Saturday, September 5
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 PM
University of Utah
4-1,0-0Big 12
2
vs
3
Long Beach State
2-2,0-0Big West
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach St. | 25 | 26 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 3 |
| Utah | 15 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 2 |
Photo by: Emma Corona/Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Falls to Long Beach in Five-Set Barn Burner
9/5/2026 10:08 PM | Volleyball
Utes suffer first loss of the 2026 season
SALT LAKE CITY– Utah Volleyball succumbed to Long Beach in a five-set barn burner (15-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 15-17) suffering its first loss of the 2026 season.
The Utes dropped the first two sets but came storming back in sets three and four to force the fifth game.
Despite eight ties and three lead changes, including forcing extra points in the fifth, Utah didn't have quite enough to secure the reverse sweep.
SET ONE
Long Beach came out strong to start set one, earning an 8-4 lead out of the gate before the Utes called timeout.
By the halfway point the Beach still had the lead, 15-7.
Long Beach raced off to set point, and sealed the deal, 25-15.
SET TWO
Utah did not let a disappointing first set hinder them to start the second set, jumping to a 6-3 lead over the Beach.
Long Beach was not deterred either, going on an 8-1 scoring run to build up an 11-7 lead over the Utes near the halfway mark of the set.
The Utes rallied back to a tie with the Beach at 16 and had to keep battling back to tie the set again at 21.
Utah tied the game one more time at 24, forcing extra play for the win, but the Beach prevailed, 26-24.
SET THREE
The Utes started set three 7-3 over Long Beach before the Beach rallied to make it a 7-7 tie.
Utah and Long Beach continued to dance around each other in a close affair through the halfway point, with the Utes taking a 15-11 lead into the technical timeout off a block from Katelynn Field and Devyn Wiest.
Field kept the momentum going, lifting the Utes 16-13 off an Isabella Mogridge assist. Back-to-back kills from Loryn Helgesen and Wiest gave Utah an 18-13 advantage, forcing the Beach to call a timeout.
A service error from Long Beach set up set point for the Utes who took the set off an attack error, 25-20, forcing a fourth set.
SET FOUR
Set four started with a fireball of a kill from Kamryn Gibadlo to put the Utes on the board first. Utah continued to build the lead off a Princess Atamah kill and block, along with a Wiest ace to go up 5-3.
Utah remained in control of the set at the halfway point, 15-12, after Atamah sank an ace before the technical timeout.
The Utes never relented the rest of the way, hitting set point via a Helgesen kill and taking set four, 25-19, with Gibadlo finishing the job.
SET FIVE
Long Beach jumped out to a 3-1 advantage before Gibadlo put the Utes within one, 3-2. The Beach remained ahead a few plays later, 7-3, forcing Utah to call a timeout to regroup.
The Utes clawed their way back, tying the set at 7 off a Helgesen kill.
Gibadlo tied things up one more time with the Beach at 12, setting up a close set for all the marbles.
Gibadlo and Field teamed up on a block to take the lead, 13-12, but the Beach tied things up again at 13. Long Beach sailed a serve to give the Utes set point but tied things one more time at 14.
Despite a hard fight, Utah ended up falling to Long Beach, 17-15.
STANDOUT STATS
UP NEXT
Utah puts a bow on the Utah Classic weekend hosting No. 2 Pittsburgh at 4 p.m. MT on Sunday, Sep. 5 in a Red Out.
The Utah Classic is available on ESPN+.
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 Utes dropped the first two sets but came storming back in sets three and four to force the fifth game.
Despite eight ties and three lead changes, including forcing extra points in the fifth, Utah didn't have quite enough to secure the reverse sweep.
Fought hard to the very end??
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) September 6, 2026
4 p.m. tomorrow, Utah takes on #2 Pittsburgh right here in the Huntsman Center!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/ZevdsZZC3r
SET ONE
Long Beach came out strong to start set one, earning an 8-4 lead out of the gate before the Utes called timeout.
By the halfway point the Beach still had the lead, 15-7.
Long Beach raced off to set point, and sealed the deal, 25-15.
SET TWO
Utah did not let a disappointing first set hinder them to start the second set, jumping to a 6-3 lead over the Beach.
Long Beach was not deterred either, going on an 8-1 scoring run to build up an 11-7 lead over the Utes near the halfway mark of the set.
The Utes rallied back to a tie with the Beach at 16 and had to keep battling back to tie the set again at 21.
Utah tied the game one more time at 24, forcing extra play for the win, but the Beach prevailed, 26-24.
SET THREE
The Utes started set three 7-3 over Long Beach before the Beach rallied to make it a 7-7 tie.
Utah and Long Beach continued to dance around each other in a close affair through the halfway point, with the Utes taking a 15-11 lead into the technical timeout off a block from Katelynn Field and Devyn Wiest.
Field kept the momentum going, lifting the Utes 16-13 off an Isabella Mogridge assist. Back-to-back kills from Loryn Helgesen and Wiest gave Utah an 18-13 advantage, forcing the Beach to call a timeout.
A service error from Long Beach set up set point for the Utes who took the set off an attack error, 25-20, forcing a fourth set.
SET FOUR
Set four started with a fireball of a kill from Kamryn Gibadlo to put the Utes on the board first. Utah continued to build the lead off a Princess Atamah kill and block, along with a Wiest ace to go up 5-3.
Utah remained in control of the set at the halfway point, 15-12, after Atamah sank an ace before the technical timeout.
The Utes never relented the rest of the way, hitting set point via a Helgesen kill and taking set four, 25-19, with Gibadlo finishing the job.
SET FIVE
Long Beach jumped out to a 3-1 advantage before Gibadlo put the Utes within one, 3-2. The Beach remained ahead a few plays later, 7-3, forcing Utah to call a timeout to regroup.
The Utes clawed their way back, tying the set at 7 off a Helgesen kill.
Gibadlo tied things up one more time with the Beach at 12, setting up a close set for all the marbles.
Gibadlo and Field teamed up on a block to take the lead, 13-12, but the Beach tied things up again at 13. Long Beach sailed a serve to give the Utes set point but tied things one more time at 14.
Despite a hard fight, Utah ended up falling to Long Beach, 17-15.
STANDOUT STATS
- Gibadlo led the Utes in kills (26) with a .386 hitting percentage and was second in digs (16), adding three blocks and one ace
- Wiest has a season-high 12 kills and tied her career-high in aces (2)
- Helgesen was second on the team in kills (15)
- Field led the team in blocks (6)
- Sierra Grizzle led the Utes in digs (17)
UP NEXT
Utah puts a bow on the Utah Classic weekend hosting No. 2 Pittsburgh at 4 p.m. MT on Sunday, Sep. 5 in a Red Out.
The Utah Classic is available on ESPN+.
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
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballTeam Stats
LBSU
Utah
Kills
60
66
Errors
24
27
Attempts
146
164
Hitting %
.247
.238
Points
79.0
81.0
Assists
55
62
Aces
4
5
Blocks
15
10
Game Leaders
Kills
26
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
4
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