LOGAN, Utah – The Utah Valley University volleyball team managed to overcome a one-set deficit en route to a 3-1 victory at in-state foe Utah State on Tuesday evening at the Wayne Estes Center in Logan (18-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-15).
 
The victory marks UVU's (5-3) fourth in a row and its fifth its last six tries.
 
"It wasn't a pretty start, but it was a great finish. We were able to learn from our mistakes tonight and allowed ourselves to control things on our side of the net much better," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "I was very pleased with how Alexis Davies came in and performed for us tonight, as well as how Madison Dennison continues to hit the ball for us. Overall I was very pleased with our effort."
 
A total of three players topped double figures in kills for the Wolverines on the night. Madison Dennison and Lexi Thompson led the way by recording 13 apiece, while Alexis Davies matched a career-high with 12. The reigning WAC Player of the Week Dennison also recorded a solid .435 hitting percentage and five blocks, and Thompson notched her first double-double of the season with 10 digs. Izzie Hinton was next for UVU with a season-high eight kills, while Sierra Starley and Seren Merrill led the way in assists and digs with 47 and 17, respectively.
 
The Mountain West Aggies (4-3) got off to a strong start in the opening set, as they opened a 7-2 lead following a 5-0 run. UVU later pulled to within a point, at 11-10, following a 5-1 spurt that was capped off by a service ace from Merrill. Utah State then immediately countered with a 5-1 run of its own to regain a 16-11 lead. The Aggies later stretched their lead to as many as nine, as they went on to take the first set by a score of 25-18.
 
UVU answered back in the early stages of the second set by opening an 11-6 lead following a 3-1 run. Following an Aggie point, Utah Valley then added three straight points to extend its advantage to 14-7. Dennison led the spurt with a block and a kill. With the Wolverines later holding to an 18-10 lead, USU countered back with a 6-2 run to pull within four at 20-16. UVU then responded by scoring five of the final seven points of the set to take the second game, 25-18, and tie the match at 1-1. Dennison led the Wolverine attack in set with six kills and a .667 hitting percentage.
 
Utah Valley continued to hold the upper hand in the third set, as it jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The Aggies then answered right back with a 4-1 run to pull within two at 6-4. With UVU later holding to a 10-7 lead, USU responded with a 4-1 spurt to tie the score at 11-11. The set then seesawed back and forth from there until Utah State managed to drive home back-to-back kills from Lauren Anderson to take a 22-20 advantage. The Wolverines then responded with consecutive kills from Hinton and Dennison to tie the score at 22-all. Following an Aggie point, UVU answered with a clutch 4-1 run to take the third game, 26-24, and a 2-1 lead in the match. Davies led the final spurt for the Wolverines with a pair of kills.
 
With UVU holding to a slim 9-8 lead in the fourth set, the Wolverines reeled off a 4-1 spurt to take a 13-9 advantage. Starley led the run with two blocks and two assists. Utah State then immediately responded with three unanswered points to pull within one, at 13-12, but back answered UVU by scoring six of the next seven points to take a 19-13 advantage. Thompson led the rally with two kills and an ace. After a USU point, the Wolverines reeled off a final 6-1 run to put the set, 25-15, and the match away. Davies and Thompson led UVU in the final set with five kills apiece.
 
Anderson paced the Aggies on the night with a double-double of 17 kills and 11 digs.
 
The victory not only marked UVU's fifth in its last six matches, but also its second of the season over in-state foes as it previously defeated Southern Utah in Cedar City on Aug. 29.
 
The Wolverines will next head to Fort Worth, Texas, for the TCU Fight in the Fort this weekend (Sept. 8-9). There, UVU will face Lehigh on Friday, before closing the tournament against Duke and the host TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday. Utah Valley will then return to the state of Utah for a trio of in-state matches the following week. UVU will first take on Weber State in Ogden on Sept. 13, before hosting No. 18 Utah on Sept. 15 and No. 10 BYU on Sept. 16.