Utah Volleyball Falls In Five Sets at USC

Friday, September 29

Los Angeles, CA

8:00 PM

University of Utah

6-7,1-2Pac-12

USC

9-4,3-0Pac-12

Utah

Southern California

9/29/2023 10:58 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Viktoria Wahlgren records second career double-double.

LOS ANGELES – Utah Volleyball dropped a five-set match (25-16, 17-25, 25-18, 16-25, 6-15) on the road at USC on Friday night. Viktoria Wahlgren recorded the second double-double of her career after posting 37 assists and 12 digs, while five Utes recorded at least eight kills in the match.

Utah got off to a hot start in the match behind the efforts of Kamry Bailey, who recorded five kills with zero errors, along with eight digs in the first set. The momentum began when the Utes went on a 6-0 run, which included two kills from Bailey, to lead 10-4. USC stayed in the set until Utah rattled off a 4-0 run to push ahead 18-9. The Trojans rattled off three unanswered points, but it was too little, too late as Utah would eventually take the set 25-16.

Utah hit a respectable .237 in the opening set, while USC was limited to a .026 hitting percentage after Utah totaled 19 digs and three blocks to slow down the Trojan offense. Four Ute hitters recorded at least two kills each, while Viktoria Wahlgren dished out 10 assists.

USC flipped the script and took an early 9-4 lead over Utah in the second set. Utah used a 5-1 run to cut the lead to just 10-9, but then gave up five straight points to trail 15-9 and be forced into a timeout. From there, Utah couldn't cut into the lead closer than five points and later saw the Trojans tie the match with a 25-17 win in the second set. Allie Olsen posted five kills on .625 hitting to lead the offense.

Utah jumped out in front of USC to start the third set, leading 10-4. The Trojans chipped away at the lead and cut the score to just 11-9 after a pair of aces. After going back and forth, Utah broke open the set with a 4-0 run to lead 18-12. USC cut the lead to three points, but Utah managed to score three in a row later on to extend the lead, 22-15. The Utes comfortably rolled on to win the set 25-18 and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Utah hit .409, which was its best efficiency of the night, while USC hit .032.

The fourth set was played much tighter to begin as the teams went back and forth until the Trojans rattled off four points in a row to take a 13-10 lead. A kill from Bailey and an ace from Allie Olsen cut the score to just one point as the two teams would then trade points for the next few rallies. Trailing 15-14, Utah gave up eight-straight points to fall into a 23-14 hole late in the frame. USC went on to win 25-16 to send the match to a fifth set.

The fifth set was all USC after the Trojans jumped out to a 5-1 lead and never looked back. USC controlled the set from start to finish, winning 15-6 to take the match. Despite Utah hitting .400 in the fifth set, the Trojan offense could not be stopped as they hit .750 (12 kills, zero errors) to close out the match.

Along with Wahlgren's double-digit digs, Vanessa Ramirez added a team-best 18 digs on Friday night, while Bailey added a season-high 14 digs. Emrie Satuala led the team with 10 kills, as well as five blocks, while the trio of Bailey, Lauren Jardine, and Allie Olsen each tallied nine kills. Amelia Van Der Werff added eight kills.

The Utes head across town to Pauley Pavilion on Sunday, Oct. 1, to take on UCLA. The match will be live streamed at 1 p.m. MT.