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Volleyball
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Friday, August 30
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7:00 PM
University of Utah
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Utah State
Utah Volleyball Holds Off Utah State
8/30/2013 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug 30, 2013
Utah State Match Photo Gallery
Utah State Match Photo Gallery by Leo Hopf
SALT LAKE CITY - Senior middle blocker Erin Redd-Brandon came up one block shy of tying her career high as part of her fourth career double-double to lead the University of Utah volleyball team to a five-set victory (25-19, 21-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-8) over Utah State in the second match of the Utah Classic on Friday in the Huntsman Center.
In the fifth and final set, Utah State would climb out to a 5-3 advantage, but eight straight Ute points, including two straight aces by junior libero Lea Adolph, gave the Utes an 11-5 edge en route to taking the set and clinching the match, 15-8.
"Utah State played great defense tonight," Utah Head Coach Beth Launiere said. "We came in knowing that they play tough defense and are a very well-coached team that does great things with their system. Tonight felt like a heavyweight boxing match. They were handling everything we threw at them and wouldn't go down. We struggled getting kills, not from lack of effort, but from their defense. Our team made adjustments and responded well to the situations."
The Utes outblocked the Aggies, 20.0 to 14.0.
"I felt our team adjusted well," Launiere said. "We were able to get the ball in the middle and made blocks. We had different people step up and make plays at different times. Our team did a great job of holding its composure. Our team has a lot of weapons that we can go to at anytime."
Redd-Brandon leading the way with a match-high 12 blocks. She finished just one shy of tying her career-best (13 at Utah State on Aug. 24, 2012) and also converted 11 kills with four errors on 30 attempts.
"We have worked hard in practice simulating pressure situations to prepare us for times like tonight," Redd-Brandon said. "We knew Utah State would be tough. We know them very well from previous seasons. When we got two aces in the fifth set, it really swung all the momentum our way and helped us get the win."
Redd-Brandon also became the 10th member of Utah's 400-block club. She has 403 career blocks (380 blocks assists and 23 block solos).
She is already sixth in Utah's top-10 list in all-time career total blocks list with 390 career blocks assists and stands five shy of tying Danielle Killpack (408 from 2008-11) for ninth place in school history.
Adolph set a new career high with four aces in addition to popping up 21 digs.
The Utah (1-0) offense was led by a match-high 19 kills from junior right-side hitter Shelby Dalton, who also added six blocks.
"It was really nice to be successful and get a win in the first match at the Huntsman Center," Dalton said. "Utah State is a good team and we were able to make the adjustments needed to win."
Odale registered a career-high 23 digs to go with 12 kills for her 22nd career double-double performance. The Star, Idaho native got off to a fast start after connecting on six of her first eight swings against the Aggies.
Setter Kalee Kirby handed out 25 assists and also chipped in nine digs in her Utah debut.
The Utes took three of the first four points of the opening set and built their lead to as many as 10 (22-12) after a pair of Adolph service aces. The Aggies fought off four consecutive set points, but the Utes came away with a 25-19 victory. Utah limited USU to a -.033 hitting percentage in the opener. Dalton had a set-high five kills on a .333 hitting percentage, while Odale had four kills along with a pair of aces from Adolph.
Utah jumped out to a quick 3-0 advantage to start the second set before the Utes extended their lead to as many as seven (11-4). Utah State countered with five consecutive scores to cut its deficit to five occasions (the last instance coming at 17-15) before taking its first lead at 18-17. The back-and-forth affair continues as the Aggies took a 20-18 advantage before the Utes tied the set for the third time at 20 points apiece. USU wedged out four consecutive scores to grab a 24-20 lead en route to a 25-21 win to even the match. Dalton had six more kills on 10 attempts for a .300 hitting percentage, while Redd-Brandon had three blocks in the second frame.
The third set was tied three times before three consecutive Ute scores gave the home team a 6-3 lead. Utah maintained its advantage for the remainder of the set and would prevail with a 25-18 victory. The Utes outhit the Aggies, .297 to .031 in the third, while Redd-Brandon had five kills on just six swings without an error for a .833 hitting percentage. Dalton had four more kill, while Redd-Brandon and Makenzie Moea'i both chipped in three blocks apiece.
Utah picked up three of the first four points to open the fourth frame, but the Aggies came back to tie the set for the second time at five points apiece. The set would be tied five more times (14-14), but Utah State would edge out to a 17-14 lead and would eventually its lead would stand at 21-17. The Utes fought back to pull within a point, 23-21, but USU would come away a 25-21 victory in the fourth set.
Utah State (0-1) was led by 16 digs and 15 kills from Rachel Orr. Alyssa Everett had a team-high eight blocks, while Ashlan Rogers turned in 22 digs.
The 2013 Utah Classic continues tomorrow as the Utes take on Fairfield at 12 p.m. MT and Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. MT. A video stream and live stats will be available at utahutes.com.
There will also be a pair of neutral-site matches held in the Huntsman Center, beginning with Northern Iowa (visitor) against Utah State (home) at 10 a.m. MT.
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