Thursday, September 17
Greeley, CO
3:00 P.M.
University of Utah
vs
Air Force
Photo by: Emma Corona/Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Heads to UNC Invitational
9/15/2026 1:15 PM | Volleyball
Utes wrap up non-conference on the road against Air Force, Denver, and Northern Colorado
SALT LAKE CITY– Utah Volleyball takes the show on the road to Greeley, Colo. for the UNC Invitational hosted by Northern Colorado. This week will be the Utes' last tune up before turning attention to conference play.
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First serve of the UNC Invitational for Utah will take place on Thursday, Sep. 17 at 3 p.m. MT. The Utes will then take on Denver on Friday, Sep. 18 at 3 p.m. before wrapping up non-conference play against host Northern Colorado on Saturday, Sep. 19 at 12 p.m. MT.
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Utah will be the home team against Air Force and the away team versus Denver and UNC.
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Fans can stream the matches on the UNC Bears Athletics YouTube page.
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QUICK HITS
• Alyssa D'Errico makes her debut (5-3) in 2026 as Utah Volleyball's sixth head coach in program history starting after legendary head coach Beth Launiere retired at the conclusion of the 2025 season after 36 years at the helm.
• Utah returns 13 players from last season's team that stamped the program's ticket to its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Outside hitter Kamryn Gibadlo is the most decorated of the group, earning First Team All-Big 12, First Team AVCA All-Region, and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors.
• The Utes welcome five newcomers to their 2026 squad that include two freshmen, and three transfers.
• D'Errico and the Utes started 2026 with four straight sweeps of their opponents (Utah Valley, Utah Tech, Oregon State, and Wyoming) setting a new program record for number of sweeps to start a season.
• The Utes set a new team aces record in three sets against the Cowgirls (8).
•Utah is currently undefeated (5-0) in three-set matches on the year. The program record for the most 3-0 wins in a year is 20 set back in 2006.
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SCOUTING Air Force
Utah vs. Air Force: 27-0
H: 12-0 | A: 14-0 | N: 1-0
Utah takes on a former Mountain West Conference foe at a neutral site to kick off the UNC Invitational. All-time, Utah has won every single duel against the Falcons, boasting an impressive 27-0 record. Air Force is an even 4-4 on the season entering this match, with an impressive sweep over Utah Valley on September 5th. At 17.6 digs per set this season, that is the highest mark of any team Utah has faced this year.
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SCOUTING Denver
Utah vs. Denver: 4-0
H: 2-0 | A: 0-0 | N: 2-0
On Friday, the Utes take on Denver for the fifth time in program history. The Pioneers are in a new conference this year after joining the West Coast Conference. They were picked to finish sixth out of 10 teams in their first season and have started with a successful 6-3 nonconference campaign. Denver is coming off a weekend of play in Stephenville, Texas, where it went 1-2 with two heartbreaking five-set losses. Matches against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Tarleton State each went down to the wire. In Saturday's match, the Pioneers handled their business, sweeping Sam Houston.
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SCOUTING Northern Colorado
Utah vs. Northern Colorado: 6-3
H: 4-0 | A: 0-2 | N: 2-1
Saturday's match is against the weekend's host; the Northern Colorado Bears. This will be the first matchup between the programs since 2004. UNC has seen quite a bit of success since that last meeting after Lyndsey Oates took over as head coach in 2005. Inching closer to her 400th win, Oates has posted a 60.6% winning percentage during her tenure. So far this season, her Bears have not seen much success and will look to get back on the right path this weekend.
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UP NEXT
Utah starts conference play on the road heading back to Colorado to take on the Buffaloes on Friday, Sep. 25 before heading back to the Huntsman Center to host the Baylor Bears on Sunday, Sep. 27.
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2026 UTAH VOLLEYBALL TICKETS
Season and single game tickets for 2026 are on sale now. Be sure to secure yours and catch all the action in the Huntsman Center. Visit utahutes.evenue.net to help make the JMHC one of the best home court advantages in college volleyball.
FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Volleyball program, fans can follow the Utes on social media (X: @UtahVolleyball | Instagram: @utahvolleyball).
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TODAY – UTAH 360
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First serve of the UNC Invitational for Utah will take place on Thursday, Sep. 17 at 3 p.m. MT. The Utes will then take on Denver on Friday, Sep. 18 at 3 p.m. before wrapping up non-conference play against host Northern Colorado on Saturday, Sep. 19 at 12 p.m. MT.
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Utah will be the home team against Air Force and the away team versus Denver and UNC.
Â
Fans can stream the matches on the UNC Bears Athletics YouTube page.
Â
QUICK HITS
• Alyssa D'Errico makes her debut (5-3) in 2026 as Utah Volleyball's sixth head coach in program history starting after legendary head coach Beth Launiere retired at the conclusion of the 2025 season after 36 years at the helm.
• Utah returns 13 players from last season's team that stamped the program's ticket to its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Outside hitter Kamryn Gibadlo is the most decorated of the group, earning First Team All-Big 12, First Team AVCA All-Region, and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors.
• The Utes welcome five newcomers to their 2026 squad that include two freshmen, and three transfers.
• D'Errico and the Utes started 2026 with four straight sweeps of their opponents (Utah Valley, Utah Tech, Oregon State, and Wyoming) setting a new program record for number of sweeps to start a season.
• The Utes set a new team aces record in three sets against the Cowgirls (8).
•Utah is currently undefeated (5-0) in three-set matches on the year. The program record for the most 3-0 wins in a year is 20 set back in 2006.
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SCOUTING Air Force
Utah vs. Air Force: 27-0
H: 12-0 | A: 14-0 | N: 1-0
Utah takes on a former Mountain West Conference foe at a neutral site to kick off the UNC Invitational. All-time, Utah has won every single duel against the Falcons, boasting an impressive 27-0 record. Air Force is an even 4-4 on the season entering this match, with an impressive sweep over Utah Valley on September 5th. At 17.6 digs per set this season, that is the highest mark of any team Utah has faced this year.
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SCOUTING Denver
Utah vs. Denver: 4-0
H: 2-0 | A: 0-0 | N: 2-0
On Friday, the Utes take on Denver for the fifth time in program history. The Pioneers are in a new conference this year after joining the West Coast Conference. They were picked to finish sixth out of 10 teams in their first season and have started with a successful 6-3 nonconference campaign. Denver is coming off a weekend of play in Stephenville, Texas, where it went 1-2 with two heartbreaking five-set losses. Matches against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Tarleton State each went down to the wire. In Saturday's match, the Pioneers handled their business, sweeping Sam Houston.
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SCOUTING Northern Colorado
Utah vs. Northern Colorado: 6-3
H: 4-0 | A: 0-2 | N: 2-1
Saturday's match is against the weekend's host; the Northern Colorado Bears. This will be the first matchup between the programs since 2004. UNC has seen quite a bit of success since that last meeting after Lyndsey Oates took over as head coach in 2005. Inching closer to her 400th win, Oates has posted a 60.6% winning percentage during her tenure. So far this season, her Bears have not seen much success and will look to get back on the right path this weekend.
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UP NEXT
Utah starts conference play on the road heading back to Colorado to take on the Buffaloes on Friday, Sep. 25 before heading back to the Huntsman Center to host the Baylor Bears on Sunday, Sep. 27.
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2026 UTAH VOLLEYBALL TICKETS
Season and single game tickets for 2026 are on sale now. Be sure to secure yours and catch all the action in the Huntsman Center. Visit utahutes.evenue.net to help make the JMHC one of the best home court advantages in college volleyball.
FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Volleyball program, fans can follow the Utes on social media (X: @UtahVolleyball | Instagram: @utahvolleyball).
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TODAY – UTAH 360
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Players Mentioned
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