Utah Volleyball Comes up Short in Rematch with No. 24 BYU

Wednesday, November 26

Provo, UT

6:00 PM

University of Utah

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BYU

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BYU

Utah Volleyball Comes up Short in Rematch with No. 24 BYU

11/26/2025 9:09 PM | Volleyball

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Utes set individual, team ace records in five-set loss to Cougars

PROVO, Utah – Utah Volleyball pushed another five-set thriller with No. 24 BYU, setting individual and team ace records in the process, but came up short of victory, falling to the Cougars 3-2 at Smith Fieldhouse.

The Utes lost sets one, three, and five, but rallied in sets two and four (23-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 10-15) to mark another memorable match in the rivalry.

Set number four was particularly exciting for Utah with senior middle blocker Emrie Moea'i recording her eighth ace, not only setting a career-high for herself, but also launching her atop the Utah record book both for most service aces by an individual in a five-set match during the rally era (2001-present) and service aces in a single-match for all sets in the rally era. (The previous records were five and seven respectively.)

Additionally, Utah's 13 total aces against BYU set a single-match high-mark for five sets in the rally era, breaking the previous record of 11 set against Temple in September of 2018.

SET ONE
The Utes and Cougars traded blows early in set one, recording eight ties and two lead changes before Utah pulled ahead 11-9.

BYU got within one, 11-10, before the Utes made another surge to make it a 15-12 game halfway through the set.

The Cougs tied things back up for a ninth time at 15 and made it a race down the stretch adding two more ties to the count (11 total) before forcing a third lead change, and taking the set, 25-23.

SET TWO
Utah got off to a quick start, going up 2-0 before BYU answered with their first point of the second set.

The Cougars tied things up at seven after the Utes initially put some distance between their rival before Utah pulled ahead again 10-8 about halfway through the set.

The Utes built up a seven-point lead, 19-12, before putting the Cougs away in set two, 25-17, off a BYU attack error.

SET THREE
Set three started similarly to set one- a close affair with neither side relenting with six ties and one lead change early on until the Cougs pulled away, 14-12.

Utah struggled to find consistent momentum in the middle of set three but went on 5-0 run as BYU sat at set point to make it a one-point affair, 24-23. Despite the Utes' incredible late run, the Cougars iced the set, 25-23.

SET FOUR
Utah jumped out to an early lead, 8-4, in the fourth set thanks largely to Levani Key-Powell's third ace and Moea'i's fifth ace of the night.

Moea'i went on a three-ace spree shortly after to give the Utes an 11-5 advantage and an ace career-high of eight.

Utah raced out to an 11-point lead over BYU, 19-8, but the Cougars would go on a run of their own, scoring four unanswered points before Kamryn Gibadlo smashed a kill for set point. One play later, the Utes forced set five, 25-15.

SET FIVE
The Utes continued their set-four momentum reaching eight first to mark the halfway-point of set five, 8-7 over the Cougars.

BYU kept the set close forcing five ties before taking the lead, 12-10.

Despite Utah's best efforts, the Cougs walked away with the set and match win, 15-10.

STANDOUT STATS

Utes Total Stats: 57 kills off 138 total attempts, 13 aces, 58 assists, eight blocks, 43 digs.
Moea'i led the team in aces, recording a career-high (8) while adding 11 kills, one dig and three blocks.
Gibadlo led the team in kills (22) with a .333 hitting percentage, nine digs and two blocks.
Key-Powell was second on the team in aces (3) and kills (11) while adding four digs and one block.
Neea-Maria Joki was potent with 10 kills, two aces, three digs, and two blocks.

UP NEXT
The Utes make a trip to Lubbock, Texas to put a bow on Big 12 play against Texas Tech on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 12 p.m. MT.

The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Volleyball program, including tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @UtahVolleyball | Instagram: @utahvolleyball).

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