Utah Volleyball Earns 900th Program Win With Sweep Over BYU

The No. 23 Utah Volleyball avenged the Oct. 19 loss in Provo to sweep No. 21 BYU 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-16), marking the 900th win in program history.

Xiangyao Tang

Utah setter Grace Hammond (15) and middle blocker Emrie Satuala (2) in the game versus the Oregon State Beavers at Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 06, 2023. (Photo by Xiangyao “Axe” Tang | The Daily Utah Chronicle)

By Sean Stetson, Sports Writer

November 11, 2024

The No. 23 Utah Volleyball team won their 900th game in program history, with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-16) sweep over No. 21 BYU on Friday night at the Jon. M Huntsman Center.

This was the first Utah win over BYU since 2019, and the first sweep in Salt Lake City since 2006.

BYU was unable to overcome the loss of star player Claire Little, who has been averaging 4.53 points per set, second in the Big 12. The Utes would hold BYU to a .103 hit percentage, while hitting a robust .294.

Utah got off to a fast start in the first set opening a 4-1 lead, with two kills by Kamryn Gibadlo and Rianne Vos adding one as well. The Utes won the race to 15 with a Lauren Jardine kill to make it 15-8. Utah opened the lead up to nine, and grabbed back-to-back kills from Kamry Bailey and Emrie Satuala to take the first set 25-16.

The second set saw much of the same for the Utes, winning the race to 15 easily on a kill by Gibadlo to make it 15-10. BYU cut the Utah lead to two at 15-17, but never got any closer. The Utes responded with an 8-0 run to close out the second set, including three aces by Gibadlo to make it 25-15.

The Utes once again came on strong in the third set with an early Vos ace to make it 3-2. The Utes never looked back after that, winning the race to 15 on a Gibadlo kill to make it 15-10. Utah held BYU to a .049 hitting percentage in the third set. The Utes would go on a 4-0 run to take the third set with a Gibadlo kill to win the match with a 25-16 final.

Leading the Utes with 15 kills was Gibadlo with a whopping .517 hitting percentage and an impressive zero errors (15-0-29). Gibadlo also had seven aces, a new career high, and also matched the program record set by Lori Baird back in 2008. Allie Olsen finished the match with zero errors as well, knocking down six kills (6-0-11, .545). Both Olsen and Satuala had four block assists each, while Isabelle Marco (12) and Grace Hammond (11) led the way in assists for Utah. Claranne Fechter added a team-high 16 digs, with Bailey contributing 10 digs for the Utes.

The Utes are now 19-5 on the season and 9-4 in the Big 12. Utah will now travel to Houston on Thursday, Nov. 14 to play the Houston Cougars.

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About the Contributors

Sean Stetson, Sports Writer

Sean Stetson started at the Daily Utah Chronicle as a beat reporter for the University of Utah Volleyball team in the Fall of 2024. He is a friendly, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and passionate sports fan originally from Boston, Massachusetts. When he is not watching sports, he’s learning something new or spending time with his wife Wendy Brown and their dog Zipsie.

Xiangyao Tang, Photo Director

Axe is a photographer and the photo director of the Daily Utah Chronicle. He is from China and is a senior majoring in computer science and minoring in digital photography. Axe joined the Chronicle in August of 2021. In addition to his position at the Chrony, he is also a photo intern for University of Utah Athletics. When he's not writing code, you will find him rock climbing, camping, skiing or hiking with his camera.