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University of Utah
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Oregon
Photo by: Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Hits the Road, Travels to No. 7 Oregon, Oregon State
11/1/2023 2:22 PM | Volleyball
Match 23: Utah (9-13) at #7 Oregon (19-4)
Friday, Nov. 3 | 7 p.m. MT
Eugene, Ore. | Matthew Knight Arena
Watch: Live Broadcast
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Match 24: Utah (9-13) at Oregon State (9-13)
Sunday, Nov. 5 | 1 p.m. MT
Corvallis, Ore. | Gill Coliseum
Watch: Live Broadcast
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
MATCH WEEK
The Utes head back to the Pacific Northwest to start a four-game road trip, beginning in the Beaver State to face the seventh-ranked Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers. Utah travels to Eugene, Ore., for a date with the Ducks on Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. MT. The match will be available to watch on the Oregon live stream. The weekend concludes in Corvallis, Ore., as the Utes take on Oregon State on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. MT. The matchup with the Beavers will be broadcast on Pac-12 Mountain with Chris Clayton on the call.Â
QUICK HITS
• Utah tallied a season-high 17.5 blocks against USC on Sunday, the most since recording 18 against Cal Poly on Aug. 31, 2019.
• Emrie Satuala has recorded double-digit kills in seven of the last 10 matches
• Four different Utes have led the team in kills in as many matches
• Utah has racked up 50+ kills in four of the last five matches
• Vanessa Ramirez is sixth in the Pac-12 in digs per set with 3.59
• Satuala, Jardine, and Gibadlo all racked up double-digit kills at a .200+ clip against USC
• The Utes swept Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena in 2021 to complete the season sweep of the Ducks. Oregon leads the all-time series 19-11.Â
• Utah has won nine straight matches against the Beavers including a five-set victory in Salt Lake City earlier this season. The Utes have won three straight matches in Corvallis and lead the all-time series 17-11.
SCOUTING THE DUCKS
Oregon heads into the match ranked seventh in the nation and is coming off a strong weekend against #6 Washington State and Washington. The Ducks avenged their first conference loss of the season, defeating Washington State in four sets in Pullman. Oregon has two other Pac-12 losses to #19 Arizona State and #3 Stanford, both in Eugene. Oregon's only non-conference loss on the year came to #10 Minnesota, while it earned impressive wins over #15 Ohio State and #8 Pittsburgh. Oregon leads the Pac-12 with 2.80 blocks per set and ranks second in digs per set with 14.16. Offensively, the Ducks are second in the conference in kills per set and assist per set with 14.00 and 13.11 respectively. Kara McGhee leads the conference in hitting percentage, capturing a .459 clip. On the flip side, Karson Bacon runs the net defensively, leading the Pac-12 with 1.43 blocks per set. Three of the four Oregon losses have come at home.Â
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
Oregon State heads into the weekend on a two-game win streak after sweeping the Washington road trip. The Beavers defeated Washington in four sets in Seattle before shocking #6 Washington State in five sets. Despite dropping the first six conference matches, the Beavers have won four of their last six matches. Mychael Vernon leads the team with 3.49 kills per set, while Aliyah McDonald heads the blocking efforts at 1.03 blocks per set. Ryan White runs the back row and ranks fifth in the conference with 3.64 digs per set.
TAKING A LOOK BACK
Earlier this season, Utah hosted both Oregon and Oregon State in Salt Lake City. The Utes dominated the Beavers at the net, recording their previously new season-high of 16.5 blocks. Allie Olsen and Emrie Satuala collected eight blocks each as the Utes forced Oregon State to hit .133. Kamry Bailey led the offense, striking 17 kills and capturing her new career high. Utah won the match in four sets despite dropping the first set. Against Oregon, Utah had a hard time sparking the offense against the strong-blocking Ducks. The Utes were able to snag the second set and force Oregon to hit .083 as a team. Satuala shined for Utah, racking up 11 kills.
