SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Volleyball opened its 2023 home season with a win over UNLV in four sets (19-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-23) at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Lauren Jardine recorded the first 20-plus kill match of her career after tallying a career-high 21 kills, while three Utes hit above .450 in the match to lead the team.
Utah fell into a 13-6 hole to start the first set after UNLV rattled off a 6-1 run. The Utes were able to keep within four points after battling back, but couldn’t get any closer as the Rebels used four-straight points to push ahead 22-14. Utah put together three points in a row at the end of the frame to force a UNLV timeout with the lead cut to 24-19, but a kill from the Rebels ended the set. Utah hit .333 as a group, led by Jardine’s seven kills on .778 hitting. Although the strong offensive efforts from Utah, the Rebels hit just as well at a .387 hitting percentage.
The second set went back and forth until Utah scored five in a row, pulling ahead 16-12. A run of four consecutive points for the Utes later on extended the lead in the second set to 21-14, and the home team never looked back as they would take the frame 25-17 to even the match. Jardine continued her hot-hitting with six kills on .556 hitting, while Kamry Bailey pitched in four kills on .500 hitting. The team as a whole combined for a .435 clip in the second set.
The momentum continued into the third set and the Ute offense continued firing on all…
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