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The University of Utah Athletics
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Utah Volleyball Earns 20th Program NCAA Tournament Berth
11/30/2025 6:01 PM | Volleyball
Utes will take on sixth seed Northern Iowa on Thursday, Dec. 4
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Volleyball is heading to its 20th program appearance in the NCAA Tournament after learning their fate during ESPN's Sunday Selection Show.
The Utes will be heading to Omaha, Nebraska, where Creighton plays host in rounds one and two of the Kentucky Bracket, to take on Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 4.
Utah was one of the last four into the tournament after a gritty performance down the stretch, beating No. 23 BYU and No. 13 Kansas at home while going 4-1 in their last five matches of the regular season to keep their dancing dreams alive.
"I don't think I've ever been so happy for a team to get into the tournament," said Launiere. "This group faced so much adversity this year but never put their head down. They just kept doing the work, stuck together, and talk about lessons learned—it took a lot of work for us to get to this point, and I'm just so proud of our players."
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Outside hitter Kamryn Gibadlo and middle blocker Emrie Moea'i were key cogs in Utah's end-of-season resurgence, showing their leadership not only in their stat lines, but in their character off the court as well.
Gibadlo finished the regular season leading the Utes in kills (469), and digs (265) while taking third in aces (30), and fifth in blocks (43.0).
"I'm just so proud of our team," said Gibadlo. "I feel like we had a lot of roadblocks during the regular season and preseason with injuries, and we were just able to find a groove and lean on each other and just turn it around towards the end. I couldn't be more proud of everyone on this team."
Moea'i led Utah in aces (34) and blocks (119.0), while finishing second on the team in kills (303).
"I think this season has been a real rollercoaster," said Moea'i. "I think everyone has given everything they've had, and I think that we weren't really starting to see anything happen until now. It means so much to make it to the tournament."
The Utes finished the year 15-14 (7-11 in the Big 12) with three AVCA Top 25 wins and an RPI of 39.
UP NEXT
Fans can catch Utah Volleyball in round one of the NCAA Tournament against sixth seed Northern Iowa on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 3:30 p.m. MT.
T.V. TBD.
Tickets for the tournament can be purchased at this link starting Monday, Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. MT.
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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DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TODAY – UTAH 360
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The moment we found out we were in. PRICELESS??#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/VzLBFyuuGj
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) December 1, 2025
The Utes will be heading to Omaha, Nebraska, where Creighton plays host in rounds one and two of the Kentucky Bracket, to take on Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 4.
Utah was one of the last four into the tournament after a gritty performance down the stretch, beating No. 23 BYU and No. 13 Kansas at home while going 4-1 in their last five matches of the regular season to keep their dancing dreams alive.
"I don't think I've ever been so happy for a team to get into the tournament," said Launiere. "This group faced so much adversity this year but never put their head down. They just kept doing the work, stuck together, and talk about lessons learned—it took a lot of work for us to get to this point, and I'm just so proud of our players."
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For the 20th time in program history, we are dancing ??
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) November 30, 2025
See you soon, Northern Iowa!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/eaDEMPA2Ts
Outside hitter Kamryn Gibadlo and middle blocker Emrie Moea'i were key cogs in Utah's end-of-season resurgence, showing their leadership not only in their stat lines, but in their character off the court as well.
Gibadlo finished the regular season leading the Utes in kills (469), and digs (265) while taking third in aces (30), and fifth in blocks (43.0).
"I'm just so proud of our team," said Gibadlo. "I feel like we had a lot of roadblocks during the regular season and preseason with injuries, and we were just able to find a groove and lean on each other and just turn it around towards the end. I couldn't be more proud of everyone on this team."
Moea'i led Utah in aces (34) and blocks (119.0), while finishing second on the team in kills (303).
"I think this season has been a real rollercoaster," said Moea'i. "I think everyone has given everything they've had, and I think that we weren't really starting to see anything happen until now. It means so much to make it to the tournament."
The Utes finished the year 15-14 (7-11 in the Big 12) with three AVCA Top 25 wins and an RPI of 39.
UP NEXT
Fans can catch Utah Volleyball in round one of the NCAA Tournament against sixth seed Northern Iowa on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 3:30 p.m. MT.
T.V. TBD.
Tickets for the tournament can be purchased at this link starting Monday, Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. MT.
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).
Â
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TODAY – UTAH 360
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