Utah Beach Overwhelms Santa Clara After Loss to CSUN

Friday, March 7

Northridge, CA

2:00 PM

University of Utah

CSUN

Photo by: Jackson Bilawa/Utah Athletics

Utah Beach Overwhelms Santa Clara After Loss to CSUN

3/7/2025 8:50 PM | Beach Volleyball

Utes reach 7-3 for first time in program history

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The tandems of Langley Griffin and Bella Vezzani and Kylie Pitzak and Ellyn Collins both picked up two victories and the University of Utah beach volleyball team cruised past the Santa Clara Broncos, 5-0, after dropping a match to the CSUN Matadors, 3-2, on Friday afternoon in Northridge, Calif.

Those two decisions put Utah's record at 7-3 in 2025, the best 10-game start in program history.

"We played in some tough windy conditions today," said coach Brenda Whicker, "and got better as the day went on. It's a challenge of ours to train on indoor sand courts and come play in the elements. I felt our team embraced it with a good attitude and stepped up to the challenge. I was proud of them."

Utah vs. CSUN
Against the Matadors, Vezzani and Griffin got Utah off to an excellent start, scoring a 21-14, 21-18 victory, but the next three matches all went to CSUN in straight sets, despite a couple close first sets on courts four and five.

In the No. 3 match, Pitzak and Collins had to shake off a difficult first frame and they did so by pulling out a thrilling second set, 23-21. Utah's No. 3 tandem then won the third, 15-10, to salvage one more point for their side.

1 . Mae, Tasha/Lindhardt, Kinley (CSUN) 2-0 McAlister, Katie / Stephens, Quincy (Utah) 21-11 21-17
2 . Vezzani, Bella/Griffin, Langley (Utah) 2-0 Patrick, Ainsley / Coggins, Haley (CSUN) 21-14 21-18
3 . Pitzak, Kylie/Collins, Elly (Utah) 2-1 Cederlind, Layla / Miles, Maleya (CSUN) 16-21 23-21 15-10
4 . Hall, Dylan/Heflin, Hannah (CSUN) 2-0 Wessel, Sonja / Griffin, Maeve (Utah) 25-23 21-15
5 . Mendiola, Tia/Bazylevych, Julia (CSUN) 2-0 Sayre, Lauren / Narancich, Chloe (Utah) 21-19 21-14

Utah vs. Santa Clara
The Utes continued battling against the Broncos and pulled out all five flights in match that saw three contests go to a third set.

A 21-2, 21-16 sweep by Sonja Wessel and Maeve Griffin at No. 4 got Utah on the scoreboard quickly and it was soon followed by a come-from-behind triumph courtesy of Griffin and Vezzani on the second court. Utah's second pairing dropped the opening set by four points, then collected the second by a score of 21-13 before completing their comeback with a 15-12 winner in the third.

The victory become official for the Utes thanks to Chloe Narancich and Lauren Sayre in the No. 5 match, 21-10, 26-24, then Quincy Stephens and Katie McAlister finished off their own comeback at No. 1, 19-21, 24-22, 15-12. Utah's 5-0 win was completed by Pitzak and Collins by a score of 21-15, 16-21, 15-11.

1. Quincy Stephens / Katie McAlister (UTAH) def. Sadie Snipes/Sammy Wood (SCU), 19-21, 22-24, 15-12
2. Langley Griffin / Bella Vezzani (UTAH) def. Alexandra Urbina/Holland Jackson (SCU), 17-21, 21-13, 15-12
3. Kylie Pitzak / Ellyn Collins (UTAH) def. Noelle Niederman/Ciara Cantley (SCU), 21-15, 16-21, 15-11
4. Sonja Wessel / Maeve Griffin (UTAH) def. Teagan Wilson/Sveva Munneke (SCU), 21-2, 21-16
5. Chloe Narancich / Lauren Sayre (UTAH) def. Ava Stoddard/Kawena Chillingworth (SCU), 21-10, 26-24

Up Next
Utah will face Santa Clara again on Saturday at 12 p.m., but not before a rematch with CSUN at 10 a.m.

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