Utes Open Pac-12 Play at #16 Colorado on Wednesday

MATCH 12 \| UTAH (9-2, 0-0) at #16 COLORADO (8-2, 0-0)
DATE	Wednesday, Sept. 21 \| 7 p.m. MT
LOCATION	Coors Events Center \| Boulder, Colo.
TELEVISION	Pac-12 Networks
LIVE STATS	Live Stats

MATCH 13 \| UTAH (9-2, 0-0) vs. ARIZONA STATE (7-5, 0-0)
DATE	Saturday, Sept. 34 \| 7 p.m. MT
LOCATION	Huntsman Center \| Salt Lake City
LIVE VIDEO	Utah Live Stream
LIVE STATS	Live Stats

FIRST SERVE
The Utah Utes (9-2, 0-0) open up Pac-12 play this week, beginning with the No. 16 Colorado Buffaloes (8-2, 0-0) this Wednesday, Sept. 21, in Boulder, Colo., and then returning home to host the Arizona State Sun Devils (7-5, 0-0) on Saturday, Sept. 24. First serve against the Buffs is set for 7 p.m. MT at Coors Events Center, while Saturday's contest is set to begin at 7 p.m. MT at the Huntsman Center.

COVERING THE UTES
Wednesday's contest will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks with Thad Anderson calling play-by-play and Dain Blanton providing color commentary.

Fans can also follow Wednesday's action on-line by logging onto Pac-12.com/live or watching via smart phones and tablets using the Pac-12 Now App, which can be downloaded at the Apple Store, Google Play Store or Amazon Apps Store.

Utah's match against Arizona State on Saturday will be web-streamed on-line with links to the broadcast found at www.UtahUtes.com or www.Pac-12.com/live/university-utah.

Live stats will be provided for moth matches, with links to Wednesday's match at www.CUBuffs.com. Links to Saturday's match can be found at www.UtahUtes.com.

ABOUT UTAH
Utah is coming off a 3-0 win against in-state rival Utah State on Saturday. The Utes went 2-0 last week, while also collecting a 3-2 win at then No. 9-ranked BYU on Thursday.

The Utes went 9-2 in non-conference play and head into league play this week with a five-match winning streak. Utah's last loss was a five-set affair to Illinois State in Columbia, Mo., back on Sept. 3. Utah has registered its longest winning streak since opening the 2014 season with 10 straight wins from Aug. 29 to Sept. 17.

UTAH LEADERS
Junior Adora Anae leads the team with 194 kills and a 4.73 kills per set average. She also leads the team with 17 service aces and 144 digs (3.51/set) on the season.

Junior Carly Trueman follows with 125 kills and ranks second on the team with 2.98 kills per set. Junior Tawnee Luafalemana has tallied 99 kills and ranks first on the team with a .397 hitting percentage. Luafalemana leads the team at the net with 40 total blocks (0.93/set), while sophomore Berkley Oblad follows with 34 total blocks (0.92/set).

Freshman Bailey Choy has tallied a team-high 390 assists and 9.07 assists per set average. Sophomore Jessie Openshaw has registered 120 assists and a 5.00 assists per set average.

UTAH IN PAC-12 OPENERS
Utah is 3-2 in Pac-12 Conference opening matches, since joining the league in 2011. The Utes have opened league play against Colorado all five seasons, with three of those matches coming in Boulder, Colo. Utah won last season's opener against the Buffs, 3-1, at the Huntsman Center.

PAIR OF UTES NAMED PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Utah junior Adora Anae was named this week's Pac-12 Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week and sophomore Megan Shughrou was named the Pac-12 Volleyball Defensive Player of the week, the league office announced on Monday.

Anae set a new school record for most kills in a match during the rally-scoring era (2001-present) with 31 kills, while helping the Utes down then No. 9-ranked BYU in Provo, Utah, on Thursday. Utah defeated BYU for the first time since 2010, while also snapping the Cougars' nation-best 29-match home winning streak. Anae went on to record a pair of double-doubles this week, notching 31 kills and 10 digs at BYU, along with a 17-kill and 16-dig effort against the Aggies. She averaged 6.00 kills and 3.25 digs per set on the week.

Shughrou tallied a season-high 24 digs in Utah's win at BYU on Thursday and then notched 16 digs in Saturday's win over Utah State. She finished the week with 40 digs and a 5.00 digs per set average. Shughrou did not have a single receiving error in 42 receiving attempts this week. She also managed to record a pair of service aces, with both coming against the Cougars on Thursday.

This is Anae's second Offensive Player of the Week honor and the third weekly accolade in her career overall. This is Shughrou's first-ever Pac-12 weekly honor, while becoming the sixth player to be named Defensive Player of the Week.

UTES RECEIVE VOTS IN LATEST AVCA POLL
Coming off a 2-0 week, which included defeating then No. 9-ranked BYU on the road, the Utah Utes received a pair of votes in the latest AVCA Top-25 Poll. Utah received votes in the poll for the first time since collecting 30 points in the 2014 Week 1 poll.

ANAE NEARS 1,000 KILL MARK
Junior Adora Anae is just 25 kills away from becoming the 17th player in school history to earn her membership into the 1,000-kill club. Anae heads into this week's action with 975 kills.

ANAE SETS NEW SCHOOL RECORD
Junior Adora Anae set a new school record for most kills in a match during the rally-scoring era (2001-present) with 31 kills against BYU last Thursday. Anae broke the previous mark of 28 kills, which she set twice last season. In addition, Anae becomes just the second player in school history to become a member of the 30-kill club, joining Mailee Gee-Merrill, who holds the all-time school record with 33 kills that was set back on Oct. 27, 1984.

