EDINBURG, Texas – Despite double-doubles from Kristen Allred and BriAnne Mortensen, it wasn't enough as Utah Valley University fell in four sets to WAC foe UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday afternoon at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, Texas (16-25, 23-25, 25-19, 16-25). 
 
The Wolverines drop to 11-11 overall and 3-6 in WAC play with the setback, while UTRGV improves to 16-8 overall and in sole possession of third place in the league standings at 7-3. 
 
"We found ourselves at different moments of the match where we struggled today. We seemed to make mistakes at the wrong time and it cost us," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "You've got to give credit to UTRGV. They played a much better match than we did, especially offensively. They did a great job of siding out, and we had a hard time of siding out on our end and it hurt us."
 
Despite suffering the setback, Allred had a big match for the Wolverines by recording a match-high 19 kills on .233 hitting. She also added her seventh double-double of the year with 11 digs. Kazna Tarawhiti too played well, as she followed with 17 kills on .279 hitting as well as adding nine digs, while freshman setter BriAnne Mortensen notched her second double-double of the year with a season-high 20 assists and 10 digs. Madi Wardle too had 20 assists for the Wolverines, while Jasmine Niutupuivaha led the way at the net with five blocks and Seren Merrill paced the team from the back row with 20 digs. 
 
With UTRGV leading by just a point at 8-7 in the opening set following a Tarawhiti kill, the Vaqueros then got things going by reeling off an 8-0 run to take a 16-7 advantage. The Wolverines later pulled to within seven at 20-13 following an Allred kill, but back responded UTRGV by scoring two of the next three to take a late 22-14 lead. UVU would get a kill from Tarawhiti and another point on a Vaquero service error, but UT Rio Grande Valley would go on to take the opener by a score of 25-16 thanks to a pair of late kills from the WAC Preseason Player of the Year Ragni Steen Knudsen. 
 
With the second set all tied up at 6-6, Utah Valley then managed to piece together a 5-0 spurt to jump out to an 11-6 advantage. Tarawhiti had an ace and a kill for the Wolverines during the stretch while Niutupuivaha added a pair of kills. The Vaqueros then struck back with three straight point to make it 12-10, but UVU got back-to-back kills from Allred to take a 14-10 lead. UTRGV again answered with a 6-1 run to take a 16-15 advantage. With UT Rio Grande Valley holding to a 21-18 lead, the Wolverines then drove home four consecutive clutch points to take a late 22-21 advantage. The Vaqueros again managed to counter, however, by scoring four of the final five points to take the second set, 25-23, and a 2-0 lead in the match. Barbara Thais Krug led the final UTRGV surge with a pair of kills. 
 
The Wolverines looked to bounce back following the intermission, as they jumped out to a quick 9-4 third-set advantage. Tarawhiti led the early spurt for UVU with a trio of kills. With Utah Valley up 14-10, the Wolverines drove home consecutive points on a UTRGV ball handling error followed by a Tarawhiti kill to make it 16-10. UVU then later managed to stretch its lead to seven at 20-13 on an Allred kill. Up 23-15, the Vaqueros then tried to stage a late comeback by scoring four of the next five points to make it 24-19, but UVU managed to answer with a final kill from Tarawhiti to take the set and force a fourth game. Tarawhiti and Allred led Utah Valley in the set with an impressive tally of seven kills apiece.
 
UVU continued to hold the upper hand early in the fourth set by building an 8-5 advantage. The Vaqueros then bounced right back, however, with a 4-0 spurt to take a 9-8 lead. With Utah Valley up 10-9 after back-to-back Tarawhiti kills, UTRGV then got six straight points to take a 15-10 advantage. The Wolverines later made it a four-point set at 17-13 after a Niutupuivaha and Alexis Davies block assist, but UT Rio Grande Valley answered with four of the next five points to extend its lead to 21-14. UVU got a late kill from Davies and a block assist from Makaila Jarema and Davies, but it wasn't enough as UTRGV went on to take the set, 25-16, and the match three sets to one. 
 
Steen Knudsen paced the Vaqueros in the match with 12 kills, while Barbara Silva and Pamela Moreira both added 10. 
 
UVU and UTRGV split the season series with the result. Utah Valley previously defeated UT Rio Grande Valley in four sets in Orem just last week (Oct. 11). 
 
The Wolverines will now return home to host fellow WAC foe Seattle U on Thursday, Oct. 25. The match – which will mark UVU's lone contest of the week – will begin at 6 p.m. MT at Utah Valley's Lockhart Arena.