MATCH STATS
- #15 Utah def. Missouri 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-19)
- Utah moves to 8-1; Missouri falls to 4-6
- Salt Lake City
- Attendance: 847
- Box Score
SALT LAKE CITY – Senior outside hitter Adora Anae became just the 10th player in Utah volleyball history to record 1,000 digs, while also joining an even more elite club, the 1000 kill/1000 dig club, which features five Utes.
Anae notched a 15-kill, 11-dig double double and put up at a team-best five blocks en route to the milestone, pacing Utah in both categories. Junior middle blocker Berkeley Oblad added 11 kills, while senior outside Carly Trueman chipped in eight to round out the offense. Sophomore setter Bailey Choy added 10 digs to her 39 assist tally, while senior middle Tawnee Luafalemana put up five blocks.
Senior outside Sydney Deeken led Missouri with 10 kills, while redshirt senior opposite Kira Larson and freshman outside Dariana Hollingsworth managed eight kills apiece. Junior middle Alyssa Munlyn added six kills and a team-best four blocks, while Larson notched three stuffs. Hollingsworth served up two aces. Redshirt sophomore libero Riley Sents led the backcourt with 11 digs.
Utah hit at a .324 clip and outdid the Tigers 49-37 in kills and 13-7 in blocks. Missouri won the service battle 5-1.
Four straight points, including three Oblad kills, put Utah on top 7-4 in Set 1. The Utes built the advantage to five at 15-10 winway through care of a trio of Anae putaways. Missouri was within two at 18-16, before Utah closed out the 25-20 win on a 7-4 run. Three kills and a block by Trueman lifted the Utes to a 24-17 lead. The Tigers stopped three set point tries, before a service error wrapped the stanza.
After splitting the first 16 points of Set 2, the Utes pulled away with an 8-1 run with three Anae kills and atwo kills and a block by Dani Barton. The Tigers chipped away at the 18-12 deficit, eventually catching up to tie the score at 21. Larson and Deeken carried the offensive load in the stretch. The teams tied at 22 and 23 before Anae gave Utah a set-point chance at 24-23. A pair of Munlyn kills thwarted that try and the next, but a Luafalemana kill and Choy ace captured the 27-25 win.
Missouri took an 8-4 lead in Set 3 as Larson downed two kills and a block. The teams were tied at 12 soon after thanks to four Tiger errors and a stuff by Luafalemana and Anae. The Utes carried the momentum to a 17-13 edge including a kill and a block by Oblad. MU was within one at 19-18 as Munlyn and Larson teamed up for a block. Utah closed out the sweep with a 6-1 run. Two blocks and a kill by Luafalemana helped set up match point at 24-18. A Kenzie Koerber putaway ended the night at 25-19.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Utah Athletics
Double digit kill efforts from senior Adora Anae and junior Berkeley Oblad would help lead the No. 18-ranked Utah Utes to a sweep over the Missouri Tigers (25-20, 27-25, 25-19). Utah finished the weekend 3-0 to win the title of the Utah Classic.
Anae recorded her third double-double on the season, notching 15 kills on a .400 hitting percentage and adding in 11 digs. Oblad finished the evening with 11 kills on a .562 hitting percentage.
Trailing 3-4 to begin the match, Oblad recorded a kill to spark a 6-1 run for the Utes to lead 9-5. Utah built the lead to 15-10 before Missouri called its first timeout of the set. The Tigers cut the Utah lead to just 19-16, but Utah scored five unanswered points to get its largest lead of the match, 23-16. Missouri made a late push in the first set with a 4-1 run, but a service error from the Tigers gave the Utes the first set, 25-20.
Missouri led early in the second set 8-5, but four kills from Anae and two kills from freshman Dani Barton helped Utah go on an 11-1 run and jump out to a 16-9 lead. Missouri began chipping away at the Utah lead midway through the frame and eventually squared the set up at 21-21. Trading point after point, the Utes earned their first set point on a kill from Anae to lead 24-23, but the Tigers countered with a kill of their own. After a kill from senior Tawnee Luafalemana, Utah had its third set point and would take the second set, 27-25, after a service ace from sophomore Bailey Choy.
In the third set, Utah fell behind early 12-7. The Utes bounced back to put together an 10-1 run to lead 17-13. Missouri wouldn’t go away quietly and outscored Utah 5-2 to cut the lead to just 19-18. Blocks from senior Carly Trueman and freshman Kenzie Koerber, along with a kill from Luafalemana pushed the Utah lead to 23-18 after scoring four straight points. A net violation from Missouri gave the Utes set point and Koerber would finish the set with a kill to complete the sweep over Missouri.
Choy also recorded a double-double in the match with 39 assists and 10 digs. Trueman totaled eight kills, while Luafalemana and Barton each chipped in six kills for Utah. Freshman Kristen Abels added six digs in the match.
Oblad was named All-Tournament MVP, while Trueman and Choy also received All-Tournament Team Honors.
Utah earned its sixth sweep of the non-conference schedule to improve to 8-1 on the season. Utah led Missouri in blocks (13-7), kills (49-37), assists (48-35), and digs (46-35). Utah also out-hit Missouri with a .324 hitting percentage to a .156 hitting percentage.
The Utes will be back in action next Thursday facing in-state rival, BYU. First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT in the Huntsman Center.
Courtesy: Missouri Athletics
Mizzou Volleyball finished the Utah Classic with a loss to No. 18 Utah, 3-0 (25-20, 27-25,25-19). After losing the first set, 25-20, Mizzou found itself in a back-and-forth affair with Utah in the second set, eventually falling 27-25. Mizzou matched Utah point-for-point in the third set, but Utah closed out the match by scoring six of the last seven points, completing the sweep against the Tigers. Mizzou falls to 4-6 on the year and 1-2 on the weekend. Top Performers
OH Sydney Deeken led Mizzou with 10 kills, hitting .148. She finished with a team-high 12.5 points.
DS Riley Sents had 11 digs, leading all Mizzou players in that category.
Senior Courtney Eckenrode followed up her 28 assist performance against San Diego with 30 more assists against Utah.
Mizzou Takeaways
Mizzou is now 0-3 on the year against ranked teams. Their next ranked opponent will be #13 Kentucky on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Mizzou finished with four more attacks than Utah, but 12 less kills.
Mizzou was out-blocked by Utah, 13-7.
Mizzou hit .156 while Utah hit .324
Up Next
Mizzou will take on Pepperdine at the Nevada Tournament on Friday, Sept. 15.
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