POCATELLO, Idaho – Utah Valley women's volleyball defeated Idaho State 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-20) on Thursday evening inside Reed Gym. Tori Ellis had a season-high 20 kills to lead Utah Valley (2-5) to the win over Idaho State (1-6). Vittoria Price, Hailey Cuff, and Avery Shewell all had nine kills in the match.
 
"It wasn't pretty, but we will take it. I was pleased with how they took control after a challenging first set. I was pleased with Tori (Ellis) and Tori (Price) for carrying us offensively. It was a team effort on defense that helped us keep control," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.
 
Utah Valley responded after dropping the first set to the Bengals 25-15. Ellis got off to a fast start in the second set by recording eight of her 20 kills. Utah Valley trailed 12-10 in the second set before a 7-1 run gave UVU a 16-13 lead behind three kills from Ellis, two kills from Vittoria Price, and one from Hailey Cuff. Idaho State made a late run in the set to get within two, but the Wolverines responded to close out the set.
 
The Bengals responded to start the third set and got out to an 11-6 lead. Utah Valley took advantage of three errors from Idaho State and added kills from Kalea Kennedy, Ellis, and Price during a 7-1 run to put UVU in front 13-11. The Wolverines trailed later in the set 18-17 but found another run sparked by a Shewell kill and one of her five service aces before an ISU attack error put UVU in front at 19-18. The set ended after a 5-1 run by the Wolverines, putting them in front 2-1.
 
The Wolverines never trailed in the fourth set as they hit a match-high .333 with four kills from Ellis and Shewell. The tone was set by an 11-4 start by UVU as ISU tried to get back into the set. The closest they got was 19-17 after four consecutive points. Kennedy added two big kills down the stretch to push the lead out to 21-17 before Price extended the lead out to 22-17. Ellis had the final two kills to seal the match.
 
Medeiros had her tenth career double-double in the win with 27 assists and 15 digs, while Shewell had five service aces and was one away from matching her career-high of six.
 
Kendra Nock picked up four total blocks and passed Alexis Davies for 14^th all-time in total blocks. She needs three block assists to pass Lacee Koelliker for 14^th all-time and one solo block to tie Lexi Thompson for tenth all-time.
 
The Wolverines will play their second contest at the Bengal Invitational on Sept. 8 at 5:00 p.m. MT against Gonzaga. The match will be available on ESPN+, and live stats on UVUstats.com. The tournament closes on Saturday, with Gonzaga playing Idaho State. UVU returns to action on Sept. 12 on the road against Weber State.