Utah Volleyball Set For Red & White Match This Saturday

MATCH WEEK
Utah Volleyball is set to hit the hardwood for the annual Red & White match at the Jon M. Huntsman Center this Saturday, Aug. 20. The Utes will be split into two teams with the scrimmage set to begin at 2 p.m. MT in Salt Lake City. Admission is free for all fans.
 
2022 QUICK HITS

• Head coach Beth Launiere enters her 33rd season at the helm of the program. Utah Volleyball's winningest head coach heads into the fall season with a 623-384 career record.
• Utah is coming off its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 18th overall.
• The Utes finished third in the Pac-12 Conference for the third year in row, collecting a program-record tying 14 Pac-12 wins in 2021.
• Utah returns eight letterwinners from last year's squad, highlighted by AVCA Pacific South All-Region selection Madelyn Robinson, and welcomes seven newcomers.
• Utah has been ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll for 45-straight weeks, dating back to the 2019 season.
• Utah will play against 10 tournament teams from last year, including five Sweet 16 squads, and will appear on the Pac-12 Networks 14 times.

IN THE RANKINGS
Utah Volleyball continued its streak of weeks in the AVCA Coaches Poll, checking in at No. 22 in the AVCA Preseason Poll ahead of the 2022 fall season. The poll marks the sixth-straight season the Utes have been ranked or have received votes in the preseason poll. Utah has found itself among the top-25 of the nation in 45 consecutive polls, dating back to the poll on Sept. 2, 2019. The 45 weeks in a row in the AVCA Coaches Poll is tied for the longest stretch in program history, matching the record of 45 consecutive weeks ranked from Sept. 11, 2000 to Dec. 2, 2002. Utah will face nine teams ranked in the preseason poll, including four ranked squads in non-conference play.

NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
Utah Volleyball will open the 2022 season with the annual Utah Classic, featuring NCAA Tournament teams from last season in Utah Valley and No. 23 Kansas, along with Loyola Marymount. Kansas reached the Sweet 16 last year and finished ranked No. 19 in the AVCA final poll. Continuing the tough competition, Utah will head to Purdue's home tournament to play UW-Milwaukee, Bradley and the home team No. 13 Purdue, which advanced to the Elite 8 in 2021 and finished the year ranked sixth in the nation. The final tournament of the season will be at San Diego, where the Utes will face SMU, UConn, and No. 25 San Diego. Rounding out the preseason will be in-state battles at the Huntsman Center against No. 10 BYU and Utah State. A full look at the non-conference and conference slate can be found here.
 
UTAH CLASSIC SCHEDULE

 
SEASON TICKET TIME
It is time to secure season tickets for the 2022 season to catch all of the action in the Huntsman Center. Help Utah Volleyball make the Huntsman Center the best home court advantage in the nation and visit UtahTickets.com to purchase tickets for $25 to watch all 15 home matches.
 
RETURNING ROLES
Madelyn Robinson stands out as the top returner heading into the fall season as the rising fifth year Ute collected conference and region honors last season. She returns as one of just three Utes last season to have played in every set of the season and averaged 3.01 kills per set. Joining Robinson with a wealth of experience is two-year starting libero Vanessa Ramirez. The rising junior led the team with 3.37 digs per set and posted the third-most aces. Junior Amelia Van Der Werff also enters the conversation as notable contributors returning as the middle blocker recording the best hitting percentage on the team (.380), which ranked fifth in the conference. She also led the team with 1.05 blocks per set in 2021. Also returning for Utah is Megan Yett, Abby Karich, Emily Smith, Kamry Bailey, and Allie Olsen.
 
NOTICING THE NEWCOMERS
Utah welcomes seven newcomers to the team this season with four freshmen added and three sophomore transfers. Transferring into the program were outside hitters Lauren Jardine and Courtney Oilar, along with setter Grace Hammond. Jardine, a Highland, Utah native and Utah Gatorade Player of the Year, made her way to the Utes from the 2021 national championship team Wisconsin, while Oilar made the jump from Feather River College where she was an AVCA All-American. Hammond comes to the Utes as an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection from Rhode Island.
 
The freshman quartet features a hometown Ute in middle hitter KJ Burgess, who hails from Alpine, Utah and was a three-time state champion at Lone Peak High School. Outside hitter Ashley West joins the squad from Arvada, Colo., as a 2022 junior national champion with Front Range Volleyball, while setter Viktoria Wahlgren comes from Canada where she has represented Team Canada at the World Championships, as well as other international assignments. Rounding out the newcomers is defensive specialist/libero Iliana Linahan from Austin, Texas.
 
UP NEXT
Utah will officially open the 2022 season at the Utah Classic on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 26-27. The Utes will play a pair of matches on Friday before closing out the event Saturday evening. Utah will open its home tournament on Friday at 10 a.m. MT against Loyola Marymount, while welcoming Kansas to the Huntsman Center at 7 p.m. MT. The final match of the tournament against Utah Valley will be played at 4 p.m. MT on Saturday and will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.