Utah Beach Volleyball Set to Host the Fourth Rendition of the Utah Beach Classic

Utah Beach Volleyball set to host the fourth rendition of the Utah Beach Classic
The Utes host UC Davis, Boise State, Arizona and Oregon over the weekend.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Beach Volleyball has a big weekend in store, with the Utes hosting the fourth rendition of the Utah Beach Classic. UC Davis, Boise State, Arizona and Oregon will be coming to Salt Lake City as the Utes take on each of them for a four-match weekend. Utah will also be recognizing five seniors and two graduate transfers for their Senior Day celebration. The celebration will take place at 2:30 pm on March 29^th.

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (14-6, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UC Davis (10-8, 3-4 West Coast)
DATE | TIME: Friday, Mar. 28 | 1:00 p.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Salt Lake City, Utah | Lassonde Sports Courts
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahBeachVB

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (14-6, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Boise State (12-9, 8-0 Southland)
DATE | TIME: Friday, Mar. 28 | 5:00 p.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Salt Lake City, Utah | Lassonde Sports Courts
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahBeachVB

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (14-6, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Arizona (11-6, 0-0 Big 12)
DATE | TIME: Saturday, Mar. 29 | 11:00 a.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Salt Lake City, Utah | Lassonde Sports Courts
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahBeachVB

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (14-6, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Oregon (3-8, 0-4 MPSF)
DATE | TIME: Saturday, Mar. 29 | 3:00 p.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Salt Lake City, Utah | Lassonde Sports Courts
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahBeachVB

SCOUTING THE WEEKEND COMPETITION

Utah gets to match-up with a familiar opponent in UC Davis this weekend. In Utah's first competition of the season, Utah played an away match versus the UC Davis, where Utah came out victorious over the Aggies by a score of 4-1. On the season, Davis has gone 10-8. Last weekend in the Big West Challenge in San Luis Obispo, Calif. They went 3-3, dropping games to three AVCA top 20 teams.

Boise State, along with Utah both find themselves receiving votes for the AVCA poll but have yet to crack the top 20 on the season. 12-9 on the season, the Broncos are currently on an eight-match win-streak. Boise has yet to beat a ranked opponent, but in four of their seven matchups, the match has come down to the final pairing, narrowly losing 2-3.

Fellow Big 12 opponent Arizona takes on Utah for each of their first Big 12 conference matchups while being members of the conference. Last weekend for the Arizona Invitational, the Wildcats achieved a weekend sweep, winning each of their matchups by a score of at least 4-1. Utah looks to avenge the two losses they took to Arizona last season.

Former conference-mate Oregon will be the closing match for the Utah Beach Classic. In the 2023 and 2024 campaigns it was Utah who beat the Ducks in the Pac-12 tournament. Oregon has found themselves in the thick of a very competitive schedule, with each of their past six opponents being ranked in the top 14 of the AVCA poll. Oregon looks to bounce back this weekend.

UTAH'S NO. 3 PAIR REMAINS DOMINANT
The No. 3 duo for Utah has been a source of consistency all season for Utah, winning 80% of their matches. Senior Kylie Pitzak and Graduate Transfer Ellyn Collins have held down the fort in the third court, winning 16 of their 20 matches. Over the weekend they had a very exciting victory over Tulane, winning the match in the third set, coming back to beat the Green Wave in extra points.

UTAH GOES 2-2 IN TULANE INVITATIONAL
Utah had yet another cross-country weekend to embark on, as they went do New Orleans, La. To compete in the Bayou Beach Duals. Utah played four matches, earning two wins over Spring Hill College (4-1) and TAMU Kingsville (5-0). The Utes played Tulane twice, another program also receiving votes in the AVCA poll. On two tries, Utah lost both to the Green Wave, both by a score of 2-3.

THE ABSENCE OF VEZZANI OVER THE WEEKEND
Utah was without its senior, No. 2 Pair student-athlete Bella Vezzani over the weekend. Out due to sickness, lineup changes were made in the absence to fill in. The pairing of Bella Vezzani and Langley Griffin is 13-3 on the 2025 campaign and ranked by truvolley.com as the 19th best No. 2 pairing in the nation. Utah hopes for full health as it approaches the Utah Beach Classic, next weekend. Coach Whicker said, "We did miss Bella. She is one of our top players, a senior and has put up a lot of wins for us at the No. 2 pair. Hoping she will be back healthy for next week. I believe she could have made a difference in our matches against Tulane. We did have some players that got the opportunity to step in a big role and they battled for us and handled the pressure well."

HEAD COACH BRENDA WHICKER
Coach Whicker enters her ninth season at the helm of Utah beach volleyball. She is coming off the winningest season in program history finishing with a record of 19-16, with a first-round Pac-12 Tournament victory over Oregon. So far in 2025, she has coached Utah to their most successful season so far in program history, starting with a 14-6 record. Whicker was a volleyball player at Utah under current volleyball head coach Beth Launiere from 1994-97. She holds the record for most aces in Utah volleyball history and is one of six players in Utah volleyball history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career while playing for Utah.

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Utah Beach Volleyball Set to Host the Fourth Rendition of the Utah Beach Classic

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Players Mentioned

Ellyn Collins

Langley Griffin

Kylie Pitzak

Bella Vezzani

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The University of Utah Athletics

Utah Beach Volleyball Set to Host the Fourth Rendition of the Utah Beach Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ellyn Collins

Langley Griffin

Kylie Pitzak

Bella Vezzani

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