The University of Utah volleyball team (4-4) split the four games they played this past week. After falling 1-3 to the Portland State Vikings on Tuesday, the Utes swept their opponents in two of their three Utah Classic matchups.
Out in Oregon
The Utes started the week with a trip up to Oregon to play Portland State. Utah started the game well, jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the first set. They used a 5-0 run to extend the lead to 14-8, highlighted by back-to-back service aces from Viktoria Wahlgren. The Utes were able to keep the lead and win the first set 25-20.
The second set went back and forth. After a 3-0 start for the Utes, the Vikings responded with four in a row to take the lead. Utah eventually built a 22-20 lead, but Portland State rallied off five points in a row to win the second set. Despite another 3-0 start for the Utes, Portland State built momentum and was quickly up 19-15 in the third and the Utes could not recover, losing the set 25-20. Kamryn Gibadlo and Allie Olsen combined for nine kills in the set. While they kept it close in the fourth, Utah was unable to mount the comeback and Portland State took the fourth set 25-23 to finish with the win.
Utah Classic
Utah returned home from Oregon to host the Utah Classic. The Utes played three games in two days. They started the Friday doubleheader with a 3-0 sweep over the Tennessee State Tigers. The Utes and Tigers traded blows in the first set and Utah fell behind before going on a 10-2 run to take a 20-16 lead. Utah recorded five kills during this run with two of them from Olsen. This catapulted the Utes to a 25-20 win in the first set.
Utah kept a small but steady lead in set two. Kamry Bailey recorded three kills in four plays to help Utah score six in a row and build a 22-14 lead, which was crucial in helping the Utes win set two. After Tennessee State took a 6-4 lead in set three, the Utes went on a tear. Utah scored 9 of the next 10 points to take the lead 13-7. The Utes held the lead the rest of the way and finished off the sweep with a 25-16 win in set three. Gibadlo tallied ten kills in the game to lead the way for Utah. Olsen recorded 9 kills on an incredible .692 hitting percentage as well.
The Utes played again on Friday night, hosting the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in a back-and-forth affair. Utah got off to a hot start in set one, jumping out to a 7-1 lead. The Gauchos fought back and tied it up at 10 all, but Utah then went on an 11-2 run. This run was highlighted by five kills in a row from Gibadlo, Olsen and Bailey thrice. Utah went on to win the set 25-19.
After UCSB took the next two sets 25-22 and 25-17, they started set four with the same momentum on a 4-0 run. The Utes steadily fought back and took the lead 10-9 on an attack error. Utah didn’t look back. The Utes took the set 25-17 to force the decisive fifth set. Gibadlo recorded four kills in the set to help keep the Utes alive. Set five went down to the wire, but unfortunately, the Utes came up just short. The Gauchos won the set 22-20 on an attack error to win the game 3-2.
The Utes were back in action Saturday afternoon, hosting the San Francisco Dons. A 7-1 run helped the Utes build a lead at 13-8, and they kept it throughout. The Utes ended up winning the set 25-22. Gibadlo recorded six kills and Vanessa Ramirez had seven digs in the set.
After a slow start in the second set, Utah tied it at 11 all on a kill from Lauren Jardine. This kill was the start of a monster run for Utah. The Utes scored ten points in a row and the Dons couldn’t recover. The Utes jumped out to a 20-11 lead and went on to take the set 25-19. Utah recorded four kills during the 10-0 run. San Francisco took a 12-10 lead in set three, but Utah used another big run to jump ahead. They turned the deficit into an 18-13 lead. Bailey took over during this run with three kills. This helped the Utes win the set by a score of 25-17, completing their second 3-0 sweep of the weekend.
Looking forward, the Utes have two upcoming games this week. They will head down to Provo to face the BYU Cougars on Wednesday. They will then return to the Huntsman Center on Friday to play Weber State in a Red-Out game. Both games are at 7 p.m. MDT — show up for your Utes!
