Volleyball Close Out Regular Season on the Road This Week

Wednesday, November 22

Stanford, CA

7:00 PM

University of Utah

Stanford

Volleyball Close Out Regular Season on the Road This Week

11/20/2017 1:27 PM | Volleyball

Utes to play at Stanford on Wednesday; at Colorado on Friday

Match 30: #15 Utah at #4 Stanford
Wednesday, Nov. 22 | 7 p.m. PT
Palo Alto, Calif. | Maples Pavilion
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Kevin Barnett, Don Shaw)
Stream: Pac-12 NOW
Live Stats: GoStanford.com

Match 31: #15 Utah at Colorado
Friday, Nov. 24 | 8 p.m. MT
Boulder, Colo. | Coors Events Center
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Thad Anderson, Amy Gant)
Stream: Pac-12 NOW
Live Stats: CUBuffs.com

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
• Utah heads into the final week of the regular season with a pair of road matches at Stanford (Nov. 22) and at Colorado (Nov. 24).
• The Utes are coming off a pair of home wins over both Arizona-based schools. Utah closes out the regular season with a 10-4 record at home, which includes a program-best 7-3 mark in Pac-12 play.
• Utah seniors Adora Anae, Carly Trueman and Tawnee Luafalemana closed out their careers in the Huntsman Center this past weekend. Anae totaled 26 kills and 25 digs, Trueman tallied 16 kills, and Luafalemana chipped in with 19 kills and nine total blocks.
• Sophomore Bailey Choy is closing in on career-assist No. 2,000. She would become just the eighth player in school history to eclipse the 2,000 assists mark.
• Utah moved up a few spots to No. 15 in this week's AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll. The Utes did, however, move up one spot to No. 13 in this week's NCAA RPI rankings.

FIRST SERVE
The No. 15-ranked Utah Utes (21-8, 12-6) will close out the 2017 regular season on the road this week, with matches at No. 4-ranked Stanford on Wednesday, Nov. 22, and at Colorado on Friday, Nov. 24.

The Utes and Cardinal are set for a first serve at 7 p.m. PT at Maples Pavilion on Wednesday, while the Utes and Buffs will get underway at 8 p.m. MT on Friday from Coors Events Center.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Stanford Cardinal
Stanford continued its dominance during Pac-12 play, picking up a pair of wins last week to improve to 17-1 during conference play. The Cardinal downed then-ranked No. 14 USC in straight sets last Thursday and then faced then-ranked No. 18 UCLA, where Stanford earned the five-set win over the Bruins.

Kathryn Plummer leads the Cardinal offense and ranks first in the Pac-12 in kills per set, tallying a 4.72 kills-per-set average. Setter Jenna Gray leads the conference with a 12.07 assists-per-set average. Defensively, Morgan Hentz registers 3.98 digs-per-set, while Audriana Fitzmorris and Tami Alade control the net for Stanford. Fitzmorris totals 1.51 blocks per set to lead the Pac-12 and Alade records 1.38 blk/s.

This will be the first meeting between Utah and Stanford during the 2017 season.

Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado went 2-0 against the Arizona-based schools last weekend to improve to 11-7 in Pac-12 play. The Buffaloes beat Arizona in straight sets and then picked up a five-set win over Arizona State to close out the weekend.

Alexa Smith and Frankie Shebby lead the Colorado offense with 3.95 kills per set and 3.41 kills per set, respectively. Brynna DeLuzio tallies 10.95 assists per set to run the offense and ranks third in the Pac-12 with her assists-per-set average. Defensively, Gabby Carta-Samuels notches 3.49 digs per set and Naghede Abu totals 1.21 blocks per set for Colorado.

Utah took the first meeting between the teams back on Sept. 22 when the Utes downed the Buffaloes in four sets.

SERIES HISTORY
Utah and Stanford will meet for just the 16th time in a series that dates back to 1999. Stanford leads the all-time series, 13-2, after the two teams split the season series a year ago. Utah won at Stanford last season, downing the Cardinal in four sets for the program's first-ever at Maples Pavilion. Utah's only other win in the series was a home win back on Sept. 5, 2000.

The Utes are 11-8 all-time when facing Colorado, which includes an 8-5 record since the two teams became members of the Pac-12 back in 2011. Utah won the previous meeting this season, downing the Buffs in four sets back on Sept. 22. This will mark the 10th meeting between the two teams in Boulder, Colo., with CU leading the series 6-3. But, Utah won the last meeting at Coors Events Center, downing CU in five sets back on Sept. 21, 2016.

COVERING THE UTES
Utah's contest against Stanford on Wednesday will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks. Kevin Barnett will have the call, while Don Shaw provides color commentary. Friday's match in Boulder, Colo., will also be televised on the Pac-12 Networks, with Thad Anderson calling the action and Amy Gant along side for the broadcast. Fans can also follow the 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.

Live stats will be provided for both contests this weekend, with links to these matches found at www.UtahUtes.com.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah picked up home wins No. 9 and No. 10 on the season, with victories over Arizona State and Arizona, respectively. The Utes downed the Sun Devils in straight sets this past Friday and then earned a four-set victory over the Wildcats on Saturday.

Senior Adora Anae paced Utah's win over the Sun Devils with 13 kills, while freshman Kenzie Koerber chipped in with 10 kills on the evening. Freshman Shannon Scully led the Utes with 10 digs and sophomore Bailey Choy tallied a team-high 37 assists. Utah hit .355 - its largest hitting percentage since registering a .407 percentage against California back on Sept. 24. The Ute defense, which totaled 9.0 team blocks, stymied the Sun Devils to just a hitting percentage of just .194.

Seniors Carly Trueman, Tawnee Luafalemana and Aane closed out their final regular season home match with a win over the Wildcats on Saturday. Anae notched a double-double with 13 kills and 19 digs, while Luafalemana tallied 13 kills as well. She also contributed at the next with six total blocks. Trueman tallied eight kills in the win. Utah's defense again held another team to a hitting percentage lower than .100, as the Wildcats connected with just a clip. of .075 on the night.

UP NEXT
With the regular season coming to an end this week, NCAA Tournament announcements will be made this coming weekend. The full NCAA seedings will be announced this Sunday, Nov. 26, televised live on ESPNU, at 7 p.m. MT.