Utah Volleyball Announces 2022 Schedule
SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah volleyball program announced its 2022 schedule, highlighted by competition against five Sweet 16 squads from last season and its season-opening home tournament to get the action underway. The Utes will appear on the Pac-12 Networks 14 times during the fall season and will compete against 10 tournament teams in all from last year.
"Our 2022 schedule is no different than in the past," said head coach Beth Launiere, who is entering her 33rd season at the helm of the program. "We have a strong preseason schedule along with the always tough Pac-12 volleyball slate. Our fans will get to see great volleyball in the Huntsman Center this fall, highlighted by matches against Kansas and BYU, as well as matches versus local teams in Utah Valley and Utah State".
Utah Volleyball will get the season started with its annual home tournament – the Utah Classic – when it hosts Loyola Marymount, along with 2021 NCAA Tournament teams in Kansas and Utah Valley. Utah will face Loyola Marymount and Kansas, which is fresh off a Sweet 16 run and No. 19 final ranking from a year ago, on Friday, Aug. 26, at the Huntsman Center. The Utah Classic for the Utes will wrap up on Saturday, Aug. 27, against Utah Valley.
Non-conference play continues with a trip to Lafayette, Ind., to compete in Purdue's home tournament featuring UW-Milwaukee and Bradley along with the Utes and Boilermakers. Utah is set to play UW-Milwaukee and Purdue on Friday, Sept. 2, while taking on Bradley the following day. Purdue finished the 2021 campaign ranked No. 6 in the final AVCA poll and advanced to the Elite 8.
The Utes will participate in one last tournament of the preseason before returning home when they head to San Diego's home event on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9-10. Utah opens the tournament against SMU on Friday, followed by matches against UCONN and San Diego on Saturday.
Beginning with a match against in-state rivals BYU, the Utes will play eight of their next 10 matches inside the friendly confines of the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah and BYU open the home stretch on Thursday, Sept. 15, while non-conference action wraps up with Utah's third in-state opponent of the schedule in Utah State on Friday, Sept. 16.
Three of the first four conference weekends for Utah will be played in Salt Lake City, beginning with matches against Colorado (Sept. 22) and Arizona (Sept. 24). Utah hits the road briefly for contests at UCLA (Sept. 30) and USC (Oct. 2) before returning home for the next two weeks. Utah first welcomes California (Oct. 7) and Stanford (Oct. 9), while Washington (Oct. 14) and Washington State (Oct. 16) are set to come to town the following weekend.
Utah then begins to alternate the home and road competition when it travels to Oregon and Oregon State on Friday, Oct. 21, and Sunday, Oct. 23, respectively. The second half of the conference slate starts at the Huntsman Center with USC and UCLA coming in on Friday, Oct. 28, and Sunday, Oct. 30, respectively.
The Utes head to the Bay Area for matches at Stanford (Nov. 4) and California (Nov. 6), and then will look forward to the final matches of the home season against Oregon State and Oregon. The Utes and Beavers will play on Thursday, Nov. 10, while senior day against the Ducks is set for Sunday, Nov. 13. Rounding out the regular season, Utah will play at Washington State (Nov. 18), Washington (Nov. 20), Arizona State (Nov. 23), and Colorado (Nov. 25).
The 2022 NCAA Tournament begins the first weekend of December, with the first and second rounds of the tournament taking place at the home sites of the top 16 seeds from Friday, Dec. 2 to Sunday, Dec. 4. The NCAA Regional rounds will be Dec. 9-11, while the Final Four will take place Dec. 16-18.
Utah Volleyball returns eight letterwinners from last year's NCAA Tournament team, which reached the second round of the tournament. The Utes finished the 2021 campaign with a 22-9 overall record and went 14-6 in Pac-12 play, tying a program-record for Pac-12 wins in a season en route to the program's third consecutive third-place finish in the conference. Madelyn Robinson, an AVCA All-Region and All-Pac-12 honoree last year returns for a fifth year with the Utes, while the team adds significant talent in its freshman class of four and three rising sophomore transfers.
For a full look at the 2022 Utah Volleyball schedule with match times and TV information, click here. Fans can purchase or renew season tickets at utahtickets.com/volleyball.