Utah Volleyball Defeats Oregon State on the Road
University of Utah outside hitter, Dani Drews (#1), plays in a game against University of Arizona in Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, on Oct. 24, 2021. (Photo by Xiangyao “Axe” Tang | The Daily Utah Chronicle)
November 1, 2021
Utah Volleyball traveled to Oregon State on Sunday to conclude their weekend in Oregon with a victory over the Beavers.
The Utes started off strong in the first set as they had a 5-1 lead that eventually turned into a 10-5 lead. While they kept things going towards the end of the set with a 19-13 advantage, Oregon State strung together a few consecutive points en route to a comeback. However, with the score at 22-20, Utah took a timeout. Following the short break, Dani Drews stepped up big for Utah and added two kills in the last three points to give the Utes the first set, 25-20.
The second set was tight as both teams went back and forth for a majority of the set. The Utes finally were able to pull away and gain a two-point lead, going up 20-18. Madelyn Robinson had a kill in a crucial moment of the game but it was not enough as the Beavers went on a roll and took the set, 25-20.
The third set started off in the Beavers’ favor. The Utes were down by several points until they caught a streak and took the lead, 11-10. The Beavers ended up taking control of the set which gave them a huge lead of 20-15. However, The Utes ended up finding some momentum and won the set 25-23. Drews had eight kills in the set and Phoebe Grace came up with three big blocks.
The fourth and final set was quick. The Utes managed a 11-5 lead which quickly became 16-9. Utah won the fourth set handedly, closing out the match at 25-14. In this set, the Utes had 20 kills and only three errors.
Over the course of the competition, Drews had 29 kills and a .329 hitting percentage. Robinson had a total of 13 kills throughout the night, Zoe Weatherington had 10 kills and Stef Jankiewicz had 50 assists. Megan Yett helped the team with 10 digs and Vanessa Ramirez had eight digs, as well as two service aces.
Following their victory, No. 19 Utah will now host UCLA and USC this weekend at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The Utes will first play the Bruins Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. MDT. Utah will then close out the weekend against the Trojans on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 12 p.m. MDT. The matches will both be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
