No. 17 Utah Volleyball Endures Upset Loss to No. 19 Stanford
University of Utah outside hitter, Megan Yett (#14), 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 22, 2021
Following a few strong victories, the No. 17 University of Utah women’s volleyball team surprisingly lost to No. 19 Stanford in a tough four set battle this weekend.
In the first set, Stanford had most of the control as they had a four-point lead of 16-12 before Utah called a timeout. After the timeout, Amelia Van Der Werff came out with two kills to help lessen the slight advantage that Stanford had. Utah continued their momentum and managed to go up 21-19. The Utes continued to trade points back and forth to keep the set going and they ended up with a 23-22 lead. Dani Drews had a kill for the Utes to have match point and then Van Der Werff finished off the first set with a kill of her own and Utah won the first set 25-22.
The second set started off tight as both teams kept trading points back and forth. Stanford caught momentum as they built a lead of 22-14 until the Utes started to make a comeback. Unfortunately, it was too little too late and Utah would eventually concede the second set to the Cardinal, 25-21.
With both teams tied at one set each, the Utes understood how important it was to build a lead. The Utes then constructed a 13-8 advantage before Stanford started their comeback. From this point on, the set was close with Utah keeping a lead by a point or two. Late in the set, Stanford scored four points in a row to claim the set 25-23.
The fourth set was competitive as both teams went back and forth, with neither team allowing a significant advantage. Towards the end of the set, Stanford pulled away and had a 21-19 lead. The set went back and forth until Stanford ultimately closed out and won the set 25-22.
For the day, Drews recorded 19 kills and 15 digs, Madelyn Robinson had 18 kills and 13 digs and Stef Jankiewicz had 51 assists and 11 digs. Notably, Van Der Werff had 10 kills and six blocks while Zoe Weatherington had 10 kills and three blocks. Vanessa Ramirez also had nine digs during the match.
Following the loss, the Utes will be back at the Jon M. Huntsman Center this week as they take on Washington State Wednesday night at 4 p.m. MST and Colorado on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 12 p.m. MST.
