SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Volleyball secured its eighth win in a row, closing out the opening weekend of Big 12 competition with a tough, 3-2 (25-23, 25-16, 23-25, 18-25, 15-9) win over the Colorado Buffaloes. As the Utes continue to win, they have now matched their best start since the 2013 season, putting together a 12-1 overall record through the first 13 matches.
The Utes started out hot by taking a quick, 5-1, lead over the Buffs coming off a pair of kills from Lauren Jardine. Utah maintained the five-point advantage on the race to 15, fueled by kills from Kamryn Gibadlo along with Allie Olsen blocks along the way. The Utes had to fend off a late Colorado push, as the Buffs put together a pair of three-point scoring runs. After a long back-and-forth rally on set point, Jardine stepped into a hard-hit ball, putting away the final kill for the Utes, 25-23.
The two sides started the second set by trading points and looking for some separation in the scoring margin. The separation would come off an Isabelle Marco service ace, propelling the Utes to string together a 5-1 scoring run and taking a 13-9 lead. The Utes strung together another 5-1 scoring rally, getting a variety of the offense involved and extending the advantage, 18-12. Ashley West stepped up to put away four of the final seven kills for the Utes, as Utah dominated the second set 25-16.
Colorado would not go down without a fight, battling back to take the third set…
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