The No. 19 Utah volleyball team defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers in straight sets 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-16) Thursday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Utah hit an impressive .330 clip for the match while holding West Virginia to .069. Head coach Beth Launiere was happy to see such a dominant offensive performance.
“Our offense had been sputtering a bit, we weren’t making a lot of errors, but we weren’t getting kills,” Launiere said. “We ended up with about 15 kills per set which is above our average so that was good to see. We got loose and that was important.”
Launiere was happy to see the offense get back on track, but she was even more happy with the defensive effort from her team.
“Our defense was great, our back row of defenders got it done tonight,” Launiere said. “Between Claranne Fechter, Vanessa Ramirez and Kamry Bailey, they really gave us a spark we needed tonight. “
The Mountaineers opened the first set with an early lead and win the race to 15 at 15-12, while Utah’s Rianne Vos kept the Utes close with multiple kills. Out of a media timeout, a Kamryn Gibadlo kill sparked a Utah eight point run to give Utah a 20-15 lead. Utah took the first set convincingly 25-17 with two Utes each netting four kills apiece from Emrie Satuala and Vos.
The Utes opened the second set strong hitting a ridiculous .452 (18-4-32) while holding West Virginia to a lowly .125 (8-4-32). Lauren Jardine gave the Utes a six point lead on a kill to make it 15-9. A Gibadlo ace opened the Utah lead to nine to make it 20-11. The Utes continued to cruise to a 25-15 second set win with a kill by Jardine.
Utah struggled to start the third set going down 9-12. The Utes battled to put together a five point run, that included two kills from Gibadlo, along with a block assist with Allie Olsen to take the lead 15-13. The Utes then went on a nine-point run that included three kills by Gibadlo to make it 24-14. Amelia Van Der Werff delivered the final kill for Utah to take the set 25-16.
The Utah net presence has been a factor all season, with the middle blocker duo of Olsen and Satuala being a force to be recognized according to Launiere.
“When we are passing the ball well our middles are two of the best middles in the country,” Launiere said. “Especially the tandem in Allie and Emrie. Once they start scoring, it opens things up for our big hitters. That’s been a big part of our success this season.”
Leading the Utes with 14 kills was Gibadlo, who was also second on the team in efficiency behind Satuala (.562) with .462, 14-2-26. This also marked the 19th time this season Gibadlo has led the Utes in kills.
The Utes played with poise and power, and players like Gibadlo have bought in to their team and their coach.
“We just talked to our team about playing more physical than we have been,” Launiere said. “She (Gibadlo) was so good flying high and hitting hard. She’s an important part of our team for sure.”
The Utes are now 22-5 on the season and 12-4 in the Big 12. The next game for Utah will be Sunday, Nov. 24, against the Cincinnati Bearcats at noon MST at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. This game will also mark Senior Day for the Utah Volleyball team, who are saying goodbye to eight seniors.
