Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus Iowa State on September 25, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Volleyball
vs Iowa State
Friday, August 31
Missoula, MT
10:00 AM
University of Utah
at
Montana
No. 22 Utah Travels to Play in Montana Volleyball Invitational
8/29/2018 4:41 PM | Volleyball
Utes Will Play Montana, Gonzaga and Iowa State
Montana Volleyball Invitational
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Match 4: #22 Utah (2-1) at Montana (0-3)
Friday, Aug. 31 | 10 a.m. MT
Missoula, Montana | West Auxiliary Gym
Stream: Watch Big Sky
Live Stats
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Match 5: #22 Utah (2-1) vs. Gonzaga (0-2)
Friday, Aug. 31 | 5 p.m. MT
Missoula, Montana | West Auxiliary Gym
Stream: Watch Big Sky
Live Stats
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Match 6: #22 Utah (2-1) vs. Iowa State (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 1 | 11 a.m. MT
Missoula, Montana | West Auxiliary Gym
Stream: Watch Big Sky
Live Stats
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Five THINGS TO KNOW
1. Utah won the Utah Classic going 2-1 in the opening weekend of 2018 defeating UC Irvine and Denver.
2. Three Utes were honored on the all-tournament team as senior Lauga Gauta was named MVP and libero Brianna Doehrmann and outside hitter Dani Drews were also named to the all-tournament team for their great play through the opening weekend.
3. The Utes return seven letterwinners from a season ago with four of those being starters from the 2017 season.
4. Berkeley Oblad was named to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team after totaling 300 kills and 143 blocks a season ago. She earned AVCA All-America honorable mention honors, AVCA All-Region honors and Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention honors for her great junior season.
5. Utah has added five newcomers to the team with three freshmen and two transfers. The three freshmen are Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres, Kennedi Evans and Megan Yett. The two transfers are Taylor Laugero (Santa Clara) and Kinga Windisch (Coastal Carolina).
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FIRST SERVE
After winning the 2018 Utah Volleyball Classic, the Utes will travel to Montana to take on the Grizzlies, Gonzaga and Iowa State.
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Montana and Gonzaga are a combined 0-5 after the first weekend and Iowa State went 2-1.
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The Zags were set to go to Hawaii for their opening weekend, but bad weather canceled the tournament so they played UCLA two days in a row falling in both in four sets.
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Iowa State went 2-1 defeating Virginia and Ole Miss and falling to Oregon State in five sets.
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SERIES HISTORY
Utah is a combined 17-11 against the three teams this weekend.
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They are 9-8 against Montana, but have only played once this decade in 2015. Before the Utes beat the Grizzlies in four sets in 2015, the last time they played each other was in 1993.
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Utah has played Gonzaga twice recently, splitting both matches with the Zags winning in five sets the last time the two teams played against each other. The Utes are 6-2 overall against Gonzaga.
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It will be the first matchup between Utah and Iowa State in 13 years. Utah is 2-1 overall against the Cyclones overall winning the last two meetings.
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UTAH CLASSIC SUCCESS
The Utes improved to 58-12 in the Utah Classic after going 2-1 and winning the tournament on the opening weekend.
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With the success, Utah had Dani Drews, Brianna Doehrmann and Lauga Gauta make the all-tournament team. Along with being on the team, Gauta was also named MVP of the tournament.
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OUTSIDES HAVE BIG WEEKEND
Drews and Gauta both had huge weekends leading the team.
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Drews had 54 kills along with 44 digs in the three matches. On Saturday, she totaled 48 of the 54 kills and 35 of the 44 digs. She set career highs with 24 kills in two matches and had 20 digs against Saint Mary's.
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Gauta finished the weekend with 48 kills hitting .270 on the weekend. She also set career highs in kills (20) and digs (14) along with having her first career double-double against Denver.
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TOP-25 POLL TALK
Utah came in ranked No. 22 in the first week of the AVCA rankings after the opening weekend of the regular season.
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The Utes are one of six Pac-12 programs in the AVCA poll, which includes Stanford (1), USC (7), UCLA (10), Washington (13), Oregon (18) and Colorado (21).
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Utah finished the 2017 season ranked No. 11 in the final 2017 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.
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The No. 11 ranking marked the program's best finish in the AVCA poll, surpassing the previous No. 15 ranking it recorded back in both 2001 and 2006. The No. 11 ranking is Utah's highest ranking in the poll overall, since coming in at No. 11 back on Nov. 27, 2006.
In all, the Utes have been ranked in every poll since the 2017 preseason poll.
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A LOOK AHEAD
The Utes will travel east for the Villanova Volleyball Invitational. They will take on the host team Villanova, as well as Temple and High Point.
