PROVO, Utah – The Utah Valley University volleyball team had its opening tournament of the 2016 season come to a close with a 3-0 setback to Rice University on Saturday evening at BYU's Smith Fieldhouse in Provo (18-25, 22-25, 17-25).
 
With the loss, the Wolverines drop to 0-3 on the season after falling to the Owls (1-2), Cal Poly and No. 13 BYU at the BYU Invitational this weekend.
 
"We've got to get better. Our hitting has been a struggle for us. Now we've got to go back and see what we can do to help these kids have the confidence they need when they swing," head coach Sam Atoa said. "There's been some bright things for us. Defensively we've given ourselves a chance. But overall we've had too many peaks and valleys, so now we need to find away to piece things together and be more consistent."
 
The Owls (1-2), who went 21-10 in 2015 and were picked to finish third in the Conference USA this season, were the first to take the upper hand in the opening stanza, as they jumped out to a 9-4 lead following a 5-1 run. With UVU later trailing by a score of 15-10, the Wolverines reeled off a 4-1 spurt of their own to pull within two at 16-14. Sophomore Alexis Davies led the rally with a pair of kills. Rice managed to hold onto its lead, however, as it pieced together a late 7-1 run to take the first set by a score of 25-18.
 
Trailing 4-0 early in the second set, Utah Valley reeled off a 6-1 run to take a 6-5 lead. After back-to-back kills from freshman Izzie Hinton and a block assist by Hinton and junior Brighton Taylor, UVU later stretched its lead to three at 11-8. The Owls quickly answered by scoring eight of the next nine points to take a 16-12 advantage. With Rice later holding to a 24-19 set-point advantage, UVU answered back with a trio of consecutive points to pull within 24-22. In the end it wasn't enough however, as the Owls put away the next point to take a 25-22 second-set victory.
 
With Rice holding to an 8-4 lead in the third, Davies helped UVU tie things up at 8-8 following a pair of kills and a pair of blocks. The Owls then quickly answered back with a 6-1 run of their own to take a 14-9 advantage. Rice held onto its lead from there as it went on to finish the contest in consecutive sets by taking the third game by a score of 25-17.
 
Preseason all-conference selection Madison Dennison paced the Wolverines in the contest with 11 kills and four blocks, while Davies added a career-high nine kills and two blocks. Junior Sierra Starley also finished with a career-best of eighth kills in the contest to go along with a team-high 21 assists, while senior Nakisha Willden added a team-high 12 digs.

Following the conclusion of the tournament on Saturday evening, Dennison was named to the BYU Invitational All-Tournament Team. Dennison posted 20 kills, 19 blocks, nine digs and a .303 attack percentage over the three matches on the weekend. 
 
The Wolverines will now return to Orem for their 2016 home opener when Idaho State comes to town on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The midweek contest will begin at 6 p.m. and will be contested in the UCCU Center due to ongoing renovations to the PE Building. Following Tuesday's matchup, UVU will remain home to host a trio of teams -- North Texas, San Jose State and Southern Utah -- for the Wolverine Invitational on Sept. 2-3. 

BYU Invitational All-Tournament Team
UVU – Madison Dennison
Rice – Leah Mikesky
Cal Poly – Adlee Van Winden
Cal Poly – Taylor Nelson
BYU – Amy Boswell
BYU – Lyndie Haddock
BYU – McKenna Miller (MVP)