LONG BEACH, Calif. – Utah Beach Volleyball picked up a come from behind win over Texas at Long Beach City College on Saturday, defeating the Longhorns 3-2. The Utes closed out the weekend against host #13 Long Beach State and fell 4-1.
Utah 3, Texas 2
Utah played from behind against Texas after the Utes picked up just one first-set victory. Kylie Pitzak and Lauren Sayre won 21-17 in the first set on court five, but saw the Longhorns take an early advantage on courts 1-4. Texas picked up the first dual point of the match on court two, but Pitzak and Sayre evened the score after the Ute pair won 21-14 in the second set.
Tied 1-1, Texas pushed back ahead shortly after by winning on court three. The Utes continued fighting and were able to force third sets on both court one and court four. Katie McAlister and Amaya Messier won 21-17 in the second set to go three, while Savannah Cottam and Sonja Wessel won their second set by the same score. In the decisive third set, Cottam and Wessel won 15-10 to tie the dual. Shortly after, Messier and McAlister continued the momentum and picked up a 15-11 win to clinch the dual 3-2 for Utah.
Utah 1, #13 Long Beach State 4
Utah faced its fifth top-20 opponent of the season when it took on #13 Long Beach State. Long Beach State’s top two duos went to work early and rattled off a pair of wins to take an early 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, Wessel and Cottam looked to keep building on their strong season and picked up a 21-19 win in the first set.
Long Beach State clinched the dual from another straight-set win on court three before going on to take another court, winning at the fifth pair as well. Cottam and Wessel battled out another competitive set and went on to win 21-17 to remain undefeated on Saturday.
The Utes will take a break from competition next week before returning to play against Boise State, Arizona Christian, and Oregon in two weeks in Boise, Idaho. Utah plays Boise State on the road on Friday, March 31, at 11 a.m. MT. Then, the Utes play Arizona Christian later that day at 3 p.m. MT. On Saturday, Apr. 1, Utah plays Oregon at 1 p.m. MT and has a rematch against Boise State at 3 p.m. MT.
Utah 3, Texas 2
1. Katie McAlister/Amaya Messier (UTAH) def. Keonilei Akana/Devin Kahahawai (TEX) 21-23, 21-17, 15-11
2. Molly Phillips/Madisen Skinner (TEX) def. Grace Andrews/
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of Utah Athletics…