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The team's first match is Friday, September 7 at 5 p.m. MT against the hosts followed by two matches on Saturday against Temple and High Point. The Temple match is at 9 a.m. MT and the High Point match is later that day at 5 p.m. MT.
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Match 4: #22 Utah (2-1) at Montana (0-3)
Friday, Aug. 31 | 10 a.m. MT
Missoula, Montana | West Auxiliary Gym
Stream: Watch Big Sky
Live Stats
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Match 5: #22 Utah (2-1) vs. Gonzaga (0-2)
Friday, Aug. 31 | 5 p.m. MT
Missoula, Montana | West Auxiliary Gym
Stream: Watch Big Sky
Live Stats
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Match 6: #22 Utah (2-1) vs. Iowa State (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 1 | 11 a.m. MT
Missoula, Montana | West Auxiliary Gym
Stream: Watch Big Sky
Live Stats
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Five THINGS TO KNOW
1. Utah won the Utah Classic going 2-1 in the opening weekend of 2018 defeating UC Irvine and Denver.
2. Three Utes were honored on the all-tournament team as senior Lauga Gauta was named MVP and libero Brianna Doehrmann and outside hitter Dani Drews were also named to the all-tournament team for their great play through the opening weekend.
3. The Utes return seven letterwinners from a season ago with four of those being starters from the 2017 season.
4. Berkeley Oblad was named to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team after totaling 300 kills and 143 blocks a season ago. She earned AVCA All-America honorable mention honors, AVCA All-Region honors and Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention honors for her great junior season.
5. Utah has added five newcomers to the team with three freshmen and two transfers. The three freshmen are Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres, Kennedi Evans and Megan Yett. The two transfers are Taylor Laugero (Santa Clara) and Kinga Windisch (Coastal Carolina).
Â
FIRST SERVE
After winning the 2018 Utah Volleyball Classic, the Utes will travel to Montana to take on the Grizzlies, Gonzaga and Iowa State.
Â
Montana and Gonzaga are a combined 0-5 after the first weekend and Iowa State went 2-1.
Â
The Zags were set to go to Hawaii for their opening weekend, but bad weather canceled the tournament so they played UCLA two days in a row falling in both in four sets.
Â
Iowa State went 2-1 defeating Virginia and Ole Miss and falling to Oregon State in five sets.
Â
SERIES HISTORY
Utah is a combined 17-11 against the three teams this weekend.
Â
They are 9-8 against Montana, but have only played once this decade in 2015. Before the Utes beat the Grizzlies in four sets in 2015, the last time they played each other was in 1993.
Â
Utah has played Gonzaga twice recently, splitting both matches with the Zags winning in five sets the last time the two teams played against each other. The Utes are 6-2 overall against Gonzaga.
Â
It will be the first matchup between Utah and Iowa State in 13 years. Utah is 2-1 overall against the Cyclones overall winning the last two meetings.
Â
UTAH CLASSIC SUCCESS
The Utes improved to 58-12 in the Utah Classic after going 2-1 and winning the tournament on the opening weekend.
Â
With the success, Utah had Dani Drews, Brianna Doehrmann and Lauga Gauta make the all-tournament team. Along with being on the team, Gauta was also named MVP of the tournament.
Â
OUTSIDES HAVE BIG WEEKEND
Drews and Gauta both had huge weekends leading the team.
Â
Drews had 54 kills along with 44 digs in the three matches. On Saturday, she totaled 48 of the 54 kills and 35 of the 44 digs. She set career highs with 24 kills in two matches and had 20 digs against Saint Mary's.
Â
Gauta finished the weekend with 48 kills hitting .270 on the weekend. She also set career highs in kills (20) and digs (14) along with having her first career double-double against Denver.
Â
TOP-25 POLL TALK
Utah came in ranked No. 22 in the first week of the AVCA rankings after the opening weekend of the regular season.
Â
The Utes are one of six Pac-12 programs in the AVCA poll, which includes Stanford (1), USC (7), UCLA (10), Washington (13), Oregon (18) and Colorado (21).
Â
Utah finished the 2017 season ranked No. 11 in the final 2017 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.
Â
The No. 11 ranking marked the program's best finish in the AVCA poll, surpassing the previous No. 15 ranking it recorded back in both 2001 and 2006. The No. 11 ranking is Utah's highest ranking in the poll overall, since coming in at No. 11 back on Nov. 27, 2006.
In all, the Utes have been ranked in every poll since the 2017 preseason poll.
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A LOOK AHEAD
The Utes will travel east for the Villanova Volleyball Invitational. They will take on the host team Villanova, as well as Temple and High Point.
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The team's first match is Friday, September 7 at 5 p.m. MT against the hosts followed by two matches on Saturday against Temple and High Point. The Temple match is at 9 a.m. MT and the High Point match is later that day at 5 p.m. MT.
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Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
L/DS
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MB
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
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