STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Utah Valley fell to Tarleton State in a tightly contested five-set match Thursday at Wisdom Volleyball Gym, 27-25, 25-18, 18-25, 23-25, 12-15. Avery Page led the Wolverines (12-10, 8-2) with 15 kills, 12 digs, and four aces. Utah Valley's errors proved too costly to overcome against the Texans (13-8, 7-2).
 
Alyvia Jaffa finished the match with 11 kills and eight blocks while committing only one attack error. Senior Alyssa Erickson added a career-high ten kills and six total blocks for Utah Valley, who fell to 1-3 in five-set matches this season.
 
The Wolverines and Texans traded points throughout the opening set. Tarleton State jumped out to a 3-0 lead and later extended it to 17-9 before UVU began to rally. The Wolverines took advantage of three straight hitting errors before Bella Wooden added an ace to make it 17-13. Two kills from Page and one from Erickson pulled UVU within two at 18-16.
 
Following another Erickson kill, Page delivered back-to-back aces to tie the set at 19. UVU took the lead after a block from Erickson and Alyvia Jaffa. The Texans fought off set point to take a 25-24 lead, but Utah Valley responded with three straight points, highlighted by two solo blocks from Olivia Gloeckner, who sealed the set with a kill.
 
Utah Valley carried that momentum into the second, taking the set 25-18 behind a balanced offensive attack. The Wolverines trailed 8-6 before an 8-1 run gave them a 13-9 advantage. Blackett, Erickson, and Jaffa each recorded kills during the stretch, while Blackett, Gloeckner, and Wooden added blocks. From the service line, Blackett dropped in a pair of aces to extend the lead to 17-10. Wooden ended the set with a kill, putting UVU in position for its 11th straight WAC regular season sweep.
 
Tarleton State controlled the third set early, jumping ahead 3-0 with two kills from Madison Natori Rice-Locket. Utah Valley answered with a 6-6 tie, highlighted by a service ace from Natalie Riggs, who tallied a season-high 25 assists. The Texans regained control, however, snapping UVU's streak of 20 consecutive set wins.
 
Utah Valley opened the fourth with a 4-1 lead, with Blackett and Wooden each recording one of the Wolverines' 10 service aces, which tied a season high. Tarleton State responded with a run of its own, building a 15-11 advantage. UVU tied it at 15 with three straight blocks from Jaffa and Erickson. The Wolverines pulled even two more times, including at 22 after a Gloeckner kill. Gloeckner finished with eight kills, two solo blocks, and two block assists for 11 total points. The Texans took three of the final four points to force a decisive fifth set.
 
Utah Valley built a 7-5 lead in the final frame with a 5-0 run sparked by Page, who had a kill followed by two aces. Tarleton tied it at 7-7 and regained the lead at 8-7 after a UVU attack error. The Texans pushed ahead 12-9 before a block from Blackett and Wooden cut it to 12-10. Facing match point, Page delivered a kill to make it 14-11, then teamed up with Jaffa for a block to pull within 14-12. Rice-Locket, who led Tarleton with 15 kills, ended the match with a kill.
 
Utah Valley remains atop the WAC standings heading into Saturday's match at UT Arlington. The first serve is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. MT on ESPN+. The other matches to watch in the tight WAC race are Utah Tech's visit to California Baptist. At the same time, Tarleton State faces Abilene Christian.