OREM, Utah – Behind a match-high 12 kills and a .579 hitting percentage from senior Madison Dennison, the Utah Valley University volleyball team defeated Montana in straight sets (25-15, 26-24, 25-16) on Friday night at Lockhart Arena as part of the Wolverine Invitational.
 
With the victory, UVU improves to 2-4 on the year, while the Grizzlies fall to 3-2 with the setback.
 
"It's great to get the win. We had a challenging match last night, and I'm happy with how the girls were able to respond and make the necessary adjustments here tonight," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. "We're really pleased that we were able to get a few other girls in the match in a successful result."
 
With the Wolverines and Grizzlies all knotted up at 9-9 in the opening set, UVU reeled off four straight points thanks to a pair of service aces and a kill from Lexi Thompson to take a 13-9 lead. Following a UM point, Utah Valley responded with another 6-0 spurt that was capped off by a Seren Merrill ace to extend its advantage to 19-10. The Wolverines would go on to take the opening game by a score of 25-15. Freshman Kristen Allred led the UVU attack with six first-set kills.
 
Montana responded early in the second set, as it jumped out to an 8-6 lead following a kill from Cassie Laramee. The Wolverines then immediately responded by reeling off three straight points to take a one-point advantage, but back came Montana with an 8-2 run to regain a 16-11 lead of its own. With UM later holding to an 18-13 lead, back answered UVU by scoring six of the next seven points to take of 20-19 advantage. Jasmine Niutupuivaha capped the run with a kill and a block. Both teams traded points from there until Utah Valley managed to drill home clutch back-to-back points thanks to an Allred ace and a Dennison kill to take the tightly contested set, 26-24, and a 2-0 lead in a match.
 
Utah Valley's momentum carried over in the third game as it opened 10-6 lead following a 7-1 run. Dennison led the Wolverine spurt with a trio of kills. Following a Montana point, UVU responded with four more unanswered points to extend its lead to 14-7. Thompson led the Utah Valley run with a pair of kills and a block. The Grizzlies later pulled to within five, at 16-11, but back answered the Wolverines with a 7-2 run to take a 23-13 advantage. Alexis Davies capped the run with back-to-back-to-back kills. UVU cruised from there as it went on to take the third and final set, at 25-16, on a Megan Boudreaux kill.
 
Behind Dennison's 12 kills and impressive .579 attack percentage, Allred and Thompson were next for Utah Valley by adding seven kills apiece. Allred also chipped in a season and match-high three aces, while Thompson put up two. Sierra Starley and Merrill too had nice outings for the Wolverines by leading the way with 32 assists and 11 digs, respectively.

As a team, recorded a total of six more service aces than the Grizzlies on the night (8-2), as well as outhit UM, .254 to .178.
 
UVU will close the Wolverine Invitational on Saturday at noon at Lockhart Arena against Long Beach State. Following Saturday's tournament finale, Utah Valley will head north to take on Idaho State in Pocatello on Monday and in-state foe Utah State in Logan on Tuesday.