 
With UMKC holding to an early 6-5 third-set advantage, the Roos reeled off an 8-1 run to take a 14-6 lead. Devan Porter led the Kansas City rally with pair of kills and a block. Utah Valley pulled within three late, at 21-18, following a Dennison kill and a Dennison and Izzie Hinton block assist, but it wasn't enough as UMKC went on to take the third set, 25-20, and a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The fourth game was much tighter in the early stages, as both sides battled back and forth for the first half of the set. With UVU trailing by just one at 13-12, the Roos managed to piece together a 4-0 spurt to take a 17-12 lead. A Starley kill then started an 8-2 UVU run to help the Wolverines overcome the deficit and take a 20-19 lead of their own. Thompson was big for UVU in the rally with a kill and back-to-back blocks to help the Wolverines take the lead. With Utah Valley later holding to a 23-22 advantage, Emma Hagedorn and Alicia Harrington teamed up to drive home three consecutive crucial kills to help the Kangaroos finish off the match in four sets with a 25-23 fourth-set victory.
 
Porter paced the Roos in the contest with 16 kills while Harrington finished with 15 and Hagedorn added 14.

Despite suffering the setback, UVU posted a season-high .340 hitting percentage in the match. 
 
The Wolverines will conclude their Midwest weekend trip on Saturday at Chicago State. First serve for Saturday's matinee is set for 11 a.m. MT/noon CT. Following Saturday's contest, UVU will return home to host in-state foe Weber State on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. The contest will mark UVU's first match of the season in the newly renovated PE Building and its final non-conference contest.