OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University took an early 1-0 lead but the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley won the next three sets as the Wolverines fell, 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 12-25, 21-25), in WAC volleyball on Thursday night at Lockhart Arena.
 
UVU (7-12, 2-2) got 10 blocks from senior Madison Dennison, giving her 500 for her career. Dennison, the nation's leader in blocks, is the second Utah Valley player to reach the 500-block plateau in the program's NCAA Division era. She is 79 blocks shy of the school record, held by Lauren Bakker.
 
Lexi Thompson led the Wolverines with 15 kills and added 12 digs while Alexis Davies finished with 13 kills.
 
UT Rio Grande Valley (10-7, 4-0) remained unbeaten in WAC play while winning its seventh straight match. The Vaqueros got a match-high 22 kills from Ragni Steen Knudsen. Barbara Silva added 19 kills, WAC Preseason Player of the Year Bojana Mitrovic had 15 and Dubravka Vukoja finished with 58 assists. 
 
"They played much better than we did," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. "Our offense and our passing were not there. UTRGV had a lot to do with that and they deserved the win, but we've got to get better."
 
The opening set was tight from the get-go, with neither team leading by more than three points throughout. Utah Valley led 14-11 following an attack error by the Vaqueros, but UTRGV scored five of the next six points to take its first lead of the set, 16-15. 
 
The lead changed hands three more times after that. A Davies kill tied it at 22-22 and Dennison followed with a block to give UVU a one-point lead. Seren Merrill gave the Wolverines a 24-22 lead with an ace, forcing a timeout from UTRGV. 
 
The Vaqueros came back to tie it on consecutive kills, setting up a pivotal point that eventually went the Wolverines' way on a block assist from Davies and Dennison. Madi Wardle capped the opening set with an ace.
 
UT Rio Grande Valley built a 17-13 lead in the second set when the Wolverines scored four of the next five to get within a point. UVU later tied it at 20-20 on a block assist from Brighton Taylor and Megan Boudreaux. The Vaqueros scored the next three points, finishing the set on a 5-1 run with a Mitrovic ending the set and tying the match a 1-1.
 
UTRGV rode the momentum from the second set into the third, scoring the first seven points to take early control en route to the lopsided win and a 2-1 advantage. The Vaqueros hit .655 in the set, recording 19 kills in 29 attempts. 
 
After not recording a block in the third set, the Wolverines jumped ahead with a strong defensive effort. UVU built a 10-3 advantage, scoring four times on blocks in which Dennison was involved in each.
 
UTRGV would respond though, using an 11-3 run to take a 14-13 lead. After the Wolverines tied it on a Thompson kill, the Vaqueros scored the next three to lead 17-14, forcing a UVU timeout.
 
The Wolverines trailed 19-17 before three straight kills, from Davies, Thompson and Dennison, gave UVU a 20-19 lead. UTRGV got the next four points, including three straight kills from Knudsen. A Thompson kill made it 23-21, but Knudsen finished the match with two more kills – giving her eight in the decisive set – and the 3-1 UTRGV win.
 
The Wolverines host preseason favorite and defending regular season champion New Mexico State on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT, live on the WAC Digital Network.