Utah Volleyball Drops Pac-12 Opener at Colorado

Thursday, September 21

Boulder, CO

7:00 PM

University of Utah

5-6,0-1Pac-12

Colorado

9-3,1-0Pac-12

Utah

Colorado

Utah Volleyball Drops Pac-12 Opener at Colorado

9/21/2023 9:32 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BOULDER, Colo. – Utah Volleyball dropped its Pac-12 opener on Thursday night, falling to the Colorado Buffaloes in four sets (15-25, 19-25, 30-28, 19-25) at the CU Events Center.

Utah fell into a 6-0 hole to open the match and Colorado took control from there. The Utes cut the score to six points a couple of times, but that was as close as the Buffaloes would allow as they eventually collected a 25-15 win in the first set. Utah hit .125 in the opening frame, while Colorado hit .417 to run away with the set. The Buffs also had four aces compared to Utah's zero, along with four blocks to Utah's one block.

The Utes were able to jump out in front to start the second set, pulling ahead 8-5. Although a strong start, Utah let a 5-0 run from Colorado change momentum in the set. Utah scored consecutive points, but four consecutive points from the Buffs left Utah in a 14-10 hole. Amelia Van Der Werff ended the run with a kill, however, the Utes scored just one of the next four points to trail 18-12. Utah stormed back to cut the lead to just 19-17 after a 5-1 run, but that was as close as the Utes could pull within as Colorado would use a pair of Ute errors and then hot-hitting to end the set 25-19.

Colorado opened the third set much like the first as it jumped out to a commanding lead, 11-2. Utah chipped away at the Buffs lead with a 5-1 run, cutting the deficit to just 12-7. Utah pulled within two points after scoring four of five to trail just 20-18. After a Buffs point, Lauren Jardine went on a 4-0 run herself after recording a pair of kills and a pair of solo blocks.

From there, Colorado and Utah went point for point as Utah would go on to fend off four match points from Colorado. A kill from Gibadlo tied the score 27-27, while a block from Viktoria Wahlgren and Emrie Satuala gave Utah its first set point. Out of a Colorado timeout, the Buffs recorded a kill before Satuala countered with a kill of her own. Allie Olsen would finally end the marathon set from a joust kill at the net, winning the set 30-28. Jardine finished the third set with eight kills on 10 swings (.800), while Satuala and Gibadlo each added four kills. Wahlgren dished out 15 assists.

In the fourth set, Utah used the momentum out of the last set to push ahead 9-4 and force an early timeout from Colorado. The Buffaloes used a 5-1 run to take the lead back and force Utah to call its own timeout. The separator in the set came when Colorado outscored Utah 9-2, pulling ahead 21-18 after the Utes were leading by four. A kill from Jardine trimmed the lead to two points, but a 4-0 run from the Buffs ended the set 25-19.

Jardine sparked Utah's offense off the bench with 14 kills, which tied for the match high. Gibadlo added 11 kills, while Kamry Bailey added 10 kills and Satuala added seven kills. Satuala led the team with four blocks. Wahlgren recorded 38 assists and eight digs, while Vanessa Ramirez posted 15 digs.

Utah returns home to host the California Golden Bears this Sunday, Sept. 24. First serve is at 12 p.m. MT in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Mountain.