MAKING A CASE IN THE MIDDLE
Utah has received contributions from its middle blockers on a nightly basis. Emrie Satuala and Allie Olsen lead the team with 76 and 67 blocks, respectively. Satuala has exploded since the beginning of the season. The transfer didn't record a match of double-digit kills until the eighth match of the season but has since posted double-digit kills in the last seven of 11 matches, including hitting over .250 in all but one match during the stretch. Satuala holds a team-best 1.09 blocks per set. Olsen has posted eight matches of .350 hitting or above, which includes five at a .500 clip or better. Olsen captured nine kills against USC on Sunday while collecting seven blocks. Former middle blocker Amelia Van Der Werff has made the move to the right side and provided a spark on the outside. Van Der Werff totaled 17 kills with just three errors along with nine blocks. On the road in Los Angeles, she led the team with 13 kills (no errors) on .650 hitting against the Bruins and added eight kills at USC off the bench. Van Der Werff tied her career-high of six digs against USC this past weekend. Olsen, Van Der Werff, and Satuala are the top three Utes in hitting percentage this season.Â
CAN'T SEE IT, CAN'T BEAT IT
The Utes put on a clinic against Arizona by recording 17 service aces, the most in program history during the rally-scoring era. Utah was led by Emily Smith and Vanessa Ramirez as Smith collected a career-high six aces while Ramirez added a career-high five aces. Viktoria Wahlgren leads the Utes with 30 aces and totaled a career-high 10 aces at UCLA. It marks the most aces by a Ute in a single match since 2018. She has posted six matches with at least two aces this season to lead the team. The Utes posted six aces against UCLA last Friday and seven against USC on Sunday.
RAMIREZ RUNNING THE BACK ROW
Starting libero Vanessa Ramirez is leading the Utah defense once again as she has done since day one in Salt Lake City. She is sixth in the Pac-12 with 3.59 digs per set and has recorded double-digit digs in all but three matches this season. The California native recorded a season-high 24 digs in just four sets against Weber State for her second match of 20-plus digs this season. Ramirez tallied 22 digs against NC State earlier this year and has 11 matches of 20 or more digs in her career. Last year, Ramirez led the team in digs in 27 of the 31 matches, while she finished third in the Pac-12 with 4.04 digs per set. She has led the team or tied for the lead in digs in all but one match this season so far. Behind the line, Ramirez had a stellar match against Arizona, racking up 5 service aces, setting her new career high. Ramirez totaled 23 digs combined versus UCLA and UCLA with a trio of service aces and assists.
THE FRESHMAN FINISHER
Outside hitter, Kamryn Gibadlo has shined so far in her first season with the Utes. The Cave Creek, Ariz., native leads the team with 12 matches of 10 or more kills during her true freshman season. She posted eight kills off the bench at UCLA on .412 hitting, while recording 11 kills at Colorado in her first conference match. Gibadlo dominated the floor vs. UC Santa Barbara during the Utah Classic, capturing 17 kills. Gibadlo saw near perfection against San Francisco earlier this season as she accumulated 11 kills on 16 total attacks with zero errors. Two weekends ago, she totaled 17 kills against Oregon and Oregon State combined. Against Washington, Gibadlo had one of her best all-around games, posting 13 kills and recording seven digs. Gibadlo racked up 11 kills vs. Arizona on Sunday and accompanied this offensive performance with a pair of digs. The freshman has posted double-digit kills in four of the last five matches. In her most recent bid, Gibadlo had a strong weekend against UCLA and USC, finishing with 11 kills versus UCLA and 13 against the Trojans. She also tied her season-high of four blocks while battling USC.
SETTING IT UP
Sophomore setter Viktoria Wahlgren has earned the start in every match this season and has recorded 9.30 assists per set. Wahlgren also recorded a career-best 51 assists with six digs and four blocks at Washington. This is the first time a Utah setter recorded over 50 assists in a match since Stef Jankiewicz racked up 50 assists versus Colorado on Nov. 27, 2021. Wahlgren has posted seven matches of 40 or more assists and has recorded two double-doubles this season. Against USC, the sophomore accumulated 46 assists while tying her career-high with five blocks.
AUTOMATIC ALLIE
Starting middle blocker Allie Olsen is coming off a season where she recorded a .363 hitting percentage, which ranked as the sixth-best percentage in a single season in program history. Olsen has hit above .500 in six matches so far, while she has hit above .400 in half of the matches so far this season. At the Utah Classic, she earned All-Tournament Team honors after hitting at a blazing .419 clip through three matches. Olsen recorded a season-high .692 hitting percentage against Tennessee State from nine kills and no errors while hitting .538 against San Francisco. Against USC, Olsen put together nine kills with seven blocks. The senior from Great Falls, Mont., is hitting .305 this season.
UP NEXT
The Utes start the second half of the road trip with a visit to Arizona to face the Arizona Wildcats and the Arizona State Sun Devils. Utah challenges Arizona next Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. at the McKale Center. The matchup in Tucson will be available to watch on Pac-12 Network. To wrap up the long road trip, the Utes battle Arizona State next Saturday, Nov. 11, at 6:30 p.m. MT on the ASU live stream. The Utes battled both teams earlier this season in Salt Lake City, falling to the Sun Devils in three sets and defeating the Wildcats in five sets.
Players Mentioned
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