Friday, August 28
Orem, UT
7:00 PM
University of Utah
1-0,0-0Big 12
3
at
0
Utah Valley
0-2,0-0Big West
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Utah Valley | 17 | 22 | 23 | 0 |
Photo by: copyright evphotofolddr
Utah Volleyball Opens 2026 Season with Sweep of Utah Valley
8/28/2026 9:13 PM | Volleyball
Alyssa D’Errico era beings with a 3-0 win for the Utes
OREM, Utah – Utah Volleyball opened the 2026 season with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-23) sweep of Utah Valley to start the Alyssa D'Errico era off in the win column.
The Wolverines put up a fight in the second and third set, but the Utes battled hard to deliver a solid foundation for their fledgling season.
"I thought our offense did a really good job," coach D'Errico said. "I thought our setters distributed the ball really well. I thought Gibby was pretty special tonight, and Loryn did a really good job as well on the offensive side of the ball. I thought we were really balanced. A lot of players showed up, and we had the opportunity to get some others in. Everybody that played was able to do their whole at a high level."
SET ONE
Kamryn Gibadlo got the Utes started with the first kill of the 2026 season, setting up Devyn Wiest and Loryn Helgesen to follow suit to go up 3-0 on the Wolverines. UVU was not deterred, and closed the gap, 4-4, for the only tie of the set.
Utah quickly regained the lead, 15-12, by the media timeout with Katelynn Field adding to the count out of the break with a well-timed block to make it 16-12.
The Utes never relented the lead, going up 21-16, after Gibadlo recorded her third kill of the night. Field and Ashley West teamed up on a block to go up 22-16 before Sierra Gizzle made it 23-16 off the first service ace of the season.
Gibadlo's fourth kill made it set point and a UVU attack error on the next play gave Utah the first set, 25-17.
SET TWO
UVU came out aggressively to start set two, taking a 4-2 lead. The Utes eventually took a timeout with the Wolverines leading 9-5 and clawed themselves within one after Princess Atamah drilled a service ace, 10-9.
Utah eventually tied the set, 12-12, before the Wolverines went up 13-12. Helgesen tied things up one more time, 13-13. The Utes took their first lead off a combined block from Levani Falatea and Field, 14-13.
The Utes kept with it, going up 22-17 and forcing UVU to take a timeout. Utah Valley stayed persistent, making it a 23-22 set toward the end, forcing Utah to call another timeout.
Out of the break West smashed a kill, giving the Utes set point, 24-22, before Helgesen cleaned up, 25-22, to give Utah the second set win.
SET THREE
The third set started tight with three ties and one lead change before the Wolverines pulled ahead, 6-5. Utah quickly answered with the fourth tie of the set, 6-6.
By the middle of the third set, the tie count was up to eight, with UVU being the team to pull just ahead of the Utes. By the media timeout, the Wolverines had a 15-12 advantage over Utah.
Utah settled in the final third of the set, getting within one of UVU, 20-19, after Grizzle recorded her second service ace of the match. Grizzle stayed hot, hitting a second service ace for the ninth tie of the set, 20-20.
The Utes tied the set for a 10th time, 22-22, and then took the lead, 23-22, off a block from Gibadlo and Lana Mijacic. Helgesen set up the set point off a kill a play later, 24-22, but the Wolverines did not go away easily, making it a 24-23 game.
Utah stayed tough, with Mijacic and Helgesen teaming up on the block for the set and match win, 25-23.
STANDOUT STATS
UP NEXT
Utah returns for day two of the of the Utah Valley Tournament, taking on Utah Tech for the first time in program history on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. MT at Lockhart Arena in Orem, Utah. There will be no live stream of the match.
Fans can check out the full 2026 slate here.
Single game and season tickets for Utah Volleyball's 2026 season are available for purchase.
FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Volleyball program, fans can follow the Utes on social media (X: @UtahVolleyball | Instagram: @utahvolleyball).
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TODAY – UTAH 360
The Wolverines put up a fight in the second and third set, but the Utes battled hard to deliver a solid foundation for their fledgling season.
