Utah Volleyball Set To Host 2021 Utah Classic Over Labor Day Weekend

Match 3: #19 Utah (2-0) vs. Cal Poly (1-2)
Friday, Sept. 3 | 10 a.m. MT
Salt Lake City, Utah | Huntsman Center
Stream: Utah Live Stream
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Match 4: #19 Utah (2-0) vs. #22 San Diego (1-1)
Friday, Sept. 3 | 7 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City, Utah | Huntsman Center
Stream: Utah Live Stream
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Match 5: #19 Utah (2-0) vs. Hawaii (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 4 | 7 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City, Utah | Huntsman Center
Stream: Utah Live Stream
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
MATCH WEEK
No. 19 Utah volleyball will host the Utah Classic this weekend, welcoming Cal Poly, No. 22 San Diego, Hawaii and Utah Valley to the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The Utes will take on Cal Poly this Friday, Sept. 3 to get action underway with the first serve coming at 10 a.m. MT. Utah will then close out the evening with a match against No. 22 San Diego at 7 p.m. MT, before wrapping up the weekend against Hawaii on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. MT. All matches will be streamed here.
 
UTAH CLASSIC SCHEDULE

 
FOR THE FANS
All fans wishing to purchase tickets to the Utah Classic can visit UtahTickets.com or call the ticket office (801-581-8849). If you purchase a ticket for Utah vs. Cal Poly, you will also be able to attend San Diego vs. Hawaii. A ticket for the Utah vs. San Diego match will also get fans into the Utah Valley vs. Cal Poly match. The same concept will be in place for Saturday where if you have a ticket for Utah vs. Hawaii, fans can get in for the San Diego vs. Cal Poly match.
 
Utah's match on Saturday night against Hawaii will also have a discounted ticket price of $3 a ticket if you bring your Utah football vs. Weber State ticket to the match. Additionally, Ute legend Lori Baird will be honored during the match for her incredible achievements during her time as a Ute, and for her Crimson Club Hall of Fame induction.
 
QUICK HITS
• Utah was voted No. 19 in the AVCA Coaches Poll following the first week of the regular season.
• Utah is ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 and No. 3 in the nation with 3.86 blocks per set. The Utes are also No. 15 in the nation with an opponent hitting percentage of 0.081.
• Kennedi Evans is No. 4 in the nation with 2.33 blocks per set through the opening weekend. She recorded 14.0 blocks in the first two contests of the season and led Utah in both outings.
• Dani Drews recorded double-digit kills in both matches against Utah Valley, marking 49-straight matches with 10-plus kills and a total of 90 in her career.
• Vanessa Ramirez was the sole Ute to hit double-digit digs over the weekend, which she did twice, collecting 10 digs in the season opener and 11 digs the next night.
 
RUN IT BACK
Dani Drews, the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year, announced she would return for a fifth year after her shortened senior season last spring. Drews is coming off her second-straight AVCA First Team All-American selection, becoming the first player in program history to earn two first team honors. She also was named the AVCA Pacific South Player of the Year for a second time and is the only Ute to do so in program history.
 
She led the team in kills every match during the spring season and posted a nation-leading 5.21 kills per set. The Sandy, Utah native finished the 2021 spring season second all-time in kills (1,687) at Utah and holds the single-season program record in kills (643, 2019), along with the single-match record in kills in the rally-scoring era in three sets (22, 2018), four sets (30, 2x) and five sets (33, 2019).
 
RETURNERS RISING
Utah returns four of six starters and its libero from last spring's NCAA Tournament squad. Along with Drews, key returners for the Utes include All-Pac-12 honorable mention honoree Madelyn Robinson, last year's starting libero Vanessa Ramirez, and 2019 All-Pac-12 freshman team selection Zoe Weatherington. Robinson totaled 131 kills last season (2.81 kills per set), while Weatherington averaged 2.73 k/s before suffering an injury midway through the season. Ramirez held down the backcourt with 2.85 digs per set and the second-most digs on the year, while Megan Yett will also look to continue her defensive presence for Utah after averaging 2.06 d/s in the spring.
 
Other letterwinners returning for Utah are setters Emily Smith and Sommer Daniel, middle blockers Kennedi Evans, Allie Olsen and Phoebe Grace. Utah also brings back Abby Karich, who redshirted in the spring.
 
