Utah Beach Volleyball Set for Season Opener Against No. 11 California

Thursday, March 7

Berkeley, CA

3:00 PM

University of Utah

California

Utah Beach Volleyball Set for Season Opener Against No. 11 California

3/4/2019 2:14 PM | Beach Volleyball

Dual 1: UTAH (0-0) at No. 11 CALIFORNIA (4-1)
Thursday, March 7 | 3 p.m. MT
Clark Kerr Sand Courts | Berkeley, Calif.

SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE TOURNAMENT
Dual 2: UTAH (0-0) vs. SAN FRANCISCO (4-3)
Friday, March 8 | 1 p.m. MT
Moraga Commons | Moraga, Calif.

Dual 3: UTAH (0-0) at No. 20 SAINT MARY'S (2-3)
Friday, March 8 | 4 p.m. MT
Moraga Commons | Moraga, Calif.

Dual 4: UTAH (0-0) vs. FEATHER RIVER (2-2)
Saturday, March 9 | 10 a.m. MT
Moraga Commons | Moraga, Calif.

FIRST SERVE
The Utah beach volleyball team is set to open its 2019 schedule against the No. 11-ranked California Golden Bears. Utah's first dual of the season will take place on Thursday, March 7 with the first serve at 3 p.m. MT at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts in Berkeley, Calif.

The Utes will have a quick turnaround as they will compete at the Saint Mary's College Tournament on Friday and Saturday, March 8-9. Utah will take on San Francisco and Saint Mary's on the first day of the event, while closing out the tournament against Feather River College on Saturday.

BACK IN THE SAND
Utah returns ten athletes from a season ago. Dani Drews, Brianna Doehrmann, Kenzie Koerber, Tawnee Luafalemana, and Berkeley Oblad saw action in all 17 matches last year, while Phoebe Grace, Lauren Sproule, and Alexa Van Komen appeared as well. Kennedi Evans and Olivia Teerlink also return for the Utes in their second seasons with the program. Oblad will not compete this season due to an injury sustained during last fall's indoor campaign.

The Utes welcomed five new student-athletes to this year's team. Coming from the indoor team as freshmen are Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres and Megan Yett, along with transfer student Kinga Windisch. New additions to the Utah program are Keana Smalls and Jessica Villela. Smalls comes to Utah as a senior from Layton, while Villela is a freshman from Glendale, Ariz.

2018 SEASON RECAP
The Utes went 5-12 in the second year of the program, which included wins over Oregon and New Mexico. Utah faced a tough slate of competition during the 2018 season, matching up against six ranked teams which accounted for 11 of the 17 duals.

Utah was led by Drews and former Ute Adora Anae last season who competed as the No. 1 pair in every contest. Drews and Anae finished 10-7 on the season en route to both student-athletes being named to the Second Team Pac-12 Beach Volleyball All-Conference Team. The pair's most notable win came against Long Beach State's No. 1 pairing who was ranked as the No. 13 pair in the nation at the time.

Luafalemana was a part of the No. 2 pair for every dual of the season and picked up four wins in the position. Koerber notched three wins in the No. 3 slot, while Oblad picked up six wins in the No. 4 pairing.

SERIES HISTORY
•Utah met up with California during its inaugural season in 2017 and dropped the dual 1-4 on a neutral site. This will mark the first road meeting against the Golden Bears.
•Utah leads the series against San Francisco 1-0, picking up the victory 5-0 in the teams' first meeting.
•Saint Mary's earned the win over Utah in 2017 to win the neutral contest, 4-1.
•Saturday's dual against Feather River will be the first ever meeting between the schools.

ALL PAC-12 ACCOLADES
Since joining the Utah beach volleyball team, Dani Drews has set the tone for the team. In her first season with the Utes, Drews was named to the All Pac-12 Freshman Team, as well as the All Pac-12 Second Team. Drews went 6-8 on the season after spending her first three duals in the No. 2 pair before moving permanently to the No. 1 position for Utah.

The Sandy, Utah native notched her second straight All Pac-12 Second Team selection last season as a sophomore after totaling 10 wins, which included eight straight victories at one point. Drews also got it done in the classroom and was named to the honorable mention Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Academic Team.

UP NEXT
The Utah beach volleyball team will have nearly a month off from competition in the sand before heading to the Grand Canyon Tournament followed by the Arizona State Tournament. Utah will play six matches in a three-day span.

The Utes will have three duals on Friday, April 5, beginning with tournament host Grand Canyon followed by Long Beach City College and UAB in Phoenix. Utah will then turnaround and take on Arizona State in Tempe on Saturday, April 6. Closing out the weekend on Sunday, Utah will play Abilene Christian and Arizona.