When Utah welcomed UVU to Crimson Court on Tuesday night, the Utes got off to a slow start in the first set.
The team, however, was able to bounce back for an easy victory, sweeping the first three sets, the sixth sweep of the season for Utah. It did not come without fault, however, as the Utes committed 12 service errors against the Wolverines while the visiting team kept things close throughout the match.
Utah didn’t get its first lead until it was 8-7 in the first set. Shortly after, UVU was able to gain the lead back, keeping it until a Bailey Bateman kill put the Utes up 20-19. The Utes clinched the set off of a Brenna DeYoung and Eliza Katoa block, winning 25-22.
The second set featured 18 score ties, seven lead changes and extra points, but in the end, the result was the same, as DeYoung and Katoa recorded the block that won set number two, 26-24.
In the third set, Utah finished off the Wolverines with another close score of 25-23.
Leading the way for the Utes yet again was senior duo Shelby Dalton and Chelsey Schofield-Olsen, who recorded 11 and 13 kills, respectively. Kalee Kirby led Utah in assists (25) and digs (six).
“I was just on tonight,” Schofield-Olsen said. “I think I’m learning a lot. Over the summer I worked on hitting smarter and better. I feel personally like I’ve progressively gotten better with each game, and tonight was just a reflection of that.”
Utah’s depth has been much talked about thus far in the season, and Tuesday night, it got to showcase its first forced opportunity. Redshirt freshman Carly Trueman was out due to knee tendinitis, so the Utes called upon the Snow College transfer DeYoung, who was involved in two set-ending plays. She also recorded six kills with a .667 hitting percentage to go along with her team-leading two solo blocks.
“You love seeing somebody step up when they get the opportunity,” head coach Beth Launiere said about DeYoung’s performance. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
After committing all the service errors, Launiere decided to make the no-error mentality an emphasis of practice on Wednesday.
“It’s like free throws [in basketball], you just gotta get it done,” Launiere said.
The head coach is in her 25th year of coaching, but she decided to come up with a drill she claims she’s never used before. The drill was to play two minutes of error-free volleyball, and the team was able to accomplish that.
The Utes will next compete when they head out to Nashville, Tenn. to compete in the Lipscomb Invitational. Utah will first take on Eastern Tennessee State University on Friday evening. Next will be Georgia Tech on Saturday morning before taking on the invitational host, the Lipscomb Buffaloes, in the tournament finale Saturday evening.
Between the four teams, there isn’t much prior history, as this will be the first time the Utes have squared off against either ETSU or Lipscomb. As for the Yellow Jackets, it is only the second meeting with Utah, with the lone time being in 2001, where the Utes came out on top in straight sets.
Out of the three squads, Lipscomb is arguably the best team Utah has faced thus far in the season. The Buffaloes are ranked just outside the top 25 after receiving 35 points in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
“We plan to play them just like a Pac-12 team,” said libero Tess Sutton. “We are getting ready for the Pac-12, and they are just on our way to get there. I think that we play a lot better when we play really aggressive teams.”
Launiere added that her team can’t forget there are two other teams in the invitational besides Lipscomb.
“We gotta take care of business with the other two first,” she said.
The first match against Eastern Tennesse State is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. MT in Allen Arena.
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