A valiant comeback from No. 20 Utah volleyball in the second round of the NCAA tournament fell just short in the fifth set against No. 11 Nebraska, dropping the match 3-2. After getting past Kansas State in the first round, the Utes fell behind 2-0 to the Cornhuskers before winning sets three and four to force a fifth and decisive set. In that set, Nebraska woke up and won 15-11.
“I think they outplayed us in the fifth set, that’s the bottom line,” said head coach Beth Launiere.
A close first set created a tight affair between the two squads. Nebraska took the biggest lead of the first set at 20-16, but Utah fought back to tie the set at 23 apiece. At that pivotal point, freshman Adora Anae served the ball into the net for a service error, and at set point, the Cornhuskers would get the kill to clinch the first set.
The second set was almost identical to the first, with Nebraska leading 23-21 when the Utes brought in defensive specialist Tess Sutton to serve. Sutton’s first serve was a good one, and it ended with a Shelby Dalton kill after a rally by the two teams. At 23-22, Sutton served the ball long for another service error on Utah and it set up the Cornhuskers for set point. Nebraska would get a service ace, clinching the set 25-22.
In the third set, Utah bounced back with its tournament lives on the line. The Utes were up 24-20 late and looking to close out the set. Junior Kendall Cygan had a service error at that point to put Nebraska within two points, but Utah would hold off the Cornhuskers’ late-set rally to keep its hopes alive 25-23.
In the fourth set, it was all Utah until a scary moment flipped the scene. The Utes were up 16-10 when senior Kalee Kirby dove forward to try and dig a tip shot from Nebraska. As Kirby hit the floor, her momentum carried her legs and the rest of her body over her head but did not complete the flip, forcing her body into an awkward position.
Kirby was slow to get up with the athletic trainers from both schools at her side but was able to leave the floor under her own power. However, it was clear the senior was in genuine pain.
With the injury to Kirby leaving the team down a setter, Launiere had to switch to a formation that is foreign to the Utes. Utah has played in a 6-2 formation all season long but changed things up to a 5-1 formation. The new formation forced setters to play at the net, which they normally don’t have to do with the 6-2 formation.
With Cygan having to play at the net, Nebraska took advantage by attacking her multiple times as the 5-foot-9-inch junior couldn’t get up to block the shots of the much taller Cornhusker hitters.
Despite the formation change, the Utes still won the set comfortably, 25-17.
Utah took the floor for the fifth set still in a 5-1 formation as Kirby was in the locker room getting checked out by the medical staff. Nebraska got off to a 4-0 start in set five and forced Launiere into an early timeout.
The Utes were down 6-3 when they made a substitution, and to the surprise of the crowd, Kirby was coming back in alongside Makenzie Moea’i for Cygan and Dalton.
“I was totally surprised that she came back,” Launiere said. “It was a muscular spasm.”
Launiere usually pairs Dalton with Kirby and Moea’i with Cygan in the 6-2 formation, but because she didn’t know she’d get Kirby back, she had to choose between Dalton and Moea’i, as there was only one spot in the rotation. Naturally, Dalton, who had 16 kills at the time compared to Moea’i’s five, was the selection.
With all of the unfamiliarity on the Utes’ side of the net, Utah still came back within a single point at 9-8 before Nebraska made a 3-0 run to pull away to 12-8. The Utes looked to fight back one more time but finally ran out of juice, dropping the set, match and season 15-11.
“I was proud of our effort, I was proud of how we hung in there and came back,” Launiere said. “We absolutely believed that we could win that match, and statistically it showed that we were right there with them. In fact, we played much better in most respects.”
With the loss, Utah’s season ends, but not after a magical ride. The Utes won eight of their last 10 matches, including an NCAA tournament first-round victory.
 
[email protected]
@BenJasarevic