Utah Volleyball Set To Host Oregon State, #5 Oregon

Friday, October 6

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

Oregon State

Utah Volleyball Set To Host Oregon State, #5 Oregon

10/3/2023 3:16 PM | Volleyball

Oregon State, Oregon - Match Notes

Utes welcome Beavers for Fairy Tale Friday and Oregon for a Power in Pink match.

Match 15: Utah (7-7) vs. Oregon State (5-9)
Friday, Oct. 6 | 7 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City | Jon M. Huntsman Center
Watch: Pac-12 Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Match 16: Utah (7-7) vs. #5 Oregon (13-2)
Sunday, Oct. 8 | 12 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City | Jon M. Huntsman Center
Watch: Utah Live Stream
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

MATCH WEEK
Utah Volleyball is set to host Oregon State and fifth-ranked Oregon this weekend in Salt Lake City. The Utes open the weekend of action against Oregon State this Friday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. MT in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The match will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks with Krista Blunk calling the action. Utah will then turn its attention to a match on Sunday, Oct. 8, against the fifth-ranked Oregon Ducks. First serve for the Utes and Ducks will be at 12 p.m. MT with the match live streamed.

FOR THE FANS
Utah's match against Oregon State on Friday night will be Fairy Tale Friday and MUSS appreciation night. There will be free friendship bracelets in the concourse while supplies last. There will be a MUSS tailgate pre-match with a taco truck located outside Door 4. Sunday's match against Oregon will be Utah's Power in Pink match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink is support of breast cancer awareness. There will be free pink scrunchies in the concourse pre-match.

QUICK HITS
• Vanessa Ramirez is ranked fourth in the Pac-12 with 3.89 digs per set.
• Amelia Van Der Werff is ranked sixth in the Pac-12 with a .385 hitting percentage.
• Utah has won eight consecutive matches against Oregon State, dating back to the 2018 season.
• Utah has won nine-straight home matches against Oregon State.
• Utah dropped both matches against Oregon in 2022, but won both matches against the Ducks in 2021.
• In the last four home matches against Oregon, the Utes have split the contests.
• Seven Utes have recorded at least one match of double-digit digs this season, and seven Utes have also had at least one match with double-digit kills.
• Four Utes have recorded at least one double-double this season.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
The Utes have had countless student-athletes contribute to the team this season. Utah has had seven players reach double-digit digs in at least one match this season, and seven Utes have recorded double-digit kills at one point in 2023. Four Utes have also recorded a double-double this year, which is all of the first of their careers. Five different Utes have led the team in kills in at least one match. At the net, Utah has had six athletes lead the team in blocks in at least one match.

SEEING DOUBLE
Four Utes have posted double-doubles this season with Kamry Bailey and Viktoria Wahlgren adding more to the count this past weekend. Wahlgren tallied 37 assists and 12 digs in the match against USC, marking her second double-double of the year. Her first career double-double came against UC Santa Barbara when she tallied 44 assists and a career-best 15 digs. Bailey earned her second career double-double after recording 11 kills and 11 digs at UCLA. Bailey and Wahlgren join Rianne Vos as Utes with two double-doubles this season, while Lauren Jardine has recorded one this season.

RAMIREZ RUNNING THE BACK ROW
Starting libero Vanessa Ramirez is leading the Utah defense once again as she has done since day one in Salt Lake City. She is fourth in the Pac-12 with 3.89 digs per set and has recorded double-digit digs in all but one match this season. The Pasadena, Calif., native recorded a season high 24 digs in just four sets against Weber State for her second match of 20-plus digs this season. Ramirez tallied 22 digs against NC State earlier this year and has 11 matches of 20 or more digs in her career. After this past weekend, she has now tallied 74 matches with double-digit digs as Utah's starting libero. Last year, Ramirez led the team in digs 27 of the 31 matches, while she finished third in the Pac-12 with 4.04 digs per set. She has led the team or tied for the lead in digs in all but one match this season so far.

MAKING A CASE IN THE MIDDLE
Utah has received contributions from its middle blockers on a nightly basis. Emrie Satuala and Allie Olsen lead the team with 41 and 38 blocks, respectively. Satuala holds a team-best 1.08 blocks per set and has posted three-straight matches of double-digit kills. Olsen has been the most consistent in the middle for the Utes as she has posted eight matches of .350 hitting or above, which includes five at a .500 clip or better. Former middle blocker Amelia Van Der Werff has made the move to right side and provided a spark against Weber State and California, totaling 17 kills with just three errors over the two matches, along with nine blocks. This past weekend in Los Angeles, Van Der Werff led the team with 13 kills (no errors) on .650 hitting at UCLA, and added eight kills at USC off the bench. Olsen, Van Der Werff and Satuala are the top three Utes in hitting percentage this season.

SCOUTING OREGON STATE
Oregon State heads into the weekend on a seven-match losing streak after starting the season 5-2. The Beavers are coming off a pair of losses to Washington State and Washington at home. Mychael Vernon leads the team with 3.41 kills per set, while Aliyah McDonald heads the blocking efforts at 1.14 blocks per set. Ryan White leads the defense with 3.41 digs per set, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12.

SCOUTING #5 OREGON
Oregon heads into the match ranked fifth in the nation despite dropping a match to #4 Washington State last weekend. The Ducks had won seven straight before the match against Washington State. Oregon's other loss on the year came to #10 Minnesota, while it earned impressive wins over #15 Ohio State and #8 Pittsburgh during non-conference play. Oregon leads the Pac-12 with 2.84 blocks per set, which ranks eighth in the nation. The Ducks are also second in the conference in assists per set (13.04) and kills per set (13.98), which are 10^th and 15^th in the nation, respectively. Hannah Pukis is 11th in the nation with 10.80 assists per set, while Kara McGhee is 19^th in the nation with 1.40 blocks per set.

UP NEXT
Utah hits the road to face Washington State and Washington next weekend before preparing for a four-match home stand. Utah starts the road trip with a match at fourth-ranked Washington State on Friday, Oct. 13. The Utes and Cougars are set for a 7 p.m. MT match at Bohler Gym in Pullman, Wash. Then, Utah closes out the road trip in Seattle against the Washington Huskies on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. MT. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Washington.