Beach Volleyball Returns To California For Four Matches at Long Beach State

Friday, March 17

Long Beach , CA

12:30 PM

University of Utah

CSUN

Beach Volleyball Returns To California For Four Matches at Long Beach State

3/15/2023 11:25 AM | Beach Volleyball

Utes take on pair of top-20 teams this weekend.

Match 15: Utah vs. CSUN
Friday, March 17 | 12:30 p.m. MT
Long Beach, Calif. | Long Beach City College

Match 16: Utah vs. #16 Stetson
Friday, March 17 | 1:30 p.m. MT
Long Beach, Calif. | Long Beach City College

Match 17: Utah vs. Texas
Saturday, March. 18 | 11:30 a.m. MT
Long Beach, Calif. | Long Beach City College

Match 18: Utah vs. #13 Long Beach State
Saturday, March. 18 | 1:30 p.m. MT
Long Beach, Calif. | Long Beach City College

MATCH WEEK
Utah Beach Volleyball returns to the road again, playing four matches at Long Beach City College this weekend. The Utes are set to play CSUN on Friday, March 17, at 12:30 p.m. MT before taking on #16 Stetson at 1:30 p.m. MT. Continuing play on Saturday, March 18, the Utes will play Texas at 11:30 a.m. MT and #13 Long Beach State at 1:30 p.m. MT to close out the weekend of play.

QUICK HITS
• Utah returns 10 letterwinners returning from a year ago, while it welcomed five freshmen to the team and a redshirt sophomore from the indoor volleyball team.
• Following this weekend's matches at Long Beach State, Utah will have played 14 straight matches in the state of California.
• The Utes do not have a home competition this season and will travel to four different states this season, which includes six trips to California.
• Brenda Whicker is entering her sixth season at the helm of the program. This is the second year Whicker will have a beach-recruited roster in Salt Lake City.

AT THE TOP
Sophomore Amaya Messier and freshman Katie McAlister have held down the top spot for the Utes in all but two matches this season and have posted a 6-6 record on court one. The Ute duo earned Utah's sole dual point against UC Davis after taking a competitive three-set win, while they also earned a key win over Santa Clara's top duo to guide the Utes to a 3-2 victory. The top pair for Utah picked up their first Pac-12 victory against Arizona State as well, winning 21-16, 21-17. McAlister has been a starter on court one all season and had paired with fellow freshman Chloe Narancich when Messier was out for an injury temporarily.

STRONG STARTS
Utah's lineup has received a team-best seven wins from the duo of sophomore Sonja Wessel and freshman Savannah Cottam on court five. The pair got off to a hot start after winning four straight matches to start the season, which included Utah's only dual point against Louisiana Monroe in a three-set battle. The pair for Utah clinched the dual match against Santa Clara (3-2) with a 21-19, 21-19 victory to highlight the wins so far. Additionally, Cottam and Wessel earned a hard-fought win over Saint Mary's fifth pairing also in three sets, winning 14-21, 21-17, 15-11. Tied with the second most wins so far with Messier and McAlister is Utah's No. 4 pair of Sydney Jacinto and Kylie Pitzak. The Ute duo earned a big win over Cal Poly's fourth pairing in three sets, while also contributing a straight-set win over their opponents from Concordia Irvine. Jacinto and Pitzak have totaled six wins this season.

A LINEUP LOOK
Utah has played with the same lineup the past six matches, led by Amaya Messier and Katie McAlister on court one. Grace Andrews and Marissa Koch have held down court two for the past eight matches, while Bella Vezzani and Abby Karich have paired on court three since then. Vezzani and Andrews started out the season on court two together, and Karich and Koch were on court three together before switching partners. Meanwhile, Kylie Pitzak and Sydney Jacinto have played all 14 matches this season on court four together. On court five, Sonja Wessel and Savannah Cottam have seen action in all but one match together, while Wessel and Azure McOmber competed once together on court five.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah played 10 matches in seven days last week in the state of California, participating in the Pac-12 South Invitational in Los Angeles, while having two matches per day at the sites of CSUN, Cal Poly, and Saint Mary's. Utah picked up a 5-0 sweep against Hope International before earning a big 3-2 win over Santa Clara the next day. Abby Karich and Bella Vezzani evened the match against Santa Clara 1-1 with a straight-set win, before Amaya Messier and Katie McAlister gave Utah the 2-1 edge with a straight set win as well. Clinching the match, Utah's fifth pair of Savannah Cottam and Sonja Wessel won a narrow 21-19, 21-19 match to give Utah the third point of the dual to highlight the week.

UP NEXT
The Utes will take a break from competition next week before returning to play against Boise State, Arizona Christian, and Oregon in two weeks in Boise, Idaho. Utah plays Boise State on the road on Friday, March 31, at 11 a.m. MT. Then, the Utes play Arizona Christian later that day at 3 p.m. MT. On Saturday, Apr. 1, Utah plays Oregon at 1 p.m. MT and has a rematch against Boise State at 3 p.m. MT.