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University of Utah
14-11,7-7Pac-12
3
at
2
California
7-17,0-14Pac-12
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F
Utah
17
16
25
25
15
3
California
25
25
15
14
5
2
Utes Complete Reverse Sweep at Cal, Win in Five Sets
11/6/2022 3:57 PM | Volleyball
KJ Burgess posts career high 13 kills on .650 hitting to lead Utes.
BERKELEY, Calif. – Utah Volleyball shook off a sluggish start on Sunday afternoon against the California Golden Bears to pick up a reverse sweep (17-25, 16-25, 25-15, 25-14, 15-5) at Haas Pavilion. The Utes rolled past the Bears in the final three sets after hitting .444 or above in the final three frames.
Utah was led by freshman KJ Burgess, who recorded a career-best 13 kills on .650 hitting on Sunday. Burgess has now hit above .400 with at least five kills in eight of the last nine matches, and is hitting a Pac-12 Conference league-best .453 in conference play and a team-high .393 hitting percentage for the season.
The Utes and Golden Bears traded runs of points to start the match, but it was a 4-1 run from the Bears that caused Utah to fall behind for good as Cal pulled ahead 13-10. Trailing 15-12 at the media timeout, Utah allowed five straight points to be scored by Cal, which extended the deficit to 20-12. Cal would eventually take the opening frame 25-17 after hitting .484 in the first set with just one error compared to Utah's .200 hitting percentage.
Cal pulled ahead early on in the second set after scoring seven of nine points to lead 12-6, which forced Utah to call timeout. The Utes responded with three of the next four points, but the Bears countered with a 4-1 run to lead 17-10. Utah later cut the deficit to five points after a block from KJ Burgess and kill from Abby Karich, but Cal managed to put together a 5-1 run out of a timeout to win the set 25-16 and take the 2-0 lead in the match.
Utah flipped the switch in the third set and used a 11-2 run to break open the frame, leading 13-6 with Cal forced to burn its final timeout of the set. The hot-hitting continued later on as kills from Allie Olsen and Megan Yett pushed the lead to 19-12. Later, Emily Smith's second ace in three points capped off the dominant 25-15 win for the Utes, who hit .517 in the third set. Lauren Jardine led the Utes with five kills on five swings, while Kamry Bailey added eight digs.
The Utes pulled ahead early in the fourth set, but the Bears bounced back to cut the lead to 10-8, which forced a Utah timeout. The teams went back and forth until Utah scored four points in a row, pulling ahead 17-11. Later leading 19-14, Utah closed the set with six consecutive points to win the fourth set 25-14 and force a fifth set.
The fifth set was all Utah from the get-go as the Utes posted an 8-0 run after the first point to set the tone. The Utes allowed a 3-0 run from the Bears, but would go on to close out the match with seven of the next eight points, winning 15-5. Utah hit a blazing .583 in the final set with no hitting errors, while recording three aces and three blocks to walk away with the reverse sweep.
Robinson posted a team-best 15 kills to add to Burgess' career high 13 kills. Jardine played the final three sets and tallied eight kills on 11 swings (.727), while Allie Olsen posted six kills. Smith posted 37 assists, six digs and tied a career-high four aces. Yett added three aces. Leading the Utes defensively were Vanessa Ramirez and Bailey, who posted 15 digs and 12 digs, respectively.
Utah returns to Salt Lake City for its final home matches of the season, hosting Oregon State and Oregon. Utah will take on Oregon State on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. MT. Utah will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX and women in sports at the match against the Beavers. The Utes turn around to host Oregon on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m. MT for senior day. Utah will honor Madelyn Robinson, Megan Yett and Emily Smith in their last matches at the Huntsman Center. Â
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Utah was led by freshman KJ Burgess, who recorded a career-best 13 kills on .650 hitting on Sunday. Burgess has now hit above .400 with at least five kills in eight of the last nine matches, and is hitting a Pac-12 Conference league-best .453 in conference play and a team-high .393 hitting percentage for the season.
The Utes and Golden Bears traded runs of points to start the match, but it was a 4-1 run from the Bears that caused Utah to fall behind for good as Cal pulled ahead 13-10. Trailing 15-12 at the media timeout, Utah allowed five straight points to be scored by Cal, which extended the deficit to 20-12. Cal would eventually take the opening frame 25-17 after hitting .484 in the first set with just one error compared to Utah's .200 hitting percentage.
Cal pulled ahead early on in the second set after scoring seven of nine points to lead 12-6, which forced Utah to call timeout. The Utes responded with three of the next four points, but the Bears countered with a 4-1 run to lead 17-10. Utah later cut the deficit to five points after a block from KJ Burgess and kill from Abby Karich, but Cal managed to put together a 5-1 run out of a timeout to win the set 25-16 and take the 2-0 lead in the match.
Utah flipped the switch in the third set and used a 11-2 run to break open the frame, leading 13-6 with Cal forced to burn its final timeout of the set. The hot-hitting continued later on as kills from Allie Olsen and Megan Yett pushed the lead to 19-12. Later, Emily Smith's second ace in three points capped off the dominant 25-15 win for the Utes, who hit .517 in the third set. Lauren Jardine led the Utes with five kills on five swings, while Kamry Bailey added eight digs.
The Utes pulled ahead early in the fourth set, but the Bears bounced back to cut the lead to 10-8, which forced a Utah timeout. The teams went back and forth until Utah scored four points in a row, pulling ahead 17-11. Later leading 19-14, Utah closed the set with six consecutive points to win the fourth set 25-14 and force a fifth set.
The fifth set was all Utah from the get-go as the Utes posted an 8-0 run after the first point to set the tone. The Utes allowed a 3-0 run from the Bears, but would go on to close out the match with seven of the next eight points, winning 15-5. Utah hit a blazing .583 in the final set with no hitting errors, while recording three aces and three blocks to walk away with the reverse sweep.
Robinson posted a team-best 15 kills to add to Burgess' career high 13 kills. Jardine played the final three sets and tallied eight kills on 11 swings (.727), while Allie Olsen posted six kills. Smith posted 37 assists, six digs and tied a career-high four aces. Yett added three aces. Leading the Utes defensively were Vanessa Ramirez and Bailey, who posted 15 digs and 12 digs, respectively.
Utah returns to Salt Lake City for its final home matches of the season, hosting Oregon State and Oregon. Utah will take on Oregon State on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. MT. Utah will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX and women in sports at the match against the Beavers. The Utes turn around to host Oregon on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m. MT for senior day. Utah will honor Madelyn Robinson, Megan Yett and Emily Smith in their last matches at the Huntsman Center. Â
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Team Stats
Utah
Cal
Kills
60
49
Errors
15
18
Attempts
125
130
Hitting %
.360
.238
Points
76
64
Assists
51
43
Aces
10
8
Blocks
6
7
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
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