The University of Utah volleyball team traveled up to the Pacific Northwest this past weekend to take on Pac-12 rivals No. 20 Oregon and Oregon State on Friday and Sunday respectively. Here’s how their Oregon trip broke down.

Friday

To start off the match in the opening set against the Ducks, the Utes fell behind with a score of 9-4. Oregon continued to build up their lead, going on a 8-3 run to build up their lead to 17-7 over the Utes. Fifth-year senior Madelyn Robinson helped lead the Utes on a 7-2 run, which tightened up the score at 19-14. However, Oregon then clamped up and went on a 6-3 run to close out the set. The Ducks won 25-17 which gave them a 1-0 set lead in the match.

The Utes started off the second set much stronger than the first. They took a 7-6 lead early on, but eventually found themselves behind by a score of 17-15. Oregon continued their momentum to build their lead to 22-19. Robinson did her best to help her team climb back, but the Ducks went on a 3-0 run and eventually won the second set with a final score of 25-20.

The Utes were able to go on a 7-2 run early in the third set to give them a 14-12 lead. Eventually, the Ducks fought back and tied up the set at 18 points apiece. Sophomore Abby Karich helped begin a 5-1 run for the Utes, giving them a 23-19 lead. However, a 4-0 run from the Ducks tied up the score at 23 all. Some back and forth ensued, but Robinson and an attack error eventually gave the Utes a 26-24 set victory to avoid the sweep and tightened up Oregon’s set lead to 2-1 for the match.

The Utes jumped out to a 7-5 lead early in the fourth set, but Oregon scored 5 points in a row. Impressive freshman KJ Burgess helped the Utes fight back to tighten the Oregon lead to 13-12, but another Oregon run saw the Utes behind 19-13. The Utes fought their hardest, but the nationally ranked Oregon was ultimately too much for Utah, taking the 25-20 set victory with a 3-1 match victory.

Sunday

After the loss on Friday, the Utes looked to bounce back against Pac-12 rivals the Oregon State Beavers.

The Utes came out firing in the first set, going on a 7-0 run to build their lead over the Beavers to 21-12. The Utes were able to play comfortably, winning the first set 25-17 and taking their first match lead of the weekend.

For the second set, the Utes continued to dominate the Beavers. A 9-3 lead allowed the Utes to continue to build their lead to 15-10. Junior Vanessa Ramirez helped Utah push their lead to 22-11 with a couple of aces, and the Utes did not look back, eventually winning the second set with a score of 25-15, taking a 2-0 set lead in the match. 

The third set was much closer for the Utes and the Beavers. A score of 17-14 favored the Utes, but the Beavers continued to work hard to tie up the set at 20 apiece. The two teams continued the back-and-forth to tie up the score at 22 late in the set. Robinson earned a kill, but Oregon State then scored 2 points in a row and earned a 24-23 set point. Robinson managed to earn a kill to tie up the score, while sophomore Lauren Jardine scored 2 kills in a row to take the set 26-24 and win the match with a full sweep.

The Utes will come back home this upcoming week to face Southern California rivals USC and UCLA. The UCLA match will occur on Friday while the USC match will be played on Sunday. 

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