Utah Celebrates Seven Seniors, Wins One out of Two on the Second Day of Utah Beach Classic

Saturday, March 29

Salt Lake City, UT

11:00 AM

University of Utah

Arizona

Photo by: Jackson Bilawa/Utah Athletics

Utah Celebrates Seven Seniors, Wins One out of Two on the Second Day of Utah Beach Classic

3/29/2025 9:10 PM | Beach Volleyball

Utah moves to 17-7 on the season

By: Andrew Fredericksen

Utah got to host the fourth-ever Utah Beach Classic this weekend, and it was a success for the Utes. The day started by honoring seven seniors, Ellyn Collins, Maeve Griffin, Kylie Pitzak, Lauren Sayre, Keira Sheehan, Bella Vezzani and Sonja Wessel. The ceremony was followed by the first match for Utah versus the Arizona Wildcats.

Arizona came into the match and immediately took the first pair win in the No. 4 spot to put the Utes at a 0-1 disadvantage. Langley Griffin and Ellyn Collins played an electrifying match in the No. 2 spot. The pairing came back from a first set loss, won the second set in extra points and took the win in the tiebreaker. Milan Ray and Lauren Sayre followed suit, winning their No. 5 match in straight sets. The Wildcats won the final two duals, both being won in three sets. Arizona won the match by a very narrow 3-2 advantage.

The following match was against the Oregon Ducks, with both teams battling the elements as it was a constant rain showers throughout the match. The No. 2's of Langley and Elly stayed sharp, getting the first win of the match (21-17, 21-9). This was followed up by two more straight-set victories by Kylie and Elle (21-13) (21-10) and by Sonja and Maeve (21-14) (21-16). After dropping the fifth flight, Quincy and Katie sealed the deal for Utah, winning (21-14) (21-15). Utah now takes the advantage in the all-time series, leading 7-6.

COMMENTS FROM COACH WHICKER

"We were so excited to play our first and only home matches. We knew every match was going to be a battle. Our team stepped up to the challenge and showed up for every match. I was so proud! Came up with some big wins and barely lost a close one to Arizona. A BIG thank you to everyone that came out to cheer us on. Such a fun environment to play in."

FINAL RESULTS

Match Score: Arizona 3, Utah 2

Adri Nieves Papaleo/Kate Phillips (UA) def. Quincy Stephens/Katie McAlister (UU) (21-13), (21-23), (15-11)
Langley Griffin/Ellyn Collins (UU) def. Kylee Fitzsimmons/Brooke Blutreich (UA) (17-21), (22-20), (15-11)
Ashlyn Zilliken/Madeline Walker (UA) def. Sonja Wessel/Maeve Griffin (UU) (21-16), (16-21), (15-12)
Annie Kost/Elin Kaiser (UA) def. Kylie Pitzak/Elle Burleson (UU) (21-15), (21-14)
Milan Ray/Lauren Sayre (UU) def. Jamie Streit/Katie Lambeth (UA) (21-19), (21-18)

Match Score: Utah 4, Oregon 1

Quincy Stephens/Katie McAlister (UU) def. Bella Gamache/Ella Tyus (ORE) (21-14), (21-15)
Langley Griffin/Ellyn Collins (UU) def. Landree Coats/Daley McClellan (ORE) (21-17), (21-9)
Sonja Wessel/Maeve Griffin (UU) def. Alex Kriz/Gwen Fife (ORE) (21-14), (21-16)
Kylie Pitzak/Elle Burleson (UU) def. Skylar Kelly/Hanna Bjornson (ORE) (21-13), (21-10)
Natasha George/Liz Rossi (ORE) def. Milan Ray/Lauren Sayre (UU) (21-17), (21-17)

UP NEXT
After a fun weekend at home in Salt Lake City, Utah flies two hours south to Tucson, Ariz. to compete in the Arizona Weekend competition. The entire Big 12 conference for beach volleyball will be in attendance, with the weekend starting with a match against host Arizona. Utah will get the opportunity to avenge the loss they took to the Wildcats on March 29. In the afternoon, Utah will faceoff against No. 2 TCU. On Saturday, Utah will have two matches, one against Pepperdine, and the next against No. 12 Arizona State.

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