RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Utah Valley rallied after dropping the first set to give California Baptist its first loss of the season, 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 27-25) in the Van Dyne Gym. Kazna Tanuvasa led the comeback as she passed Lauren Bakker for fourth all-time in school history in career kills. UVU improved to 3-2 on the season, including 3-1 in WAC play as the Lancers fell to 4-1 on the season and 3-1 in conference play.

"We played with heart and grit today," said Utah Valley head volleyball coach Sam Atoa. "CBU is a very good team but I was proud of our focus to stick to our game plan, especially early when we were struggling. It's tough being down but those comebacks make it even sweeter. Playing a team twice is tough, especially when you lose the first day but today we showed we what we are capable of."
 
After UVU took an early 7-4 lead, CBU used an 8-2 run to take a 12-9 advantage. Both teams went back and forth before the Lancers score the final seven points of the set to take the opening set, 25-15.
 
California Baptist scored the first three points of the second set before the Wolverines used an 8-1 run to take an 8-4 lead. CBU took four of the next five points to cut into the UVU lead, 9-8. Utah Valley countered with a 7-2 run to take control of the set, 16-10. The Lancers weren't able to challenge from there as UVU maintained a lead of at least three the rest of the way to tie the match up at one apiece with a 25-21 victory.
 
UVU and CBU alternated the first 11 points of the set as the Lancers took a 6-5 lead early. The Wolverines went on a 7-2 run to retake the lead, 13-10. After California Baptist trimmed the lead to one, UVU used a 7-0 surge to pull away from CBU, outscoring the Lancers 10-2 down the stretch to take the third set, 25-16.
 
The Lancers came out hot, scoring the first five points of the set as CBU took a 12-4 lead. The Wolverines fought back, using a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 14-13. UVU took a brief lead, 18-17, before California Baptist used a 4-0 run to pull ahead, 21-18. With UVU trailing 23-20, Tanuvasa took over to bring the Wolverines back.
 
Tanuvasa and Kendra Nock got a block to start the comeback before an ace by Bryton Bishop and a kill by Tanuvasa tied the game up at 23 apiece. CBU retook the lead with a kill before another kill by Tanuvasa kept UVU alive. A service error put Utah Valley on the brink again but Tanuvasa delivered another kill to tie the set up again at 25-25. Kristen Bell and Natalia Andrus got a block to give UVU the lead for good and Abbie Miller got the ace to finished the rally, winning the set 27-25 and giving the Wolverines the 3-1 victory.
 
Tanuvasa led the Wolverines with 18 kills to go along with a pair of digs and three total blocks. Tori Dorius added 11 kills and five blocks while Nock chipped in 11 kills as well and six blocks. Jaysa Funk Stratton led UVU with a career-high 28 assists and 18 digs. Miller added her first double-double of her career, finishing with 18 assists and 11 digs as Bishop led the team with a career high four aces.
 
"We are excited to have Tarleton in the conference and to learn more about them," said Atoa. "They play with a lot of pride and we look forward to this challenge."
 
The Wolverines continue on the road as UVU travels to Stephenville, Texas to take on WAC newcomer, Tarleton State, on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 15-16. Both matches are set to begin at 5:00 p.m. MT. Utah Valley then returns home to host Chicago State on Feb. 22-23 in Lockhart Arena. Monday's match is set for 6:00 p.m. MT and Tuesday's contest is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. MT.