OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University volleyball team capped off a perfect weekend by defeating San José State, 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21), on Saturday night at the UCCU Center to win the Wolverine Invitational with an unblemished 3-0 record. 
 
"It couldn't have been better. This is what you work hard for," said head UVU coach Sam Atoa. "It was great for our girls to be able to respond after four challenging matches and to be able to take ownership of what we did here this weekend. I couldn't be happier for them."
 
Kiahna Vernon, who led UVU (3-4) with a team-high 15 kills against SJSU (4-2), was named the most valuable player of the tournament after recording 43 kills (3.58 kps), a .267 hitting percentage, 19 digs (1.58 dps) and seven blocks (0.58 bps). Sierra Starley and Nakisha Willden were too named to the Wolverine Invite All-Tournament Team after Starley averaged 8.73 assists, 2.36 digs, 1.09 kills, 0.73 blocks and .036 aces, while Willden averaged 5.00 digs and 0.83 assists on the weekend. Starley recorded her first double-double of the season on Saturday with 36 assists and 13 digs while Willden chipped in a career-high 26 digs from the back row.
 
"All three players played well for us this weekend," added Atoa. "Nakisha really helps stabilize things for us on the back row and did a great wonderful job of creating more opportunities for us. Sierra did a fabulous job of setting balls and helping run our offense. And it was great to see Kiahna break through for us."
 
The Spartans of the Mountain West Conference were the first to get things going in the opening set as they jumped out to an early 6-2 lead. UVU quickly managed to erase the deficit and take its first lead of the game at 14-13 following an 8-3 run. After an SJSU point, the Wolverines remained hot as they reeled off another 5-1 run to take a 19-15 advantage. The Spartans later countered back with a 5-1 run of their own to tie the score at 21-21. With the score still tied at 22-all, Vernon helped jumpstart the UVU offense by driving home two of the final four points to give the Wolverines a 25-23 first-set victory. The senior outside hitter paced the UVU offense with eight kills in the frame.
 
San José State then bounced back early in the second set as it took a 10-6 lead following a 7-1 spurt. SJSU later stretched its lead to as many as 11, at 22-11, after another sizable 8-1 run. The Wolverines chipped away at the deficit from there and pulled to within six late in the contest (23-17), but in the end it wasn't enough as the Spartans converted on the two of the next three points to take the set, 25-18, and even the match at 1-1.
 
In a tightly contested third set, the Wolverines managed to take a 13-10 lead after scoring four unanswered points. Starley led the run with a service ace and a kill. The Spartans then pulled to within one on a couple of occasions, but UVU responded with a 5-1 run to take a 20-15 lead. The Wolverines then held onto their lead down the stretch as they went on to take the third set by a score of 25-19. Izzie Hinton and Lexi Thompson led UVU in the frame with four kills apiece.
 
Utah Valley's momentum carried over into the fourth set, as it took a quick 9-4 lead after a handful of SJSU errors. The Spartans then answered back with a 5-1 run to pull within a point at 10-9. UVU later regained control at 17-13 following a 4-1 spurt that was capped off by a Vernon kill. With Utah Valley holding to a 24-18 match-point advantage, San José State made things interesting by scoring a trio of consecutive points but UVU's Vernon answered by driving home a final kill to finish off the four-set victory by taking the fourth by a score of 25-21.
 
Preseason all-conference selection Madison Dennison also tallied double digits in kills for the Wolverines in the match as she finished with an even 10. Thompson was next with eighth while Brighton Taylor led UVU at the net with six blocks.
 
As a team, Utah Valley controlled the match at the net, as it outblocked the Spartans 14.0 to 6.0.
 
After opening the season with an 0-4 record, UVU responded nicely this weekend with a five-set win over North Texas (14-25, 25-20, 25-27, 25-23, 15-12), a sweep of in-state foe Southern Utah (25-20, 26-24, 25-19) and Saturday night's four-set victory over SJSU.
 
The Wolverines will now head to Hawai'i next weekend for the Hawai'i Outrigger Resorts Challenge. While in Hawai'i, the Wolverines will face No. 15 Hawai'i on Sept. 8, No. 5 Washington on Sept. 9 and Northern Illinois on Sept. 10. Following the tournament, UVU will then return home to host in-state foe Utah State on Sept. 13 in the UCCU Center at 7 p.m.
 
Wolverine Invitational All-Tournament Team
Sierra Starley, Utah Valley
Nakisha Willden, Utah Valley
Macky Fifita, Southern Utah
Chennin Benson, Southern Utah
Giulia Gavio, San José State
Amanda Chamberlain, North Texas
MVP - Kiahna Vernon, Utah Valley