Utah Beach Volleyball looking to keep the Momentum in Miami

Friday, February 28

Miami, FL

8:00 AM (MST)

University of Utah

Florida Atlantic

Utah Utes Beach Volleyball scrimmage at Sandbar in Salt Lake City, UT on Friday, February 14, 2025.
Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics

Photo by: Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics

Utah Beach Volleyball looking to keep the Momentum in Miami

2/26/2025 12:11 PM | Beach Volleyball

The Utes are set to take on tournament host FIU, along with matches against FAU, Southern Miss and Palm Beach Atlantic

By: Andrew Fredericksen

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Beach Volleyball continues its strong start to the 2025 season as the team heads to Miami, Fla., for the Florida International University Invitational. The Utes will compete in four matches over the weekend, beginning on Friday, Feb. 28, against FAU and host FIU. Utah will also take on Southern Mississippi and Palm Beach Atlantic over the two-day event.

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Florida Atlantic (4-0, 1-0 Conference USA)
DATE | TIME: Friday, Feb. 28 | 8:00 a.m.
LOCATION: Miami, Fla. | FIU Beach Volleyball Courts
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahBeachVB

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Florida International (2-2, 0-1 Conference USA)
DATE | TIME: Friday, Feb. 28 | 12:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Miami, Fla.  | FIU Beach Volleyball Courts
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahBeachVB

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Southern Mississippi (1-4, 0-0 Sun Belt)
DATE | TIME: Saturday, Mar. 1 | 6:00 a.m.
LOCATION: Miami, Fla.  | FIU Beach Volleyball Courts
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahBeachVB

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Palm Beach Atlantic (5-0, 0-0 Sunshine State)
DATE | TIME: Saturday, Mar. 1 | 8:00 a.m.
LOCATION: Miami, Fla.  | FIU Beach Volleyball Courts
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahBeachVB

HISTORIC START FOR THE UTES
After an impressive showing at the UC Davis Weekend, Utah Beach Volleyball has opened its season with a 4-0 record for the first time in program history. The Utes secured victories over UC Davis, San Jose State (twice), and Santa Clara. Through those four matches, the Utes won 16 of the 20 total pairs. The momentum from the first weekend will be crucial as Utah takes on another competitive slate in Miami.

BUILDING ON EARLY SUCCESS

Utah's No. 1 pair, Katie McAlister and Quincy Stephens, remains undefeated, while only being brought to a third set once.
Langley Griffin and Bella Vezzani have also been a consistent force, winning all four of their matches in straight sets.
The pair of Ellyn Collins and Kylie Pitzak delivered a thrilling three-set comeback victory to help Utah remain perfect in its opening match versus San Jose State.

SCOUTING THE WEEKEND COMPETITION

FAU enters the weekend ranked No. 12 in the country with a perfect 4-0 record, boasting impressive wins over No. 15 Georgia State, No. 16 Washington, and No. 17 FIU.
FIU, despite losses to ranked FAU and Georgia State, secured a quality win over No. 16 Washington and will be looking to defend its home court.
Southern Mississippi has struggled early in the season with a 1-4 record, including losses to No. 7 Florida State and No. 10 LSU, but remains a competitive opponent.
Palm Beach Atlantic is off to a strong 5-0 start, though they have yet to face a ranked opponent. So far, they have won each match by at least a 4-1 scoreline.
The weekend presents Utah with several opportunities to secure statement wins against ranked teams and continue their early-season momentum.

KNOWING HEAD COACH BRENDA WHICKER
Coach Whicker enters her ninth season at the helm of Utah beach volleyball. She is coming off the winningest season in program history finishing with a record of 19-16, with a first-round Pac-12 Tournament victory over Oregon. So far in 2025, she has coached Utah to their most successful start in program history, starting with a 4-0 record at the UC Davis weekend. Whicker was a volleyball player at Utah under current volleyball head coach Beth Launiere from 1994-97. She holds the record for most aces in Utah volleyball history and is one of six players in Utah volleyball history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career while playing for Utah.

UTAH BEACH CLASSIC
Utah's lone home competitions are set for March 28-29, when the Utes host the fourth edition of the Utah Beach Classic. This year, UC Davis, Boise State, Oregon and Big 12 opponent Arizona will join Utah for the weekend in Salt Lake City. The Utes will host at the Lassonde Sports Court on the Utah campus.

OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock exclusive video content, news and information, schedules, rosters, stats, and access to buy and manage tickets. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready.

FOLLOW US!
Get inside access to the Utes this season by following along on social media on Instagram (@UtahBeachVB) Twitter (@UtahBeachVB) and Facebook (Search Utah Beach Volleyball).