TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 20 Utah volleyball team earned a Pac-12 road victory at Arizona in the McKale Center (25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 25-13) on Friday, October 4.
Â
After the home team kept the match alive by coming back in the third set, the Utes stole the momentum back early in the fourth by racing out to a big early lead to ensure the victory.
Â
Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres had 46 assists spreading the offense around as four Utes had double-digit kills.
Dani Drews led the way with 15,
Berkeley Oblad had 13,
Zoe Weatherington had 12 and
Kenzie Koerber had 11.
Â
The Utes got off to a slow start in the first and Arizona controlled things early, but Utah stepped up when they needed to. Utah got their first lead at 17-16 and pushed their lead out to 21-18. They closed out the set by winning three straight to take the lead.
Â
Leading by two in the second, the Utes won two more to go up 18-14. The Wildcats went on a late run to get within 23-22, but Utah buckled down to win the final two points to go up 2-0.
Â
Utah was controlling the third set, but Arizona rallied late to stay alive in the match. Heading into the fourth, the Utes made sure not to let Arizona keep the momentum.
Â
After missing their chance at a sweep, Utah didn't let Arizona have a chance in the fourth. They forced the Wildcats to burn their timeouts early and kept their foot on the gas going on a 10-0 run to lead 13-2. With the victory in sight, Utah kept pushing to close out the match 25-13.
Â
Along with having double-figure kills, Oblad hit .522 and Weatherington hit .450.
Â
Phoebe Grace led the team with 8.0 blocks and
Brianna Doehrmann had 19 digs. Utah held Arizona to a .191 hitting percentage.
The win moves Utah to 10-4 and 2-1 in Pac-12 play.
Â
Utah will now head to Arizona State to play on at 1 p.m. MT on Sunday, October 4.
Â