No. 17 Utah Returns Home To Host California, No. 19 Stanford
Match 26: #17 Utah (18-7, 11-5 Pac-12) vs. California (7-20, 0-16 Pac-12)
Thursday, Nov. 18 | 5 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City | Jon M. Huntsman Center
Stream: Pac-12 Networks
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Match 27: #17 Utah (18-7, 11-5 Pac-12) vs. #19 Stanford (14-10, 9-7 Pac-12)
Sunday, Nov. 21 | 12 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City | Jon M. Huntsman Center
Stream: Pac-12 Insider
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MATCH WEEK
No. 17 Utah volleyball returns to the Huntsman Center this week to host California and No. 19 Stanford as the regular season begins to wrap up. The Utes will host California this Thursday, Nov. 18, with the first serve set for 5 p.m. MT in Salt Lake City. The match will air on the Pac-12 Networks. Utah and Stanford will close out the weekend's play on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 12 p.m. MT. The match between the Utes and Cardinal will be available on Pac-12 Insider.
QUICK HITS
• Utah is ranked No. 17 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. It is the 41st-straight week Utah has been ranked, dating back to Sept. 2, 2019. The Utes are one of six Pac-12 teams in the top-25.
• Utah is No. 21 in the nation this week in the RPI rankings.
• Utah is 9-2 in the Huntsman Center this season after going 8-0 at home last year. Including this season's home record, Utah has posted a 49-14 (.778) record at the Huntsman Center since 2017.
• Utah has recorded five top-25 wins this season, which includes the two highest ranked wins on the road all-time (No. 3 Nebraska, No. 6 Washington).
IN THE RANKINGS
• Dani Drews leads the Pac-12 and is No. 4 in the nation in kills per set (5.10). She is also first in the Pac-12 and No. 4 in the nation in points per set (5.65).
• Stef Jankiewicz is fifth in the Pac-12 in assists per set (10.19) and No. 58 in the nation.
• Utah leads the Pac-12 in kills per set (14.07) and is No. 15 in the nation.
• Utah is third in the Pac-12 in assists per set (12.62) and is No. 39 in the nation, while the Utes rank fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.254) and No. 38 in the nation.
• Utah is third in the Pac-12 in aces per set (1.44), fourth in digs per set (14.10) and fifth in blocks per set (2.45).
BY THE NUMBERS
• Utah is 13-1 this season when hitting above .250 as a team, while the Utes are 12-0 when holding their opponent to .200 or below.
• Utah is 16-1 this season when leading in attack percentage. Utah is also 13-1 when leading in blocks, 14-2 when leading in kills, and 13-3 when leading in digs.
• Dani Drews has hit double-digit kills in 23 of 25 matches, while Robinson has posted 16 matches of 10 or more kills and Zoe Weatherington has totaled 10 double-digit kill matches.
• Vanessa Ramirez has hit double-digit digs in 20 matches this season and has posted two matches of 20 digs or more.
• Drews has posted a team high nine double-doubles, while Stef Jankiewicz has eight, Madelyn Robinson has six and Ramirez has two on the season.
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA
California started the season with seven-straight wins and had recorded notable wins over Pacific in five sets and Saint Mary's in four sets. The Golden Bears have gone winless in Pac-12 play so far this season and are coming off losses to the ranked squads of Washington State and Washington last weekend. Cal is led by Katie Smoot and Lydia Grote offensively, who are averaging 3.10 and 3.00 kills per set, respectively. Mima Mirkovic holds down the defense with 3.18 digs per set. Utah took the first meeting against Cal in Berkeley in straight sets after hitting .333 in the match compared to Cal's .160 clip. The .333 hitting percentage was the second best of the season at the time for Utah, which was highlighted by Utah's middles of Allie Olsen and Amelia Van Der Werff combining for 17 kills and zero errors.
SCOUTING STANFORD
Stanford is coming off a split weekend after falling to then No. 13 Washington before downing No. 21 Washington State on Sunday. The Cardinal earned notable non-conference wins over then No. 5 Florida and No. 18 Penn State. Stanford ranks first in the conference in blocks per set (2.66) and assists per set (12.88), while ranking No. 13 and No. 21 nationally in each category. Stanford is also No. 21 in the nation in hitting percentage (.272) and No. 27 in kills per set (13.83). Kami Miner runs the offense with 11.19 assists per set, which ranks first in the Pac-12 and No. 8 in the nation, while Caitie Baird is third in the conference and No. 33 in the nation with 4.13 kills per set. Stanford took the win in Palo Alto earlier this season over Utah in four sets.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah went undefeated over the weekend after posting a sweep over Arizona and a four-set victory over Arizona State. The Utes started the weekend with the clean sweep over the Wildcats in a match where the team hit .400, marking the second-best hitting percentage of the season. Utah held Arizona to just nine points in the first set and although sets two and three were played much tighter, the Utes managed to leave Tucson with the sweep behind Drews' 15 kills and Madelyn Robinson's 14 kills. Utah's win over Arizona State came after splitting the first two sets and then taking the next two to close out the day. Drews posted 23 kills, while Zoe Weatherington added in 13 kills.
UP NEXT
Utah will remain in Salt Lake City for its final matches of the regular season next week, hosting Washington State and Colorado. Utah and Washington State will have a midweek matchup on Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. MT, while senior day for the Utes will be on Saturday, Nov. 27 against Colorado at 12 p.m. MT.