OREM, Utah – With their backs against the wall on several occasions, the Utah Valley University volleyball team rallied to defeat the three-time WAC champion New Mexico State Aggies, 3-2 (21-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-23, 22-20), on Saturday afternoon at Lockhart Arena.
 
The Wolverines (14-11, 6-6 WAC) trailed two sets to none but rallied to force a fifth set and trailed 10-5 after a 7-0 run from the Aggies (18-7, 8-4 WAC). UVU whittled into the deficit behind Kristen Allred, eventually tying it at 11-11.
 
A block assist from Makaila Jarema and Alexis Davies gave Utah Valley match point, but NM State stayed alive on a kill from Julianna Salanoa. The game went back-and-forth from there. The Aggies thwarted three straight UVU attempts at match point and took an 18-17 lead. The Wolverines then managed to stave off three straight attempts to end it by New Mexico State, with an attack error tying the set at 20-20.
 
From there, Jarema took over. A block assist from her and BriAnne Mortenson gave UVU the lead and Jarema capped off the improbable comeback with an impressive solo block, giving her a match-high 13 blocks on the day. The 13 total blocks is just one shy of a single-match school record of 14 that Jarema set earlier in the season.
 
"What a battle. It's unfortunate that somebody has to lose but it was just great back-and-forth action," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa. "For us to be down and to work ourselves back into it… we'll take it. The girls deserved that and battled hard. Wow. What an ending. I'm really proud of their resilience. Even when it seemed like it was over, we didn't quit."
 
Allred had 18 kills for UVU while NM State's Tatyana Battle led both teams with 19 kills. Allred had 10 of her kills in the final two sets while Kazna Tarawhiti had six of her 15 kills in the final set. Allred also added another double-double with 11 digs. To go along with her match-high 13 blocks, Jarema chipped nine kills on .500 hitting, while Alexis Davies too had a strong outing at the net by tying a career-high with nine blocks assists. Madi Wardle also added a double-double on the day for the Wolverines with 19 assists and 10 digs, while Mortensen posted a team and season-high in assists with 22. 
 
The Aggies jumped ahead in the opening set, scoring six out of seven points to take a 9-4 lead. The Wolverines closed within two points on two occasions, the latest coming at 22-20 on an ace from Jaysa Funk Stratton. But NM State scored three of the last four, with a Battle kill giving the Aggies the first set, 25-21.
 
The second set was nip-and-tuck throughout and was tied at 19-19 before the Aggies rolled off six straight two take a 2-0 lead. A service error on UVU began the set-ending run, with Battle again finishing it off with a kill.
 
The Wolverines responded though, with a commanding win in the third set. An 8-0 run gave Utah Valley a 12-4 lead early on. Jarema and Davis teamed up for two blocks during the run with Jarema and Tarawhiti adding another block assist. 
 
Six straight points by the Aggies made it a 12-10 game, but six of the next seven points went UVU's way, including two on aces from Mortensen and Abbie Vincent. Davies capped the set with a kill for a 25-15 win.
 
The fourth set seemed to be another commanding win for the Wolverines. UVU scored seven straight points to start the set and kept at least a three-point cushion until late. Utah Valley led 23-15 after a Bailey Nixon kill before New Mexico State rallied with seven straight to get within a point. Allred had a kill to stop the run and, after the Aggies again made it a one-point match, Allred recorded another kill to force the decisive set.
 
The Wolverines will head to the Midwest next week for their final road trip of the regular season with contests at second-place UMKC (Nov. 8) and Chicago State (Nov. 10). The regular season will conclude with two home matches against CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon the following weekend.