HOUSTON – The 20th-ranked Utah Volleyball team took on a new Big 12 opponent, sweeping the Houston Cougars, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-22) on their home floor. With this win, the Utes secured their 20th win of the season (20-5 overall, 10-4 Big 12) marking the 20th 20-win season under head coach Beth Launiere.
Utah jumped ahead early in the first set, taking an 8-4 lead over the Cougars. Houston came clawing back, evening the score at 9-9, before taking the lead at the media timeout, 15-12. The Utes fought back, getting kills from Lauren Jardine and Kamry Bailey to tie the set at 16-16. Emrie Satuala provided four timely kills to keep the Utes in the battle as the back-and-forth ran the score up to 20-20. Utah battled back in the late stages, finding some separation with a pair of Jardine kills and taking the set win, 25-23.
The two sides came out in the second set exchanging points, before Utah sparked a four-point run and capped off by a Lauren Jardine ace, giving the Utes a 10-8 advantage. Utah maintained its advantage at 17-14, getting kills from Kamryn Gibadlo and Rianne Vos, with Vos adding an ace. Gibadlo maintained a hot hand from the service line, coming off a career-high night against BYU, she added two aces in the second set, helping the Utes extend their lead out to 20-15. The Utes would maintain the advantage down the stretch, taking the set 25-19.
In the third set, the Utes did not find separation until the…
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