The Utah Classic is underway with the Utah women’s volleyball team remaining undefeated as they emerged victorious in a double-header against Cal Poly and No. 22 San Diego on Friday. With these victories, the team is off to a solid start to the season as they remain ranked in the top 20. 

Between the two games, the most impressive was No. 19 Utah vs. No. 22 San Diego as both teams are ranked in the top 25. The match did not disappoint as San Diego battled in the first set where they managed to clinch it 30-28. 

Already down a set, the Utes had to find a way to get the momentum back to their side. Dani Drews was a pivotal player in this set as she had nine kills for the Utes. The Utes were up 23-22 when they called a timeout and that eventually paid off as they tied up the sets to 1-1. 

The third set was when the Utes started to gain even more momentum as fewer errors were made. Notably, the Utes hit over a .300 percentage in this set as Zoe Weatherington, Kennedi Evans and Madelyn Robinson all had four kills each. As the score remained tight again at 22-all, Weatherington and Drews stepped up to the pressure with kills for the Utes to take the third set. 

With Utah leading 2-1 going into the fourth set they were determined to finish strong and continued to put pressure on San Diego as they had a 13-7 lead. The Utes were gunning for their victory up 19-11, and despite San Diego making a slight comeback and winning four straight points, Utah finished things off and took the set 25-17. 

“Some matches are just matches where you really have to grind it out, and that is what it was tonight against San Diego,” head coach Beth Launiere said to Utah Athletics. “That is a really talented San Diego team and it was very beneficial to get in a match like that early on in the season. It was a fun match because both teams were making a lot of adjustments as the match went on.”

Overall, the evening match was electric. Drews led the team with a total of 23 kills while Robinson had 12 and Weatherington finished with 11 kills. Stef Jankiewicz led the offense with 42 assists and 14 digs-making that a team-high and her first double-double as a Ute. Additionally, Robinson had a double-double from her 12 digs in the game and Vanessa Ramirez scored 12 digs as well. Allie Olsen finished the game with a team-high of 6.0 total blocks. 

The Utes look to build off of these victories as they wrap up the Utah Classic against the University of Hawaii. The game will take place on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 7:00 p.m MT. 

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