OGDEN — The Utah Valley State volleyball team didn't die after falling behind by two games to Air Force in its second match of the Weber State Classic. The Wolverines battled back to win the next two games and force Game 5 but couldn't hold on in the end, losing to AFA 28-30, 25-30, 30-23, 30-27, 11-15.
"We did a nice job coming back and even taking the lead in the fifth game," said coach Sam Atoa. "But we got tentative and let Air Force take the momentum back."
In Game 1, the Falcons took an early 9-0 lead and looked like they were going to run away with the game, but the Wolverines didn't go away. Utah Valley clawed back into the game, cutting the lead to seven, and eventually four, and finally turning the tables by taking the lead 25-24. A late 5-0 run and two Lacee Koelliker dumps aided the comeback, but it wasn't enough as AFA hung on to win 30-28.
Game 2 was more evenly matched, as both teams traded points throughout the first half of the set. The Wolverines took a 12-11 lead but let AFA go on a 5-0 run and take a 15-12 advantage. The Falcon lead was extended to 25-20 before a Wolverine timeout. Utah Valley scored the next two points after the break but couldn't keep the momentum going, losing 30-25 in the end.
Game 3 was also back-and-forth for most the set. The Wolverines took a 16-15 lead and didn't look back, increasing that lead to as many as seven points at 29-22 before finally closing out the game 30-23. Camie Manwill had five kills in the game, while Jessica Endres added four and Larissa Laycock notched three.
Game 4 started with an early 2-0 Wolverine lead, but the Falcons used a 10-2 run to take a 10-4 lead and force a Utah Valley timeout. The Wolverines used a 14-9 run after the short intermission to cut the AFA lead to one point at 19-18. Utah Valley would eventually take a 23-22 lead, highlighted by two Koelliker dumps. There would be four lead changes before the Wolverines took a two point lead at 28-26, and ended the game 30-27 on a Stephanie McFarland ace.
In Game 5, the Wolverines took an 8-5 lead before the teams switched sides. AFA then went on a 10-3 run to close out the game and the match winning the deciding set, 15-11.
"Overall it was a real sloppy match," said Atoa. "We need to get better, and we will."
The Wolverines finished with four players, notching double-digit kills.
Endres and Manwill both had season and match-highs with 15, Anne Olsen had 12, and was one dig shy of a double-double, and Koelliker tallied her third consecutive double-double with 10 kills to go along with her season-high 54 assists.
On the defensive end, both Chelsea O'Neal and Bethany Carron set season-high dig totals. O'Neal had 13, and Carron had 11.
"I thought both Chelsea and Bethany came in and did a great job for us," said Atoa.
The Wolverines fall to 2-3 on the season, while AFA improves to 3-5. Utah Valley plays in the nightcap match against host team Weber State tonight at 7:30 p.m. (MST).