Utah Beach Volleyball To Take On Three Top-12 Teams In Four Matches at Pac-12 South Event

Saturday, March 4

Los Angeles, CA

9:00 AM

University of Utah

Arizona State

Utah Beach Volleyball To Take On Three Top-12 Teams In Four Matches at Pac-12 South Event

3/2/2023 10:17 AM | Beach Volleyball

Utes head to Los Angeles for tough slate of competition.

Match 5: Utah vs. Arizona State
Saturday, March 4 | 9:00 a.m. MT
Los Angeles, Calif. | Mapes Beach

Match 6: Utah vs. #12 California
Saturday, March 4 | 3:00 p.m. MT
Los Angeles, Calif. | Mapes Beach

Match 7: Utah at #1 UCLA
Sunday, March 5 | 11:00 a.m. MT
Los Angeles, Calif. | Mapes Beach

Match 8: Utah vs. #7 Stanford
Sunday, March 5 | 1:00 p.m. MT
Los Angeles, Calif. | Mapes Beach

MATCH WEEK
Utah Beach Volleyball heads to the Pac-12 South Event this weekend, taking on three top-12 teams in four matches at Mapes Beach in Los Angeles. The Utes are set to open the weekend on Saturday, March 4, against Arizona State and #12 California. Utah and Arizona State will begin play at 9 a.m. MT, while the match against Cal is slated to start at 3 p.m. MT. On Sunday, March 5, the Utes will face the top-ranked team in the nation and tournament host UCLA before closing out the event against #7 Stanford. Utah will face UCLA at 11 a.m. MT and Stanford at 1 p.m. MT.

FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for each of the Pac-12 South Event matches for the Utes can be found here:

Saturday, Mar. 4
9am – Utah vs. ASU – http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=461873
3pm – Utah vs. #12 California – http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=461876
Sunday, Mar. 5
11am – Utah at #1 UCLA – http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=461879
1pm – Utah vs. #7 Stanford – http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=461880

QUICK HITS
• Utah returns 10 letterwinners returning from a year ago, while it welcomes five freshmen to the team and a redshirt sophomore from the indoor volleyball team.
• 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.
• In 2022, Utah picked up its first regular season Pac-12 win in program history after defeating Oregon 3-2 at the Pac-12 South Event.
• 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.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah opened its 2023 schedule with four matches at Texas A&M-Kingsville where it split the weekend. Utah earned a season-opening win after sweeping East Texas Baptist, while it closed out the weekend strong with a sweep over host Texas A&M-Kingsville. On court five for Utah, sophomore Sonja Wessel and freshman Savannah Cottam went undefeated on the weekend to lead the group, while sophomore duo Kylie Pitzak and Sydney Jacinto finished the weekend 3-1 on court four.

A LINEUP LOOK
All four of Utah's matches last weekend saw the same five pairs compete. Sophomore Amaya Messier and freshman Katie McAlister stepped into the top pairing for the Utes, while the returning duo of sophomore Bella Vezzani and junior Grace Andrews held down court two. A new partnership on court three was Marissa Koch and Abby Karich, while Kylie Pitzak and Sydney Jacinto jumped into court four after pairing together last season at the fifth spot. Rounding out the lineup, Sonja Wessel and Savannah Cottam made their debut as a team and went undefeated last weekend. In the exhibition spot, Chloe Narancich and Azure McOmber went 3-0 and Narancich also competed with fellow freshman Siona Thompson in an exhibition match.

AT THE TOP
Utah returns three players who competed between the top two positions all of last season. Sophomore Amaya Messier played the first 10 matches of the 2022 season at the No. 2 spot before playing the remainder of the season on court one. Switching spots with Messier was Grace Andrews and Bella Vezzani, who partnered together the entire season between the top two spots. Vezzani and Andrews downed San Jose State's top duo to clinch the 3-2 season opening win for Utah last year, while the pair also clinched Utah's first-ever Pac-12 regular season win after taking a three-set victory over Oregon's No. 2 pair. Vezzani and Messier will look to continue their strong starts to their careers as sophomores, while Andrews will begin her third season with the program as the 'veteran' on the team. Junior Marissa Koch was a starter on court three every match last season and earned a point for the Utes in the win over Oregon, as well as earning a win over Santa Clara to highlight the year.

NEW ON THE BLOCK
Utah welcomes a freshmen class of five looking to make contributions immediately, while being joined by Ute indoor player Abby Karich. Karich joined the team at the start of the spring semester after she played in 25 matches with four starts as outside hitter for the indoor team in the fall. She posted a career-high 17 kills against BYU, and recorded double-digit digs against Milwaukee and San Diego. The freshman class features three newcomers from California, one from Arizona, as well as a local addition from Salt Lake City. Katie McAlister, Chloe Narancich, and Siona Thompson join the Utes from California, while Azure McOmber comes from Arizona. Rounding out the newcomers, Savannah Cottam joins the team from right down the road at Brighton HS in Salt Lake City.

UP NEXT
After the four matches in California this weekend, Utah will continue play in the area as it is set to play its next 10 matches in California. The Utes will play Concordia University (Irvine) and Hope International on Tuesday, March 7, in Northridge, Calif. Continuing the action over spring break, Utah follows with matches against Santa Clara and Cal Poly on Wednesday, March 8, in San Luis Obispo, Calif.