It was like a penalty flag on a kickoff return.

Celebration on ice.

Just when Utah Valley University thought it had evened up its match against BYU on Tuesday night, the whistle blew and the match changed for good.

UVU was called for a backcourt attack violation in Game 2 that gave BYU the point. The Cougars took advantage of the call to come back and win the game and the match as BYU beat UVU 25-22, 20-28, 15-25, 25-23.

"I thought it was huge. That was a tough call and it gets missed a lot. That was pivotal," said BYU coach Shay Goulding. "I thought UVU really stepped up and put pressure on us, and it wasn't an easy win, but I was pleased with the way we reacted."

After winning the first game 25-22, BYU fell behind 6-0 in the next game, but Camilla Phillips helped the Cougars charge back and take the lead. She came up with a kill that put BYU up 25-24 and used another kill to tie the score at 26. UVU then took the lead and appeared to have taken Game 2 when Kayli Broadbent pounded in a winner that started a UVU celebration, but that's when the Wolverines found out they were called for the violation.

"That hurt, when the whistle went and it was signaled in our favor, you don't see that happen very often, but it was a good call," said UVU coach Sam Atoa. "Unfortunately it just didn't go our way. You wish you could have taken that back, but those things happen.

"It was just one serve or one swing, or one block that made the difference. It was very, very tight. We had chances to take advantage of certain things and we didn't do it. They had chances and they did it. I thought it was just a great battle."

After the Cougars got the call, they showed off their blocking expertise. Kiana Rogers came up with a block and Nicole Warner got the game-winning kill to gave BYU control of the match.

Facing elimination, the Wolverines put it all together in the third game. Broadbent, who led UVU with 23 kills, got the hot hand with some help from Manwill, who had 14 kills. Add a little of Sarah Clement and a lot of hustle from Allyce Jones, and the Wolverines looked like a new team. They surged to a 19-9 lead and went up 24-14 before a Manwill kill ended the game and kept UVU's hopes alive.

The Wolverines trailed 7-2 early in the final game before clawing their way back and taking a 22-21 lead, but BYU closed out UVU with a Christie Carpenter kill and a block by Phillips to end the match.

Carpenter led BYU with 12 kills and Warner led the team with 10 blocks. For Phillips, it was a brilliant return from an ankle injury she suffered last week against Utah. She had a career-high 10 kills and a career-high seven blocks.

"I'm thrilled for her. She's gotten better and better," Goulding said. "Against Utah she was having a dynamite match until she sprained her ankle. That was a big factor, I think, in us going five and losing that set. But to have her bounce back the way she did, her eyes were lit up in a way I haven't seen all season. So it was very exciting."

For both teams, it was a chance to tune up between conference matches. Both teams return to action on Thursday. BYU (11-10) will resume conference play at home against UNLV, while UVU (16-8) will play at South Dakota.