AMES, Iowa – The 17th-ranked Utah Volleyball team battled the relentless Iowa State Cyclones in a five-set battle for the final Big 12 match, coming up with the 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 15-12) win. Utah closes out its inaugural season in the Big 12 with an overall record of 24-5 and 14-5 in conference action. The Utes tallied their most wins in a single season since 2019, securing the most conference wins in a season since 2021. Utah has won seven in a row, including eight of 10 to close out the season.
It was a slow start for the Utes, as they battled back and forth through the early going with Iowa State in the first set. Utah saw its largest lead of the first set at 18-13 before Iowa State sparked a comeback going on a 10-point run and taking the first set, 25-19.
The Utes battled back in the second set after a long back-and-forth battle, as the home side refused to give up the advantage. Utah overcame a 10-7 Iowa State lead, putting together a five-point run to capture a 12-10 lead, getting kills from Kamryn Gibadlo, Emrie Satuala, with Kamry Bailey adding an ace. Lauren Jardine extended the Utah lead to 15-11, adding a pair of kills as the Utes sparked a three-point rally. Utah fought off the final Iowa State push, as Gibadlo put away the final kill to help bring the match back to even at one set each, with Utah taking the second, 25-23.
After the scoreboard displayed a 10-10 tie through the early going of the third set, Iowa State put together a six-point run to jump ahead 19-13. Utah cut the Iowa State lead down to three, 19-16, taking advantage of some Cyclone errors. The Iowa State errors wouldn’t provide enough help for Utah to come back in the set, as the Cyclones took the third 25-18.
The Utes overcame an early five-point deficit in the fourth set, 8-3, rallying back to take a 16-14 advantage over the Cyclones at the midway point. Kamry Bailey provided a pair of big back-to-back plays for the Utes, putting away a kill and then coming up with a block, helping Utah capture a 23-19 lead. A kill from Satuala moved the Utes to set point before a Cyclone error gave Utah the fourth set win at 25-21, before forcing the fifth set.
In just their fourth match going to five sets this season, Utah improved to 3-1 in five-set battles….
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