Utah Battles to First Road Win Against Loyola Chicago

Friday, September 13

Chicago, IL

5:00 PM

University of Utah

5-1,0-0Big 12

Loyola University

2-5,0-0Atlantic 10

Utah

Loyola Chicago

Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics

Utah Battles to First Road Win Against Loyola Chicago

9/13/2024 9:01 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Vanessa Ramirez reaches 1,500 digs for a career

CHICAGO – Utah Volleyball showed extreme resiliency and fight as they battled the Loyola Chicago Ramblers in the first road contest of their 2024 campaign, coming out with a 3-0 (29-27, 25-20, 25-20) sweep.

Utah's fifth-year senior, Vanessa Ramirez, eclipsed the 1,500 career digs mark, finishing with eight digs against the Ramblers. Ramirez sits at fourth in program history with 1,504 total digs, looking to climb the Utah record book and move into third-place, passing Connie Dangerfield (1,571).

The Utes found themselves down early, as Loyola took a 4-0 lead before a kill from Lauren Jardine put Utah on the board. Utah was tested early, as the Ramblers won the race to 15, going on an eight-point run and taking a 16-9 advantage. Utah never relented, keeping the pressure on and bringing the set back to within a point, trailing 22-21. The Utes fought off back-to-back set points by the Loyola, coming up with a pair of big blocks from Allie Olsen, with Jardine assisting one and Kamry Bailey getting in on the other, bringing the score to 24-24. The two sides exchanged points extending the set, before back-to-back kills from Gibadlo and Jardine gave the Utes the momentum and the serve, leading to the final Loyola error and the Utah set win, 29-27.

The second set was a back-and-forth battle with each side searching for a significant advantage, with 12 ties flashing on the scoreboard. The Ramblers won the race to 15 for the second set in a row, before the Utes found a spark after trailing 20-18, and igniting the comeback. Stringing together a run of eight consecutive points, Utah would come from behind to win getting three kills from Gibadlo, two kills from Jardine, along with a strong block from Emrie Satuala and Jardine, sealing the comeback, 25-20.

The Utes took an early lead to start the third set, with Allie Olsen putting down the first point. Utah put together a four-point run to hold a five-point advantage, 9-4, with Olsen and Ashley West providing kills and Olsen and Bailey coming up with a block. Momentum was on Utah's side, as the Utes won the race to 15 in the third set, riding a five-point run to an 18-9 advantage. The Utes continued to keep their foot on the gas, taking a 20-13 lead, coming off the Satuala kill. Utah continued on to seal the sweep with a 25-20 win.

Standout Stats

Lauren Jardine led the team in both kills (17) and hitting percentage (.484) on the night, putting down a season-high in both categories.
Kamryn Gibadlo tallied eight kills and Emrie Satuala tallied seven for the Utah offense.
Allie Olsen posted a team-high seven blocks, with Jardine adding four.
Claranne Fechter recorded a Utah career-high 22 digs, adding three assists to her total.
Isabelle Marco facilitated the Utah offense with 21 assists.
Five of six Utah matches have ended in three sets. The Utes have passed the 25-point mark in three sets this season, picking up their first win this evening against Loyola.

UP NEXT
Utah Volleyball returns to face Loyola for a final time on Saturday, Sept. 14, with first serve coming at 6 p.m. MT. The Utes will close the weekend on Sunday, Sept. 15, taking on Northeastern at 11 a.m. MT.

Next up, Utah will travel to the UniWyo Invite for three matches at the University of Wyoming. The Utes will play a doubleheader on Friday, Sept. 20, opening the weekend against UAlbany with first serve against the Great Danes set for 10 a.m. MT. Returning for the second match of the day on Friday, Utah will take on Coppin State at 3 p.m. MT. Utah returns to action for a doubleheader on Saturday, Sept. 21, taking on host Wyoming at 1 p.m. MT.

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