OREM, Utah – Utah Volleyball fell to Utah Valley on Friday night in four sets (19-25, 25-22, 20-25, 17-25) in its 2023 season opener at Lockhart Arena.
The Utes and Wolverines started the match evenly, but the separator in the first set came after Utah Valley rallied off seven consecutive points to take a 14-7 lead. The Utes couldn’t stop the momentum despite a timeout and later trailed 19-9. A change in momentum was sparked after Lauren Jardine connected on a kill, which eventually led to a 8-1 run for Utah. Trailing 20-17, Utah could not pull within more than three points and later saw Utah Valley score three in a row to win the first set 25-19.
Utah came out strong in the second set and pushed out to an early 10-7 lead. Although controlling the start of the set, the Utes let the lead slip away as the Wolverines came storming back to take a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. Out of the break, the Utes took the lead back and later used a 5-1 run to push ahead 19-18.
Later tied 21-21, a service error put Utah back ahead before KJ Burgess recorded a huge block for a two-point lead. Burgess recorded a kill for set point, 24-22, and Lauren Jardine ended the set the next play to tie the match 1-1. Viktoria Wahlgren dished out 12 assists in the second set with Jardine tallying six kills and Kamryn Gibadlo earning three kills on four swings.
The pair of in-state squads went back and forth in the third set with Utah Valley taking the 15-12 advantage midway through the frame. Trailing 19-16, Utah let a 4-0 run lengthen the deficit even…
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