The Utes picked up their fourth straight victory, including three against Top 25 opponents, over the weekend with wins over Washington State and No. 2 Washington. After the Utes got by the Cougars 3-1 on Thursday evening, Utah continued its hot streak against the Huskies in a 3-2 comeback victory Saturday evening in the Huntsman Center.
Utah head coach Beth Launiere called the win over Washington a “top-five” moment in her illustrious career.
Against Washington State, the first six points of the match were split before a 4-0 run by the Cougars helped them take a 7-3 lead early on. Utah countered with a 4-0 run of its own to tie the set at seven apiece. From that point on, the Utes were in control offensively and defensively, leading 21-15.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Utah. Later in the set, when the ball was set for freshman outside hitter Eliza Katoa, as she went up to hit the ball, she landed awkwardly on her left leg and went to the floor.
Play was stopped as the athletic trainers helped Katoa off the court without her putting any pressure on her leg.
“I don’t think it’s good, but we are not sure what exactly it is,” said head coach Beth Launiere. “She is gonna go to the doctor in the morning.”
The Utes were understandably shaken for a few minutes but were able to close out the set 25-20.
In the second set, Utah got out to a 5-1 lead, but Washington State made a 4-0 run and tied the score at five. Twenty points later and the set was still tied, now at 15-15. The Cougars managed to get the next two points and create some separation, which was good enough to get them the 25-23 second-set victory.
The Utes have been strong coming out of the intermission all season long, but it was Washington State that took the early 7-3 lead in the third set. But behind the serving of Chelsey Schofield-Olsen, the Utes were able to quickly come back to 7-7. With neither team making a run the rest of the way, the Utes closed out a 25-21 third-set win.
The fourth set was the closest of the night, as neither team led by more than three points. Senior setter Kalee Kirby gave the Utes their first three-point lead of the set at 22-19 when she got a kill with a two-handed pass over the net and into the corner with no one from Washington State near the ball. At match point, Dalton got the kill to secure the fourth set and the match, 25-22.
A scrappy match with long rallies saw Utah collect 85 digs as a team, and five different players had double digit digs. Libero Lea Adolph led the way with 20 digs, while both setters Kirby and junior Kendall Cygan registered double-doubles.
“It was a gnarly match, I had fun, but those are ones that you just want to get done and get out of there,” Launiere said.
Things were far from over for Utah however, as it now had to go up against No. 2 team Washington. On a night that saw Launiere recognized for her 25th year of coaching, her players decided to play their best game of the season against one of the best teams in the country.
Utah jumped out to a 9-3 lead on the Huskies and forced them into a timeout. From then on, the two teams exchanged points till the Utes led 17-10 and Washington called its second timeout of the first set. That timeout didn’t change much either as the Utes went on to close the set at 25-19.
A close second set came down to the wire, with Utah leading 22-20 and on the verge of taking a 2-0 lead in the match. But the Huskies stormed back with a 5-1 run to win the set 25-23.
“That was the point in the match where we didn’t have any answer,” Launiere said. “We were trying different things, but they weren’t working.”
A similar third set had the Utes leading late once again, but they couldn’t close out the set. Washington finished the set on a 7-1 run to win 25-20 after trailing 19-18.
The fourth set saw the best battle, which brought out the worst hitting percentages of the night — Utah hit .044 and Washington hit .085.
“You try figuring each other out, then the match turns into a grind,” Launiere said.
Thanks to a Crissy Jones kill, the Huskies were looking at match point with a 25-24 lead, but Makenzie Moea’i got the Utes a big kill and tied the set at 25. The next point was a long rally that ended with the signature Kirby two-handed pass over the net to the corner for a kill.
“Bailey [Bateman] calls it the herp,” Kirby said. “My vision out of the bottom of my eyes is really good, so as soon I see that people are not where they are supposed to be at, I just go ahead and send it.”
With the Utes at set point, the Huskies took a big rip at the ball, which the Utes blocked. The ball went off the blockers’ hands and bounced off of Adora Anae, somehow dropping to the Washington side to secure the set win for Utah.
With the Huntsman Center rocking, the Utes had the momentum heading into the pivotal fifth set, but Washington didn’t seem to care as they jumped out to an early 6-2 lead. The Utes fought their way back to tie the set at seven, before each team went on a 3-0 run to tie it up at 10.
“Our motto is move on point-by-point,” Moea’i said.
The next six points were split, and the set was still tied 13-13. Dalton got a kill to give the Utes match point and the chance to knock off the No. 2 Huskies. Finally, the improbable happened as a Bateman kill secured the upset for Utah.
“As a senior, I’ve been here for a while. We haven’t ever beaten them. We’ve gone five sets with them before, and we always come up short,” Bateman said. “Finally being able to beat them is just the greatest feeling — it’s probably the funnest win I’ve been a part of with the program.”
The Utes had five hitters in double digits, with Schofield-Olsen leading the way with 18 kills. Utah’s offense was good, but the team and coach talked about the defensive effort by the team, especially libero Adolph, who finished the night with 24 digs.
“Lea was absolutely great tonight on one of the best players in the country,” Launiere said.
The Utes will need their defense to show up again as it never gets easier in the Pac-12. Next Utah travels to the Bay Area to face No. 1 Stanford in its quest for a postseason berth.
 
[email protected]
@BenJasarevic