NEW ON THE BLOCK
The Utes welcomed three transfers and a true freshman to the 2021 roster. Senior setter Stef Jankiewicz comes to the U from Illinois State where she was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Setter of the Year and the first player in league history to earn the award twice. Jankiewicz is also a three-time AVCA All-North Region selection. Playing as a defensive specialist/libero is senior Kiley McMurtrey, who transferred from Eastern Oregon. McMurtrey is a 2020 AVCA All-American, a Northern All-Region player and three-time CCC Libero of the Year.
 
Amelia Van Der Werff spent her first season at Middle Tennessee State before making the move to Utah. She became the third player in program history to be named to the C-USA All-Freshman team this past spring and started all 15 matches. Van Der Werff posted a team-leading .347 hitting percentage and finished second in kills. The sole true freshman on the squad this year is Kamry Bailey, who comes as a three-time state champion from Boulder City, Nev. Bailey was a back-to-back 3A State MVP, and was a national champion with her club team her freshman year in the USA division.
 
SCOUTING CAL POLY
Cal Poly comes into the weekend with a win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi and losses to No. 13 Louisville and Arizona State. The Mustangs will face Texas A&M prior to making the trip to Salt Lake City, starting a stretch of four games in four days. Cal Poly's offense is led by setter Avalon DeNecochea (9.78 assists per set) and hitters Tommi Stockham (3.22 kills per set) and Meredith Philips (3.00 k/s). The Mustangs did not compete last season, but had made the NCAA Tournament three consecutive years and won the Big West two of the last three seasons. Cal Poly returns eight players from 2019 and welcomes 13 newcomers. Utah last saw Cal Poly in 2019, where the Utes took a five-set win at the Utah Classic over the Mustangs, but then fell a few weeks later in a five-set neutral site match.
 
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO
San Diego is coming off a split in the opening weekend, dropping a match to No. 1-ranked Texas and beating UTSA in four sets. The Toreros advanced to their 11th-straight NCAA Tournament this past spring and return 11 letterwinners from the postseason run, which includes preseason All-WCC selections Grace Frohling and Katie Lukes. Frohling leads the team with 3.71 kills per set, while Isadora Terariol dishes out 7.71 assists per set. Utah and San Diego last met at the 2017 Utah Classic, where the Utes bested the Toreros in five sets at the Huntsman Center.
 
SCOUTING HAWAII
Hawaii heads to the mainland sitting at 2-1 this season after wins over Texas A&M and Fairfield, while the loss was handed over by Marquette. Similarly to Cal Poly, the Rainbow Wahine did not compete in the spring season. However, Hawaii reached the Sweet 16 in the 2019 NCAA Tournament and returns three 2019 All-Big West honorees. The Rainbow Wahine were picked to win the Big West Conference this year and have been led thus far by Brooke Van Sickle (5.22 kills per set) and Mylana Byrd (10.5 assists per set). Hawaii ranks No. 8 in the nation in kills per set (15.22), while Van Sickle is No. 8 in kills per set. Utah and Hawaii last met in Honolulu in 2017 where Utah would leave the island with a 3-1 win.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Utah began its season last weekend with a pair of victories over Utah Valley. The Utes began the season on the road for the first time since 2003 and put away the Wolverines in four sets. Dani Drews and Madelyn Robinson each posted 16 kills on the evening, while Stef Jankiewicz tallied 33 assists to lead the offense. Utah had a warm welcome back to the Jon M. Huntsman Center the following night after the Utes rolled past the Wolverines in three sets for the second win in as many days. Drews posted double-digit kills for the 49th straight match, while Vanessa Ramirez collected her second double-digit digs outing of the weekend. Kennedi Evans also had a phenomenal weekend at the net, leading the team with 14.0 total blocks over the two matches.
 
TIME FOR SEASON TICKETS
Come out and bring back the home court advantage for Utah volleyball this fall. There is no place like the Huntsman Center and it is time to secure season tickets for the season to catch all the action. Visit UtahTickets.com to purchase tickets and help make the Huntsman Center the loudest in the nation.

UP NEXT
Utah will play its final home non-conference match next Thursday, Sept. 9 against Weber State. The Utes and Wildcats will begin the match at 7 p.m. MT. Then, Utah will hit the road to begin a five-match road swing. Utah will play No. 4 Nebraska in the Devaney Center next Saturday, Sept. 11 in Lincoln, Neb., followed by a match at Boise State on Monday, Sept. 13 in Boise.