Box Score

OREM, Utah - Utah State women's volleyball had leads in each set against Utah Valley on Monday night, but saw the Wolverines come back time and again, suffering the 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 defeat. The loss dips the Aggies below .500 with a 12-13 mark on the year while Utah Valley moved to 13-16 with the win.

The victory by the Wolverines also squared the all-time series 6-6 and avenged a three-set sweep by the Aggies in Logan last season.

Utah State started out strong in the first set, riding a .400-plus hitting percentage to a six-point lead, 17-11, and forcing a Wolverine timeout. The energy all changed from there as Utah Valley closed out the set on a 14-5 run and took the frame 25-22 as the Aggies finished hitting .065 (7-5-31). Utah State suffered defeat despite logging 8.5 blocks in the opening stanza to Utah Valley's 3.0.

Neither team had more than a two-point lead early in the second set as the teams went back-and-forth through seven ties, culminating in a 14-14 deadlock. Utah Valley then put together four-straight points to take an 18-14 advantage, leading to a Utah State timeout. The break was well played as Utah State came out with three consecutive points behind kills by junior opposite Elle Brainard and senior outside Rachel Orr, pulling within one, 18-17.

The one-point cushion held and then increased to four when UVU took its first set point, 24-20. Freshman Rachel Gale extended the set and a pair of Wolverine errors put the game within two, 24-22, but a closing kill by Utah Valley put the home side up 2-0 with the 25-22 win.

Utah State jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the third set, but fell victim to another UVU run that tied the match at 10-10. A three-point push by the Wolverines broke another deadlock at 13-13, giving the home side a 16-13 lead and an advantage that would not be relinquished. The Aggies pulled to within two, 23-21, but back-to-back attacking errors by USU gave the Wolverines the match 25-21.

Orr led Utah State's attack with 13 kills on the night, hitting .222 (13-5-36) and added two assists, one ace and three blocks. Senior setter Paige Neves picked up her 12th double-double of the season with 24 assists and 11 digs. Fellow senior Ashlan Rogers-Court led the Aggie defense as the libero recorded 12 digs. Freshman middle Hannah Smith paced the USU block with six.

Utah Valley's Macky Treanor tied Orr for a match-high 13 kills, hitting .258 (13-5-31). Lauren Bakker took home top honors on the block after recording seven and senior LIB McKenna Tait played her last match in Orem, totaling a match-high 17 digs. As a team, UVU out hit Utah State .189 (41-21-106) to .130 (33-20-100) on the night.

Utah State will wrap up its four-match road trip on Saturday night when the Aggies face Fresno State in Mountain West Conference action at 5 p.m.

Utah State volleyball season and single-match tickets are available by contacting the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum during its office hours 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305. Season tickets can also be purchased online at www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official website of USU Athletics and clicking on the "Ticket Office" tab.

Fans can also follow the Aggie volleyball program on twitter @USUVolleyball, on facebook at USUVolleyball or on instagram at @usuvolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at @USUAthletics, on facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on instagram at @USUAthletics.

-USU-