Friday, August 24
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 PM
University of Utah
1-0
3
vs
0
UC Irvine
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine | 15 | 19 | 21 | 0 |
| UTAH | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
No. 19 Utah Sweeps UC Irvine in Season Opener
8/24/2018 9:23 PM | Volleyball
Gauta Led the Team with 11 Kills Hitting .320
SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 19 Utah volleyball team came out of the gates hot against UC Irvine in the 2018 season opener and never looked back sweeping the Anteaters in front of a great crowd at the Huntsman Center.
Senior Lauga Gauta led the team with 11 kills hitting .320 on the night.
"Very pleased with the performance," head coach Beth Launiere said. "We came out ready and stayed pretty consistent. We've been working a lot on our first contact on our serve and our passing and those held up very well tonight. Things we worked on and felt like areas we needed to be prepared, we did well. Happy to get one under our belts."
The Utes won seven of the first nine points to open the first set. They kept pushing their lead out as UC Irvine took a timeout trailing 16-9 after an ace from Kenzie Koerber. Utah closed the set winning the last four points.
The Utes defense held UC Irvine to -.053 in the first set and never allowed the Anteaters a chance to get back in the set.
The second set was similar to the first with Utah jumping out to an 11-4 lead. UC Irvine didn't have an answer as the Utes biggest lead grew to 11 points and closed the set out 25-19.
The third set was much tighter than the first two and right as Utah tried to take control leading 14-10, UC Irvine won five points in a row to take the lead. The Utes responded winning five of the next six points after trailing for only the second time in the match.
Utah closed it out with a kill by Koerber and an attacking error by the Anteaters that was challenged, but the call was confirmed giving the Utes their first victory of the season.
Bailey Choy led the team with 27 assists and Brianna Doehrmann had 10 digs. Phoebe Grace led the team with six blocks.
Five Utes saw action for the first time in Grace, Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres, Taylor Laugero, Kinga Windisch and Megan Yett.
Utah is back at it Saturday, August 25 with two matches on tap against Saint Mary's at noon and Denver at 7 p.m.
Senior Lauga Gauta led the team with 11 kills hitting .320 on the night.
"Very pleased with the performance," head coach Beth Launiere said. "We came out ready and stayed pretty consistent. We've been working a lot on our first contact on our serve and our passing and those held up very well tonight. Things we worked on and felt like areas we needed to be prepared, we did well. Happy to get one under our belts."
The Utes won seven of the first nine points to open the first set. They kept pushing their lead out as UC Irvine took a timeout trailing 16-9 after an ace from Kenzie Koerber. Utah closed the set winning the last four points.
The Utes defense held UC Irvine to -.053 in the first set and never allowed the Anteaters a chance to get back in the set.
The second set was similar to the first with Utah jumping out to an 11-4 lead. UC Irvine didn't have an answer as the Utes biggest lead grew to 11 points and closed the set out 25-19.
The third set was much tighter than the first two and right as Utah tried to take control leading 14-10, UC Irvine won five points in a row to take the lead. The Utes responded winning five of the next six points after trailing for only the second time in the match.
Utah closed it out with a kill by Koerber and an attacking error by the Anteaters that was challenged, but the call was confirmed giving the Utes their first victory of the season.
Bailey Choy led the team with 27 assists and Brianna Doehrmann had 10 digs. Phoebe Grace led the team with six blocks.
Five Utes saw action for the first time in Grace, Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres, Taylor Laugero, Kinga Windisch and Megan Yett.
Utah is back at it Saturday, August 25 with two matches on tap against Saint Mary's at noon and Denver at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballTeam Stats
UCI
UTAH
Kills
35
34
Errors
21
14
Attempts
103
85
Hitting %
.136
.235
Points
40.0
47.0
Assists
32
33
Aces
2
7
Blocks
3.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
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