Utah Volleyball Travels To Utah State on Wednesday, Hosts UNLV on Friday

Wednesday, August 30

Logan, UT

6:00 PM

University of Utah

Utah State

Utah Volleyball Travels To Utah State on Wednesday, Hosts UNLV on Friday

8/29/2023 12:49 PM | Volleyball

USU, UNLV Match Notes

Utes set for road match in Logan before turning attention to the 2023 home opener.

Match 3: Utah (1-1) at Utah State (2-1)
Wednesday, Aug. 30 | 6 p.m. MT
Logan, Utah | Estes Center
Watch: Live Stream
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Match 4: Utah (1-1) vs. UNLV (2-1)
Friday, Sept. 1 | 7 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City | Jon M. Huntsman Center
Watch: Pac-12 Insider
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

MATCH WEEK
Utah Volleyball will remain in-state to continue non-conference action as it heads to Utah State this Wednesday, Aug. 30, for a road match in Logan. The Utes and Aggies are set for a first serve at 6 p.m. MT at the Wayne Estes Center. The match will be live streamed.

Utah turns around for its home opener on Friday, Sept. 1, when it hosts the UNLV Rebels at the Huntsman Center. The match will begin at 7 p.m. MT and will be streamed on Pac-12 Insider. The home opener is Family & Freshman themed. There will be rally towels, team posters, and a tailgate before the match for freshmen and their families at Door 4 outside of the arena. Family passes are also available for purchase. The passes are $10 for five tickets.

QUICK HITS
• Utah has not played at Utah State since the 2015 season.
• Utah has not played UNLV since the 2016 season, and has not hosted the Rebels since 2010.
• Head Coach Beth Launiere enters her 34^th season at the helm of the program. Utah Volleyball's winningest head coach holds a 639-401 career record.
• Utah returns 11 letterwinners from a year ago, highlighted by the reigning Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year in KJ Burgess.
• The Utes welcome freshmen Skylar George, Kamryn Gibadlo, Kaieva Johnson, and Olga Musial, along with transfers Emrie Satuala and Rianne Vos.
• Utah is set to play 10 NCAA Tournament teams from the 2022 season and four in-state opponents.

BURGESS BRINGING IT
KJ Burgess picked up where she left off last season and had a stellar opening weekend to begin her sophomore season. Burgess recorded a .520 hitting percentage and 1.86 blocks per set in two matches, which leads the Pac-12 Conference in both categories. Burgess posted nine kills on .467 hitting against Utah Valley and followed it up with seven kills on .600 hitting against NC State. Defensively, Burgess recorded a career high eight blocks versus NC State, while posting five blocks the night before. The reigning Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year ranked in the top-five of the Pac-12 last year in both hitting percentage and blocks.

VANESSA'S GOT IT
Starting libero Vanessa Ramirez led the Pac-12 defensively after the opening weekend, recording 5.14 digs per set. Ramirez tallied 22 digs against NC State for her first match of 20-plus digs this season and her 10^th overall. She also recorded 14 digs against Utah Valley. She has now posted 63 matches with double-digit digs as Utah's starting libero. Ramirez is coming off a season that saw her lead the team in digs 27 of the 31 matches, while she finished third in the Pac-12 with 4.04 digs per set.

UP NEXT
Before hosting their annual Utah Classic, the Utes hit the road after Labor Day weekend for a match at Portland State on Tuesday, Sept. 5. The match begins at 1 p.m. MT at Viking Pavilion in Portland. Then, Utah welcomes Tennessee State, UC Santa Barbara, and San Francisco on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8-9.

UTAH CLASSIC SCHEDULE

Friday, Sept. 8	10am	UC Santa Barbara vs. San Francisco
	12pm	Utah vs. Tennessee State
	4:30pm	Tennessee State vs. San Francisco
	7pm	Utah vs. UC Santa Barbara
Saturday, Sept. 9	1:30pm	UC Santa Barbara vs. Tennessee State
	4pm	Utah vs. San Francisco

SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Utah State opened the season on the road at #5 Nebraska where it dropped its first match, but then picked up wins over SMU and Lipscomb in four sets. Shelby Capllonch and Jill Schneggenburger led the Aggies in kills over the weekend, averaging 3.18 k/s and 2.82 k/s, respectively. Kamvree Rodriguez averaged 5.00 digs per set in the final two matches, while Bella Wooden recorded 1.83 blocks per set. Utah has won six straight over Utah State with its last loss coming in 2010.

SCOUTING UNLV
The Rebels head into the new week of play with a 2-1 record from the 2023 opening weekend. First-year head coach Malia Shoji led the team win a 3-1 win over Colorado to begin her tenure after previously spending eight seasons on the Utah coaching staff, which included five seasons as associate head coach. UNLV dropped a three-set match to North Texas, but bounced back with a 3-1 win over Campbell. Isabel Martin leads the team with 4.73 kills per set, while Arien Fafard dishes out 10.18 assists per set. Utah has not played UNLV in the regular season since 2010 and is 29-5 overall against the Rebels, including a 13-0 record at home.

SEASON TICKET TIME
Secure your season tickets for the 2023 season and catch all of the action in the Huntsman Center. Help Utah Volleyball make the Huntsman Center the best home court advantage in the nation and visit UtahTickets.com to purchase tickets for all 15 home matches.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah opened its 2023 schedule on the road at Utah Valley last weekend and fell to the Wolverines in four sets. The Utes cleaned up their game and bounced back from the error-filled match the night before with a sweep over NC State. Lauren Jardine led the team in kills in both matches and averaged 4.43 kills per set. KJ Burgess had an exceptional weekend after posting 2.29 kills per set on .520 hitting, along with a team-best 13 blocks. Viktoria Wahlgren earned the start at setter where she dished out 10.14 assists per set, while Vanessa Ramirez led the team defensively with 5.14 digs per set.