CORVALLIS, Ore. – The No. 12-ranked Utah Utes (17-6, 8-4 Pac-12) fell in four sets (25-16, 16-25, 20-25, 20-25) to the Oregon State Beavers (16-7, 6-5) Friday evening at Gill Coliseum.
Â
Utah was limited to hitting at a clip of just .153 on the evening and despite registering six service aces, the Beavers countered with a .213 hitting percentage and match-high seven aces on the evening.
Â
An early 7-0 run forced OSU to call a quick timeout, but the Beavers responded and got back within a point, down 8-7. Utah responded winning nine of the next 13 points and the Beavers called its final timeout down 17-11. OSU won three straight points out of the timeout, but
Camryn Machado helped close the set with a pair of service aces and a kill to give Utah the win, 25-16.
Â
After opening the match with a .282 hitting percentage in the first set, Utah was limited to hitting just .044 in the second frame and the Beavers would match the Utes 1-all in the match with a 25-16 second-set victory. Utah would convert just 10 kills in the frame and OSU countered with 15 kills overall in the set. Utah led early 9-6, but the three-point lead quickly turned into a 14-11 deficit following OSU's 5-0 run. The Utes got back to within three points, down 17-14, but OSU closed out the frame winning eight of the final 10 points to even things up at a set apiece.
Â
OSU led early and then after trading points, Utah took its first lead in the third set, 11-10, with a kill from Berkeley Obald. The Beavers countered though and it wasn't until
Adora Anae's 10
th kill of the match that snapped an OSU 6-0 run. The Utes would later put together a 4-1 run, forcing OSU to call a timeout, and the Beavers would give up just four more points on the way to taking the frame 25-20.
Â
A 5-0 run would give Utah an 11-9 lead midway through the fourth set, but OSU came back and won four of the next five points to go back up, 13-12. After trading a few points, Utah's mini 3-0 run put the Utes up 16-14 and forced OSU to call its first timeout of the frame. A block from
Tawnee Luafalemana pushed Utah's lead to 17-14, but OSU again came back and forced the Utes to call a timeout with the set tied at 18-all. The Beavers would go up 23-20 following a service ace and that forced Utah to call timeout, but OSU won the final two points to take the frame 25-20.
Â
MATCH NOTES
· The loss is Utah's third straight after opening Pac-12 play with a 7-1 record. It also snapped a four-match winning streak against the Beavers.
· OSU pushed its all-time series lead to 11-9 over the Utes. Utah fell to 2-5 all-time when facing the Beavers in Corvallis.
· Machado set new career-highs in both digs (18) and service aces (3). She also finished the match with 14 assists for the second double-double of her career.
· Anae led the Utes with 13 kills, while also registering another double-double on the season. She finished the match with 13 digs.
· Oblad totaled 10 kills on the night. Luafalemana had eight kills and a team-best .353 hitting percentage. She also led the team with five total blocks.
Â