The Utah women’s volleyball team took a tough loss on the road to No. 15 BYU, losing in three sets. After a long three-game road trip, the Utes are still in good standing with a 7-2 record before heading into conference play. 

In the first set of the match, the Utes started out strong, winning the first few points until BYU started to get into a rhythm. The cougars managed to take a seven-point-lead in the first set before Utah came back to put pressure on them with a score of 22-20. BYU then finished strong, taking the first set 25-23.

The second set was similar to the first as BYU had all of the momentum. After a quick 21-10 lead, the Utes managed to change the momentum and come back in the set, trailing just 24-23. However, BYU managed to put the set away as BYU’s Kennedy Eschenburg closed it out, 25-23. 

In the third set, Utah started out hot, but BYU managed to regain an 8-5 lead which caused Utah to take a timeout. BYU continued to keep the pressure on as they held a 18-11 advantage. While Zoe Weatherington and Dani Drews helped the Utes gain some momentum by putting down kills in hope for the Utes to turn things around, BYU would eventually win, 25-16.

Overall, Madelyn Robinson was the only Ute with double-digit kills as she collected 10. Robinson also had six digs and three blocks. Additionally, Drews had seven kills and Weatherington had six. Vanessa Ramirez had 15 digs throughout the game and Stef Jankiewicz had 15 assists while Emily Smith had eight. 

Following the loss, the Utes drop to 7-2 on the season. Utah will now kick-off Pac-12 Conference play against No. 7 Washington in Seattle on Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 9 p.m. MDT on ESPNU.

The Huskies currently sit at 7-1 with notable victories against Pepperdine, Montana State and Fresno State. The Utes will have their hands full yet again as they face another top 10 opponent.

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@DushEmily