Utah Beach Volleyball Sweeps Arizona Christian, Falls 3-2 Against Boise State
BOISE, Idaho – Utah Beach Volleyball split its matches on Friday, dropping a 3-2 dual match to Boise State before sweeping Arizona Christian 5-0. The Utes will play Oregon on Saturday and will have a rematch with Boise State in the afternoon.
Utah 2, Boise State 3
The Utes began competition against the Broncos where they found themselves in a 1-0 deficit early on. Boise State's fourth duo picked up a win, but Grace Andrews and Marissa Koch were able to even the dual 1-1 after taking a hard-fought three set win on court two. Andrews and Koch picked up a 21-19 win in the first set and after dropping the second, they bounced back with a nail-biting 15-12 win in the third set.
Boise State responded and narrowly edged out Utah's third pair for the next point, beating Bella Vezzani and Abby Karich by just enough in extra points in the first set (26-24) and then narrowly again in the second set (21-19). The Broncos managed to clinch the match from a win on court five.
Though the match had been won by Boise State, Utah's top duo of Amaya Messier and Katie McAlister battled through their match to get Utah another point. McAlister and Messier pulled out a 28-26 win in a marathon first set, while the duo picked up a 21-15 victory to close out the match.
Utah 5, Arizona Christian 0
Utah got to work early against Arizona Christian as Andrews and Koch continued their winning streak from the morning's match and picked up a 21-17, 21-16 win on court two. Savannah Cottam and Sonja Wessel added another point shortly after with their 21-16, 21-17 win on court four before the next wave of courts began.
Messier and McAlister, along with Sydney Jacinto and Kylie Pitzak, made quick work of their opponents on courts one and five to push Utah closer to a sweep. Messier and McAlister won 21-8, 21-14 on court one, while Jacinto and Pitzak cruised to a 21-7, 21-8 win on court five. Left to complete the sweep, Vezzani and Karich capped off the day's action with another dominating performance, winning 21-11, 21-12 on court three.
On Saturday, Apr. 1, Utah opens competition against Oregon at 1 p.m. MT. The Utes will then look forward to a rematch against Boise State at 3 p.m. MT to close out the weekend in Idaho. The match against Boise State will be live streamed here.
Utah 2, Boise State 3
1. Amaya Messier/Katie McAlister (UU) def. Sierra Land/Madison Nichols (BSU) 28-26, 21-15
2. Grace Andrews/Marissa Koch (UU) def. Rorianna Chartier/Ava Anderson (BSU) 21-19, 17-21, 15-12
3. Emilia Guerra-Acuna/Luly Patock (BSU) def. Abby Karich/Bella Vezzani (UU) 26-24, 21-19
4. Elli Wolthius/Kaylee Mejia (BSU) def. Savannah Cottam/Sonja Wessel (UU), 21-13, 21-14
5. Joey Benson/Aris Vetter (BSU) def. Sydney Jacinto/Kylie Pitzak (UU) 21-18, 21-14
Exh. Azure McOmber/Chloe Narancich (UU) def. Anika Christensen/Abbie Wolf (BSU) 19-21, 22-20, 15-10
Order of finish: 4,6,2,3,5,1
Utah 5, Arizona Christian 0
1. Amaya Messier/Katie McAlister (UU) def. Misty McCall/Brianna Boeckman (ACU) 21-8, 21-14
2. Grace Andrews/Marissa Koch (UU) def. Haley Brown/Amaya Brown (ACU) 21-17, 21-16
3. Abby Karich/Bella Vezzani (UU) def. Sydney Shaw/Katy Shockey (ACU) 21-11, 21-12
4. Savannah Cottam/Sonja Wessel (UU) def. Brianna Beckler/Anna Kate Clark (ACU) 21-16, 21-17
5. Sydney Jacinto/Kylie Pitzak (UU) def. Madelyn Guinn/Daniela Bejarno (ACU) 21-7, 21-8
Exh. Azure McOmber/Chloe Narancich (UU) def. Dyanna Avila/Riley Brown (ACU) 21-17, 22-20
Order of finish: 6,2,4,1,5,3