Utah Finds Success Against Arizona, Moves on to the Semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament

Thursday, April 24

Fort Worth, TX

8:00 AM (MST)

University of Utah

TCU

Utah Finds Success Against Arizona, Moves on to the Semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament

4/24/2025 9:25 PM | Beach Volleyball

By: Andrew Fredericksen

FORT WORTH, Texas — Utah beach volleyball competed on the campus of TCU today in the inaugural Big 12 beach volleyball tournament. Utah was swept in their first-round match versus No. 2 TCU but returned the favor by beating Arizona by a score of 3-0 to earn a spot in the semi finals of the Big 12 tournament.

Utah's match up with TCU was the opened the Big 12 tournament, where the Horned Frogs got the decisive 3-0 victory. TCU, who are ranked by AVCA as the second highest ranked team in the nation, had their first three pairs win in straight sets, clinching the best-of-five victory.

After a day of inclement weather, Arizona met Utah with each of their seasons on the line. It was Utah who ran away with the victory, winning the match by a score of 3-0, as well as pair winning in straight sets.

In the No. 4 spot for Utah, Kylie Pitzak and Ellyn Collins got the first win of the match. The duo impressively pulled out tight a 21-19 victory in the first set. They followed up their performance by taking an early lead and winning 21-15. The winningest duo for Utah in the regular season adds a postseason victory to their resume.

Langley Griffin and Bella Vezzani took care of business in the No. 2 pair position, winning the match in straight sets by scores of 21-17 and 21-18. Langley now finds success versus the Wildcats for the second time this season, as she and Ellyn Collins took down Arizona at home in the Utah Beach Classic.

The closing match was the No. 1 pair of Katie McAlister and Quincy Stephens. The pair had yet to find success versus the Arizona duo of Kylee Fitzsimmons and Brooke Blutreich in their previous two meetings, but tonight they defeated Arizona's top-ranking squad in straight sets. In the first set, Arizona had the lead on Utah with a score of 19-17. Katie and Quincy then went on a three-point run where Utah tied the score at 20-20. Utah's No. 1's closed out the match by winning the final two points to take the first set by as score of 22-20. Utah got out to an early lead in the second set and never let their foot off the gas. Utah cruised to a 21-16 set victory, clinching the win and the 3-0 victory for the Utes.

This win versus Arizona marked Katie McAlister's fiftieth win in the Utah beach volleyball program. This is a huge achievement for the Junior, as the majority of her wins have come at the No. 1 and No. 2 pair positions.

FINAL RESULTS

Match Score: TCU 3, Utah 0

Daniella Alvarez/Tania Moreno (TCU) def. Quincy Stephens/Katie McAlister (UTAH) 21-14, 21-18
Hailey Hamlett/Maria Gonzalez (TCU) 0-0, Langley Griffin/Bella Vezzani (UTAH), unf.
Allanis Navas/Sofia Izuzquiza (TCU) def. Sonja Wessel/Maeve Griffin (UTAH) 21-16, 21-15
Ana Vergara/Anhelina Khmil (TCU), Kylie Pitzak/Ellyn Collins (UTAH), unf.
Denie Konstantinova/Olivia Clines (TCU) def. Lauren Sayre/Elle Burleson (UTAH) 21-14, 21-11
Order of finish: 5, 3, 1

Match Score: Utah 3, Arizona 0

Quincy Stephens/Katie McAlister (UTAH) def. Kylee Fitzsimmons/Brooke Blutreich (ARIZ) 22-20, 21-16
Langley Griffin/Bella Vezzani (UTAH) def. Kate Phillips/Adri Nieves Papaleo (ARIZ) 21-17, 21-18
Sonja Wessel/Maeve Griffin (UTAH) 0-0, Ashlyn Zilliken/Madeline Walker (ARIZ), unf.
Kylie Pitzak/Ellyn Collins (UTAH) def. Annie Krost/Elin Kaiser (ARIZ) 21-19, 21-15
Lauren Sayre/Elle Burleson (UTAH) 0-0, Brooke Boyko/Katie Lambeth (ARIZ) 14-7, unf.
Order of finish: 4, 2, 1

UP NEXT
Utah is now set to take on No. 10 Arizona State, as they lost to TCU to send them to the losers bracket. That match will take place at 9 AM (MT), with the winner advancing to the Big 12 Championship match against TCU.

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