CHOY NOTCHES 50 ASSIST EFFORT
Freshman Bailey Choy recorded a career-high 57 assists in Utah's win at BYU on Thursday. She became the first player to record 50 or more assists in a match since Jessie Openshaw notched 54 assists against California last season and the first player to record 55 assists or more since Kiesha Fisher registered 58 kills against San Diego State back on Sept. 13, 2007.

LUAFALEMANA ON THE ATTACK
Junior Tawnee Luafalemana continues to be very proficient for the Utes when on the attack. The junior college transfer leads Utah with a .397 hitting percentage, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12 and 35th in the nation. Luafalemana has hit .350 or better in seven of her 11 matches so far this season, which includes a season/career-high .571 effort against CSU Bakersfield back on Sept. 10.

TEN OR MORE FOR TRUEMAN
Junior Carly Trueman has already posted double-digit kill efforts in eight of Utah's 11 matches this season. The Tucson native had just eight matches with 10 kills or more all of last season and just two double-digit efforts during her redshirt freshman campaign in 2014. Trueman notched a season/career-high 20 kills against Illinois State back on Sept. 3, and has tallied 14 kills or more in four matches.

NCAA STATISTICAL LEADERS
Utah enters the week ranked first in the Pac-12 and 11th in the nation with 14.44 kills per set. The Utes rank second in the league and 12th in the nation with 13.49 assists per set, while also ranking third in the conference and 13th in the nation with a .292 hitting percentage.

Junior Adora Anae ranks first in the Pac-12 and ninth in the nation in kills per set (4.73), and first in the league and 38th in the nation in total kills (194). She also ranks among the nations best servers, coming in at No. 73rd this week with 0.41 service aces per set.

Freshman Bailey Choy ranks among the nations top 135 players in assists. She currently ranks 132nd overall with 9.07 assists per set and 135th in total assists (390).

SCOUTING THE BUFFALOES
Colorado closed out non-conference play with three wins, while hosting the Omni Invitational in Boulder, Colo., this past weekend. The Buffs recorded sweeps over Chicago State and New Orleans before downing in-state rival Colorado State, 3-1, on Saturday. The Buffs have won four straight, with its last loss coming to No. 15 San Diego back on Sept. 9. CU's only other loss was a 3-2 defeat on the road to Portland State.

Alexa Smith leads the Buffs with 132 kills and a 3.47 kills per set average, while Naghede Abu has tallied a team-best .420 hitting percentage. Kiara McKibben leads the team with 264 assists (6.77/set) and Gabby Simpson has registered 150 assists (5.77/set) on the season.

Cierra Simpson leads the club with 123 digs 93.15/set), while Abu has posted a team-high 58 total blocks (1.49). Joslyn Hayes ranks second on the team with 50 total blocks (1.28/set). Both players are ranked among the league's top-10 players in blocks per set average.

The Buffs are hitting .301 as a team, while averaging 13.41 kills, 12.51 assists, 12.44 digs and 3.01 blocks per set.

SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State went 2-1 at the Boise State Classic to finish non-conference play at 7-5 on the season. The Sun Devils dropped its last two matches, falling 3-1 to both Portland State and Boise State. Prior to the pair of losses, ASU had won three straight with wins over Harvard, Long Beach State and Santa Clara.

Oluoma Okaro has a team-high 140 kills on the season and Cassidy Pickrell follows with 134 kills. Both players are tied for the team lead with 2.98 kills per set. Okaro ranks first in hitting percentage (.325), service aces (23) and total blocks (54).

Kylie Pickrell leads ASU with 266 assists (7.19/set) and Caroline Pearson has registered 225 assists (6.62/set) in the Sun Devil's 6-2 offensive system. Defensively, Halle Harker has tallied a team-high 169 digs (3.60/set).

The Sun Devils are hitting .214 as a team, while registering 13.09 kills, 12.43 assists, 13.36 digs and 2.29 blocks per set.

SERIES HISTORY
Utah is 9-7 all-time against Colorado, which includes a 6-4 mark against the Buffs since both teams joined the Pac-12 in 2011. Utah won the series, 2-0, in 2011, but the squads have split the season series since then. The Utes are just 2-6 all-time when facing the Buffs in Boulder, Colo., and have dropped four straight at Coors Events Center.

Arizona State leads the all-time series 13-10, but the Utes are 6-4 against the Sun Devils when the teams have faced each other as Pac-12 foes. ASU has won three straight, but are just 4-6 all-time when facing the Utes in Salt Lake City. The Sun Devils won the season series last year, downing the Utes in Salt Lake City and in Tempe, Ariz.

BEATING RANKED TEAMS
Utah knocked off a top-25 team for the first time this season with its 3-2 win at No. 9-ranked BYU on Thursday. It marks the first win over an AVCA ranked team since defeating then No. 14-ranked Colorado back on Nov. 28, 2014.

It was Utah's first win over a ranked opponent on the road since defeating then No. 16-ranked Oregon back on Oct. 28, 2011.

Utah moved to 47-202 all-time against top-25 ranked teams, which now includes a record of 8-71 against teams ranked in the top-10. It was just the second win over a top-10 ranked team since Utah joined the Pac-12.

UP NEXT
Utah will wrap-up a three-match home stand next week, hosting UCLA and USC in Pac-12 Conference action. The Utes and Bruins are set to face-off at 6 p.m. MT next Friday, Sept. 30 and will then close out the weekend against the Trojans on Saturday, Oct. 1. First serve against the Trojans is set for 7 p.m.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Adora Anae

Bailey Choy

Tawnee Luafalemana

Jessie Openshaw

Megan Shughrou

Carly Trueman