LOS ANGELES – Utah Volleyball opened the weekend with a four-set victory at UCLA (25-23, 25-18, 14-25, 25-19) on Friday night. With the win from a defensive battle that saw three Utes reach double figures, Utah improved to 9-5 overall this season and 2-1 in Pac-12 play.
Utah opened the match against UCLA in a game of runs, first striking with a 4-0 run to lead 12-7 early on. UCLA countered with three straight points, but a 4-1 run for Utah would later break open the lead to 20-14. Despite holding a valuable lead, Utah saw the Bruins go on a 6-0 run to find the opening set tied 20-20 and force the Utes to call timeout. Out of the break, the runs continued as Utah scored four of the next five points to earn set point 24-21. UCLA collected a pair of consecutive points, but Madelyn Robinson’s fourth kill of the set would give Utah the 1-0 match lead.
The Utes came out aggressive early in the second set and suddenly took a 13-5 lead after a 9-1 run. The dominating performance continued on as the Utes pulled out to a 22-12 lead, and although the Bruins toyed with a small comeback, the Utes took care of business and recorded a 25-18 victory to lead 2-0. Lauren Jardine led the group with five kills on .417 hitting in the frame, while Vanessa Ramirez collected six digs.
The third set went back and forth to start, but when the frame was tied 12-12, the Bruins scored seven straight to pull ahead 19-12. Utah earned a sideout, but the momentum could not be…
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