Volleyball Heads to Orem for Wolverine Classic

Volleyball+Heads+to+Orem+for+Wolverine+Classic

By Mallory Arnold, Sports Writer

 

After an impressive weekend at home with three wins and a win against Utah State on Tuesday, Utah volleyball looks to keep their win streak up as they head into the Wolverine classic. 

Last week, the team took on Saint Mary’s on Friday, August 30 and won in three straight sets, later that night they upset #7 Kentucky by taking all three sets again. The next day on August 31, they went set for set with #23 Cal Poly and ended up on top going 3-2 on sets.

Kenzie Koerber claimed tournament MVP with a career-high of 19 kills vs Cal Poly and 14 against Saint Mary’s. She also ended with 15 digs in the Cal Poly game.

On the following Tuesday, the Utes headed up to Logan to take on the Aggies and won three straight sets again. The Utes had 60 points compared to the in-state opponent who only scored 38. The Utes made those points on 46 kills, six aces and eight blocks.

Speaking of Aggies, the Utes will play another group of them at 10 a.m. on Friday against UC Davis, who is also currently 4-0 on the season. UC Davis played in their home court this past weekend at the Aggie Invitational, so it will be great to see who has the advantage this weekend. (The games will be played at Utah Valley University as part of the Wolverine Classic.)

Later that night at 5 p.m., the Utes will take on the Portland State Vikings who are coming off a loss to the Saint Louis Billikens. Portland State is currently 2-1 on the season and won their first two matches at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic this past weekend. 

The next day, on Saturday September 7, the Utes take on the Utah Valley Wolverines at 5 p.m. MT. The Wolverines are currently 0-4 on the season. They competed in the BYU invitational this past weekend and lost three straight matches before traveling to Idaho and losing 1-3 in four sets.

The Utes put up 499 points at the Utah classic this past weekend which earned them the #19 spot on the DI Women’s Volleyball rankings. Not one of the other teams the Utes are playing this weekend claimed a spot on the rankings, adding even more pressure to the upcoming tournament. 

As a team, the Utes collectively had 184 kills which are currently at 13.1% per set, and the Utes team had 54 blocks, whereas their opponents only had 41. But the most impressive stat comes from their defense, with 194 digs compared to 165 from their opponents.

To watch the Utes in action again this weekend, head down to Orem to watch or follow along on utahutes.com to live stream the games.

 

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@mally_kae