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7:00 PM
Volleyball
at #24 Colorado
Friday, August 26
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:00 PM
University of Utah
3
vs
0
Idaho State
Volleyball Sweeps Past Idaho State in Season Opener
8/26/2016 10:19 PM | Volleyball
Anae nets 18 kills; Openshaw totals 32 assists in win
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-22) sweep over Idaho State in its 2016 home opener Friday evening at the Huntsman Center.
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Junior Adora Anae posted 18 kills and four total blocks, senior Tess Sutton recorded a match-high 18 digs and sophomore Jessie Openshaw notched 32 assists to help lead Utah to its ninth consecutive season-opening victory.
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"I was very pleased how we played tonight," said head coach Beth Launiere. "Everybody saw the big kills and the big blocks, but to be honest, it was the middle part of our game that we were most happy with. The serve-receive, the defense, the setting – all of those things that lead to those kills – was very good tonight."
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Utah opened the first set matching the Bengals point-for-point, but ISU managed to take an early 10-7 lead following a 3-0 run. Utah countered though winning 11 of the next 12 points that included a 10-0 run to take a commanding 18-12 lead. Utah never looked back on the way to winning the first set 25-17 behind Anae's six kills and some great defense by Sutton, who tallied eight digs in the frame.
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Utah jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set and later led 10-2 following a block from sophomore Berkeley Oblad. Back-to-back aces from Anae pushed Utah's lead to 18-4 and the Utes ended up running away with the set, 25-11.
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Both teams traded points throughout the majority of the third set, which led to 17 ties and seven different lead changes. Consecutive blocks from junior Tawnee Luafalemana and sophomore Emma Kirst helped give the Utes an 18-16 lead, but ISU came back with four straight points to retake the lead 20-18.
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Following a Utah timeout, Anae managed to pick up her final two kills of the match to give the Utes a 22-21 lead before ISU netted a point to draw even at 22-22. A kill from junior Carly Trueman and a block from senior Alyssa Koenig set up match-point for the Utes and Anae finished off the Bengals with her third ace of the match, giving the home squad a 25-22 win for the sweep.
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"We got the opportunity to play everyone tonight and that is a good thing this early in the season," said Launiere. "Especially this early on, I want to give everyone a chance to play. Nothing is set in stone. I think there are some competitions still going on for some positions, so its great to see that type of play from the entire team."
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Utah tallied 46 kills on .346 hitting as a team, while limiting the Bengals to 32 kills on just .154 hitting in the match. Freshman Torre Glasker notched a pair of service aces as the Utes managed to record six total aces on the evening. Along with Anae's four total blocks, Luafalemana added three blocks and Utah out-blocked the Bengals 16-5 in total blocks.
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Utah continues action at the Utah Classic first thing Saturday morning, taking on Gonzaga at 10 a.m. inside the Huntsman Center. The Utes will closeout the tournament against Butler at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
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Junior Adora Anae posted 18 kills and four total blocks, senior Tess Sutton recorded a match-high 18 digs and sophomore Jessie Openshaw notched 32 assists to help lead Utah to its ninth consecutive season-opening victory.
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"I was very pleased how we played tonight," said head coach Beth Launiere. "Everybody saw the big kills and the big blocks, but to be honest, it was the middle part of our game that we were most happy with. The serve-receive, the defense, the setting – all of those things that lead to those kills – was very good tonight."
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Utah opened the first set matching the Bengals point-for-point, but ISU managed to take an early 10-7 lead following a 3-0 run. Utah countered though winning 11 of the next 12 points that included a 10-0 run to take a commanding 18-12 lead. Utah never looked back on the way to winning the first set 25-17 behind Anae's six kills and some great defense by Sutton, who tallied eight digs in the frame.
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Utah jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set and later led 10-2 following a block from sophomore Berkeley Oblad. Back-to-back aces from Anae pushed Utah's lead to 18-4 and the Utes ended up running away with the set, 25-11.
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Both teams traded points throughout the majority of the third set, which led to 17 ties and seven different lead changes. Consecutive blocks from junior Tawnee Luafalemana and sophomore Emma Kirst helped give the Utes an 18-16 lead, but ISU came back with four straight points to retake the lead 20-18.
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Following a Utah timeout, Anae managed to pick up her final two kills of the match to give the Utes a 22-21 lead before ISU netted a point to draw even at 22-22. A kill from junior Carly Trueman and a block from senior Alyssa Koenig set up match-point for the Utes and Anae finished off the Bengals with her third ace of the match, giving the home squad a 25-22 win for the sweep.
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"We got the opportunity to play everyone tonight and that is a good thing this early in the season," said Launiere. "Especially this early on, I want to give everyone a chance to play. Nothing is set in stone. I think there are some competitions still going on for some positions, so its great to see that type of play from the entire team."
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Utah tallied 46 kills on .346 hitting as a team, while limiting the Bengals to 32 kills on just .154 hitting in the match. Freshman Torre Glasker notched a pair of service aces as the Utes managed to record six total aces on the evening. Along with Anae's four total blocks, Luafalemana added three blocks and Utah out-blocked the Bengals 16-5 in total blocks.
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Utah continues action at the Utah Classic first thing Saturday morning, taking on Gonzaga at 10 a.m. inside the Huntsman Center. The Utes will closeout the tournament against Butler at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
MB
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/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH/RS
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