"I thought our offense did a really good job," coach D'Errico said. "I thought our setters distributed the ball really well. I thought Gibby was pretty special tonight, and Loryn did a really good job as well on the offensive side of the ball. I thought we were really balanced. A lot of players showed up, and we had the opportunity to get some others in. Everybody that played was able to do their whole at a high level."
SET ONE
Kamryn Gibadlo got the Utes started with the first kill of the 2026 season, setting up Devyn Wiest and Loryn Helgesen to follow suit to go up 3-0 on the Wolverines. UVU was not deterred, and closed the gap, 4-4, for the only tie of the set.
Gibby.
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) August 29, 2026
Wiest.
Loryn.
Utes start the first 3-0 ??
??ESPN+#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/Wpi67GWNMt
Utah quickly regained the lead, 15-12, by the media timeout with Katelynn Field adding to the count out of the break with a well-timed block to make it 16-12.
The Utes never relented the lead, going up 21-16, after Gibadlo recorded her third kill of the night. Field and Ashley West teamed up on a block to go up 22-16 before Sierra Gizzle made it 23-16 off the first service ace of the season.
Gibadlo's fourth kill made it set point and a UVU attack error on the next play gave Utah the first set, 25-17.
SET TWO
UVU came out aggressively to start set two, taking a 4-2 lead. The Utes eventually took a timeout with the Wolverines leading 9-5 and clawed themselves within one after Princess Atamah drilled a service ace, 10-9.
Utah eventually tied the set, 12-12, before the Wolverines went up 13-12. Helgesen tied things up one more time, 13-13. The Utes took their first lead off a combined block from Levani Falatea and Field, 14-13.
The Utes kept with it, going up 22-17 and forcing UVU to take a timeout. Utah Valley stayed persistent, making it a 23-22 set toward the end, forcing Utah to call another timeout.
Out of the break West smashed a kill, giving the Utes set point, 24-22, before Helgesen cleaned up, 25-22, to give Utah the second set win.
SET THREE
The third set started tight with three ties and one lead change before the Wolverines pulled ahead, 6-5. Utah quickly answered with the fourth tie of the set, 6-6.
By the middle of the third set, the tie count was up to eight, with UVU being the team to pull just ahead of the Utes. By the media timeout, the Wolverines had a 15-12 advantage over Utah.
Utah settled in the final third of the set, getting within one of UVU, 20-19, after Grizzle recorded her second service ace of the match. Grizzle stayed hot, hitting a second service ace for the ninth tie of the set, 20-20.
Sierra Grizzle with the ace to get Utah 3?? in a row
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) August 29, 2026
??ESPN+#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/EVoylFbCY3
The Utes tied the set for a 10th time, 22-22, and then took the lead, 23-22, off a block from Gibadlo and Lana Mijacic. Helgesen set up the set point off a kill a play later, 24-22, but the Wolverines did not go away easily, making it a 24-23 game.
Utah stayed tough, with Mijacic and Helgesen teaming up on the block for the set and match win, 25-23.
STANDOUT STATS
- D'Errico earned her first career win as a head coach
- Helgesen and Gibadlo led the Utes in kills (13 each)
- Grizzle set a career-high for service aces (3) and led in digs (15)
- Weist recorded a career-high hitting percentage (.750) off eight kills
- Isabella Mogridge led in assists (26)
- Field led blocks (4)
- Utah recorded .351 hitting percentage as a team
UP NEXT
Utah returns for day two of the of the Utah Valley Tournament, taking on Utah Tech for the first time in program history on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. MT at Lockhart Arena in Orem, Utah. There will be no live stream of the match.
Fans can check out the full 2026 slate here.
Single game and season tickets for Utah Volleyball's 2026 season are available for purchase.
FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Volleyball program, fans can follow the Utes on social media (X: @UtahVolleyball | Instagram: @utahvolleyball).
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TODAY – UTAH 360
Players Mentioned
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/ Volleyball
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OPP
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/ VolleyballTeam Stats
Utah
UVU
Kills
52
30
Errors
18
10
Attempts
97
79
Hitting %
.351
.253
Points
65.0
35.0
Assists
49
29
Aces
6
1
Blocks
7
4
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
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