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Volleyball
vs Iowa State
Friday, December 6
Provo, Utah
4:00 PM
University of Utah
23-9,14-6Pac-12
3
vs
2
Illinois
15-14,10-9Big Ten
1
2
3
4
5
F
Illinois
23
26
27
23
10
2
Utah
25
24
25
25
15
3
Volleyball Pushes Past Illinois in Five on Record-Breaking Night
12/6/2019 9:02 PM | Volleyball
PROVO – The Utah volleyball team pushed past Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Prove in a five-set instant classic that saw the Utes come back from a 2-1 deficit to win the fourth and fifth set to advance to the second round.
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Trailing 2-1, Utah had their backs against the wall down 17-14 in the fourth before mounting a charge going on a 6-1 run to take a 20-18 lead. Later in the set, Illinois regrouped and took a 23-22 lead, but the Utes ran off three straight to push it to five.
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In the fifth, Utah used its momentum to get an 8-5 lead when the teams switched benches. Leading by one, Utah closed out the match with a 6-2 run with the final two kills coming from Dani Drews.
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Along with Utah getting the huge win, it was a record-breaking night for the Utes as three players find themselves at the top in the record books. Brianna Doehrmann tallied 21 digs giving her the career digs mark in program history. Drews became the single-season record holder for kills and became the first Utah player to ever have 600 kills in a season. Setter Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres also continued her great season as the 57 kills also gives her a single-season record in assists.
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Overall, it was a complete team effort, as four Utes had double-figure kills. Drews led the way with a match high 27 kills hitting .281. She also chipped in with six digs and 4.0 blocks.
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Kenzie Koerber and Zoe Weatherington each had 13 kills and Berkeley Oblad had 10 kills.
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The first set was really tight until Koerber stepped up to serve tied at 15. She led Utah on a 5-0 to go up 20-15. The Fighting Illini tightened things up in the end, but Drews finished the first off for the early lead.
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Facing a big deficit in the second, the Utes went on a 6-0 run behind Megan Yett serving to tie things up at 18, but Illinois responded with their own 3-0 run to force Utah to use a timeout down 21-18. The resilient Utes battled back once again giving themselves a set point, but the Fighting Illini answered with three straight to tie things up at one.
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In the third set, Utah found themselves in a hole early, but rallied back once again. After a late run, the Utes had two set points, but Illinois came back once again winning five of the last six points to go up 2-1.
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In the fourth, knowing they needed a rally, Utah scrapped for everything using a 5-1 run to put themselves up 20-18. That's when Drews and Oblad stepped up once again as Drews had a kill and Oblad had a solo block to even things up and head to the fifth.
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In the fifth with a small lead, Utah shut things down winning four of the last five points to put Utah in the second round against the host BYU Cougars.
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Along with Oblad's 10 kills, she also had 8.0 blocks. Utah had 12.0 blocks as a team. In the fourth set, Utah held the Fighting Illini to an .091 hitting percentage to push it to five.
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Utah has a quick turnaround as they will play tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Smith Fieldhouse against BYU.
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Trailing 2-1, Utah had their backs against the wall down 17-14 in the fourth before mounting a charge going on a 6-1 run to take a 20-18 lead. Later in the set, Illinois regrouped and took a 23-22 lead, but the Utes ran off three straight to push it to five.
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In the fifth, Utah used its momentum to get an 8-5 lead when the teams switched benches. Leading by one, Utah closed out the match with a 6-2 run with the final two kills coming from Dani Drews.
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Along with Utah getting the huge win, it was a record-breaking night for the Utes as three players find themselves at the top in the record books. Brianna Doehrmann tallied 21 digs giving her the career digs mark in program history. Drews became the single-season record holder for kills and became the first Utah player to ever have 600 kills in a season. Setter Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres also continued her great season as the 57 kills also gives her a single-season record in assists.
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Overall, it was a complete team effort, as four Utes had double-figure kills. Drews led the way with a match high 27 kills hitting .281. She also chipped in with six digs and 4.0 blocks.
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Kenzie Koerber and Zoe Weatherington each had 13 kills and Berkeley Oblad had 10 kills.
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The first set was really tight until Koerber stepped up to serve tied at 15. She led Utah on a 5-0 to go up 20-15. The Fighting Illini tightened things up in the end, but Drews finished the first off for the early lead.
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Facing a big deficit in the second, the Utes went on a 6-0 run behind Megan Yett serving to tie things up at 18, but Illinois responded with their own 3-0 run to force Utah to use a timeout down 21-18. The resilient Utes battled back once again giving themselves a set point, but the Fighting Illini answered with three straight to tie things up at one.
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In the third set, Utah found themselves in a hole early, but rallied back once again. After a late run, the Utes had two set points, but Illinois came back once again winning five of the last six points to go up 2-1.
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In the fourth, knowing they needed a rally, Utah scrapped for everything using a 5-1 run to put themselves up 20-18. That's when Drews and Oblad stepped up once again as Drews had a kill and Oblad had a solo block to even things up and head to the fifth.
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In the fifth with a small lead, Utah shut things down winning four of the last five points to put Utah in the second round against the host BYU Cougars.
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Along with Oblad's 10 kills, she also had 8.0 blocks. Utah had 12.0 blocks as a team. In the fourth set, Utah held the Fighting Illini to an .091 hitting percentage to push it to five.
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Utah has a quick turnaround as they will play tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Smith Fieldhouse against BYU.
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Team Stats
Illini
UTAH
Kills
61
68
Errors
29
31
Attempts
157
149
Hitting %
.204
.248
Points
79.5
85.0
Assists
60
66
Aces
7
5
Blocks
11.5
12.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
27
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
OH
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