No. 23 Utah volleyball defeated Colorado 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-17, 25-17) Wednesday night at the CU Events Center in Boulder, Colorado.
The Utes fell behind early in the first set, and would lose the race to 15 with a score 9-15. Utah then went on a six point run that included three Kamryn Gibadlo kills to tie the game at 16-16.
The Utes took a two-point lead at 20-18 on a kill by Lauren Jardine and an ace by Allie Olsen. Emrie Satuala put the final kill away for the Utes to take the first set 25-21.
The second set saw 10 ties with three lead changes between the two teams. Colorado once again won the race to 15 with a score of 15-10. The Utes took a late 22-21 lead on a kill by Gibadlo but ultimately lost the set 23-25.
Utah came out strong to start the third set, opening a 6-1 lead with a block assist by Jardine and Olsen. The Utes won the race to 15 on a block assist by Rianne Vos and Olsen to make it 15-9. A Kamry Bailey kill gave Utah a seven-point lead to make it 21-14, and ultimately the second set 25-17.
Utah held Colorado to an anemic -0.059 hitting percentage (10-12-34) in the fourth set. The Utes opened a commanding 10-1 lead on multiple Colorado errors. Utah won the race to 15 on a kill by Vos to make it 15-12, before Olsen gave the Utes a six-point lead on a kill to make it 22-16. After back to back errors Utah took the set 25-17 and the match 3-1.
Leading the Utes with a new career high in kills with 20 was Gibadlo (20-8-38, .316%). Satuala and Jardine also turned in double-digit kills with 10 each. Olsen (.600), Satuala (.381), and Gibadlo (.316) led Utah in hitting percent. Isabelle Marco (23) and Grace Hammond (17) led Utah in assists.
The Utes are now 18-5 on the season and 8-4 in the Big 12. Up next, Utah will host BYU this Friday at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
