Utah Drops Match at Portland State

Tuesday, September 5

Portland, OR

1:00 PM

University of Utah

2-3,0-0Pac-12

Portland State

4-3,0-0Big Sky

Utah

Portland St.

9/5/2023 3:38 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Utes fall to Vikings in four sets.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Utah Volleyball fell to the Portland State Vikings in a mid-week match on the road in four sets (25-20, 22-25, 20-25, 23-25) on Tuesday.

Utah pulled ahead 14-8 in the first set after five consecutive points, which included back-to-back aces from Viktoria Wahlgren. Portland State cut the lead in half and trailed just 15-12, but Utah managed to keep the lead at three points until the final moments of the set. The Vikings eventually trimmed the score to just 20-18, but the Utes ended the first set scoring five of the final seven points to win 25-20.

Four Utes recorded at least three kills in the opening set, highlighted by Allie Olsen's team-high four kills on .500 hitting. Kamry Bailey and Kamryn Gibadlo also hit .500 with three kills each in the first set. Utah hit at an impressive .435 percentage in the first set, while limiting Portland State to a .190 clip.

Utah found separation in the second set after using a 3-0 run to lead 15-13 at the media timeout. Portland State scored out of the break, but the Utes went on to score four of the next five points to lead 19-15. The Vikings managed to even the score 20-20 with a 5-1 run, forcing Utah to call a timeout. The Utes scored consecutive points to lead 22-20, but the lead vanished after three points in a row from Portland State. Out of another Utah timeout, Portland State scored consecutive points to complete the 5-0 run and win 25-22.

In the third set, Utah jumped out to an 11-5 lead early on, but the Vikings scored five in a row to cut the deficit to just one point. Utah pulled ahead 14-11, however, the momentum shifted and saw Portland State score eight of the next nine points to suddenly lead 19-15. The Utes scored a pair of points to trail by two, but another large run from the Vikings left Utah behind 23-18 as the set winded down. The Vikings went on to take the set 25-20 and lead the match 2-1. Gibadlo recorded five kills (.333) and Olsen tallied four kills (.800) with no errors between the two Utes in the third set. Bailey also recorded seven digs.

Portland State pushed out to a 12-7 lead, but after a timeout from the Utes, Utah scored five in a row to tie the fourth set. The set of runs continued with the Vikings going on a 5-1 run before the Utes did the same and tied the set 18-18. From there, the teams went point for point until Portland State recorded a kill followed by an ace to take a 22-20 lead. Utah earned a sideout to trail just 22-21, but the teams went point for point once again all the way until Portland State took the frame 25-23 to win the match.

Utah hit .246 in the match compared to Portland State's .209 hitting percentage, while also recording more assists, digs, and blocks. Gibadlo posted a season-high 13 kills on .300 hitting, while Olsen added a career-best 12 kills on .556 hitting. Bailey recorded the first double-double of her career after tallying a career-high 10 kills and 12 digs.

Wahlgren posted 46 assists and a career-best three aces to lead the team, while Vanessa Ramirez recorded a match-high 15 digs. Emrie Satuala also added eight kills and five blocks, and Lauren Jardine tallied nine kills and seven digs.

Utah welcomes Tennessee State, UC Santa Barbara, and San Francisco on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8-9, for the annual Utah Classic. The Utes open the tournament against Tennessee State on Friday at 12 p.m. MT before hosting UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. MT. To round out the event, Utah plays San Francisco at 4 p.m. MT on Saturday.