MISSOULA, Mont. – Utah Valley University fell to the University of Montana on Thursday night, 3-1 (21-25, 25-20,16-25,15-25) at Dahlberg Arena. Avery Shewell led UVU (3-1) with 16 kills in the match, and middle blocker Bella Wooden added ten kills and eight total blocks. The Wolverines could not overcome Montana's (2-2) 16 blocks in the match.
 
"We weren't our best tonight. You have to give Montana credit, they played better than we did tonight. However, I am proud of our fight and resolve to want to be better. We have another opportunity tomorrow to do that," said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.
 
The opening set was a defensive battle, with the Grizzlies and Wolverines both tallying four total blocks with Wooden having five points on three kills and four block assists. Montana broke a 7-7 tie with a kill from Paige Clark and pushed the lead out to 18-11 after a pair of runs. Utah Valley chipped into the lead and got it back to 19-16 following three attack errors by the Griz, but it wasn't enough to rally.
 
Montana's success continued to start the second set as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead before Utah Valley rallied with a pair of kills from Wooden before UVU went on to score 12 of the next 19 points to take a 17-14 lead. Shewell recorded three of her six kills in the set during the stretch to help the Wolverines to even the match.
 
After coming in late in the second set and adding a kill, Jules Fink helped UVU get off to a fast start in the third, including a solo block to make it 1-0. The lead did not hold up long, as the Grizzlies rallied from a 4-1 deficit with an 11-3 run to go up 12-7. Utah Valley continued to fight in the set, but the defensive effort of Montana held UVU in check.
 
The Wolverines led 5-4 in the fourth set following a kill from Wooden before Montana scored the next three points to go up 7-6. After a kill from Alyvia Jaffa, Montana went on a 6-0 run to take a 14-7 lead and held on for the set and match victory.
 
Shewell now has 644 career kills and passed Sarah Clement for No. 13 all-time and is now tied with Seren Jardine for 13^th all-time in service aces with 73.
 
The Wolverines are back in action on Friday, Sept. 6 at 1:00 p.m. MT against Southern Miss. It will be the first all-time meeting between the two squads. The match will air on ESPN+.