POCATELLO, Idaho – The Utah Valley University volleyball team continued its strong play as of late with a 3-1 road victory over Idaho State on Monday evening at Reed Gym in Pocatello (26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 25-20).
 
UVU, who has now won four of its last five matches and three in row, improves to 4-4 with the victory, while ISU drops to 3-4 with the loss.
 
"It's always good to win on the road, especially here in Pocatello. I felt like we played OK, however, I was very pleased that the girls were able to stick with it and pull it out in the end," said head UVU coach Sam Atoa. "Both Madison (Dennison) and Lexi (Thompson) did an excellent job. It was really exciting to see both of them come through for us tonight."
 
Lexi Thompson led the way for the Wolverines with season-high 19 kills and a .341 hitting percentage, while Kristen Allred followed with a season-best 15 kills of her own and the reigning WAC Player of the Week Madison Dennison added 11. Dennison also chipped in a .417 hitting percentage and six blocks, while Izzie Hinton too had a solid match with a season-high seven kills and a career-best six blocks. Sierra Starley added her third double-double of the year with a season-high 50 assists and 11 digs while Seren Merrill paced the team in digs with 18.
 
In a tightly contested opening set that featured a total of 12 ties and three lead changes, UVU was the first to get things at 19-16 following a 4-0 run. Dennison Hinton led the spurt with back-to-back block assists. With the Wolverines later holding to a 21-17 advantage following a Hinton service ace, the Bengals responded with four straight points to tie the score at 21-21. Later all knotted up at 24-24, UVU responded with consecutive points on a block assist from Brighton Taylor and Hinton followed by a kill from Allred to put the first frame away by a score of 26-24.
 
ISU responded early in the second set by opening up a 5-0 advantage after scoring five straight points. Trailing 11-7, Utah Valley reeled off four unanswered points to tie the set at 11-all. Hinton led the Wolverine spurt with a kill and a block. With Idaho State later holding to an 18-17 lead, the Bengals managed to drive home four of the next five points to take a 22-18 advantage. The Wolverines then responded with three straight points to pull within one, at 22-21, but back countered ISU with the final three points to take the set, 25-21, and tie the match at 1-1.
 
In another tightly contested third game, UVU broke a 13-13 tie by reeling off a 5-1 run to take an 18-14 advantage. Thompson led the spurt for the Wolverines with a trio of kills. The Bengals then battled back with three unanswered points to pull within one, at 18-17, but Utah Valley later responded with a 3-1 run of its own that was capped by a Dennison kill to take a 22-19 lead. Later holding to a 24-22 set-point advantage, the Wolverines put the third set away, 25-22, following an emphatic kill from Thompson to take a 2-1 lead in the contest. Thompson paced the UVU attack in the frame with six third-set kills.
 
With Utah Valley holding to a slim 4-3 margin in the fourth set, the Wolverines reeled off a decisive 8-1 run to take a 12-4 lead. Thompson and Jasmine Niutupuivaha led the run with a pair of kills apiece. The Bengals managed to pull to within two late, at 21-19, but UVU responded with a clutch 4-1 run to put the set and the match away. The freshman Allred led the final spurt for the Wolverines with a pair of kills.
 
The victory for UVU snapped a five-match winning streak for ISU in the all-time series between the two clubs. Prior to Monday's win, Utah Valley last defeated Idaho State on Oct. 17, 2009 in five sets in Pocatello.
 
Former Wolverine Abby Jensen Garrity led the way for the Bengals on the night with a double-double of 21 kills and 11 digs.
 
The Wolverines will now close their quick two-match road trip at in-state foe Utah State on Tuesday night. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. at USU's Kirby Court at the Wayne Estes Center. Following Tuesday's in-state contest, UVU will head to Fort Worth, Texas, for the TCU Fight in the Fort this weekend (Sept. 8-9).