Utah Welcomes California and #8 Purdue - University of Utah Athletics (2024)

Utes continue non-conference homestand against Golden Bears and Boilermakers

MATCH WEEK
Utah Volleyball returns to the Jon M. Huntsman Center this weekend hosting former Pac-12 foe the California Golden Bears and the nationally ranked #8 Purdue Boilermakers. The Utes host California on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m. MT (Watch: ESPN+). Then, Utah will prepare for a nationally ranked match-up, taking on #8 Purdue on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. MT (Watch: ESPN+). Catch the Utes in action on ESPN+ with Krista Blunk and Amy Gant on the call.

QUICK HITS
• Head Coach Beth Launiere enters her 35th season at the helm of the program. Utah Volleyball's winningest head coach heads into the fall season with a 652-419 career record.
• Utah opened the season with the annual Utah Classic, securing three wins to start the season, defeating UTEP (3-0), Utah State (3-1) and Green Bay (3-0).
• Kamryn Gibadlo earned All-Classic MVP honors, putting down 36 kills throughout the three matches of the opening weekend. Gibadlo posted a .380 hitting percentage, averaging 3.60 kills per set, adding five aces.
• Vanessa Ramirez, Emrie Satuala and Rianne Vos were also named to the All-Classic team for the Utes. Ramirez earned Libero MVP honors, averaging 3.13 digs per set and finishing with four aces. Satuala and Vos had career-high nights against Utah State, as Vos put down a career-high kills (14), and Satuala was a force at the net posting 11 blocks.
• Utah's last top 25 home win was a 3-0 sweep against #24 USC (10/28/22).
• Utah returns 13 letterwinners from a year ago, highlighted by the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honoree in Kamryn Gibadlo and Big 12 Preseason Team member, Lauren Jardine.
• The Utes welcome freshmen Levani Key-Powell and Isabelle Marco, along with transfers Claranne Fechter and Grace Moss.
• Utah is set to play three NCAA Tournament teams from the 2023 season.
• This season, Utah will meet six new opponents including Loyola University, Northeastern, UAlbany, Coppin State, Baylor and West Virginia.

SCOUTING CALIFORNIA
Cal opened its season with three wins on the road at the Rose City Showdown, hosted by Portland State. The Golden Bears defeated Nevada (3-0), San Francisco (3-2) and Portland State (3-0), under newly appointed head coach Jen Malcom. Leading the Cal offense through three games, Maggi Li put away a team-high 49 kills, averaging 4.45 kills per set with a .281 hitting percentage. Peyton DeJardin came away from the opening weekend averaging 3.18 kills per set with 35 total kills. At the net for the Golden Bears, Mikayla Hayden (1.36), Annalea Maeder (1.09) and Thomsen Sawyer (1.00) averaged more than one block per set. On the receiving side, Gianna Bartalo tallied a team-high 58 digs.

SCOUTING PURDUE
Purdue began its 2024 campaign on its home court, compiling three wins against Kansas State (3-1), UMBC (3-0) and UC Davis (3-0). Eva Hudson paced the Boilermaker offense with 46 kills, averaging 4.60 kills per set with a .352 hitting percentage. Through the opening weekend, Purdue has five attackers averaging two or more kills per set, including Hudson, Chloe Chicoine (3.70), Raven Colvin (2.60), Kenna Wollard (2.57) and Lizzie Carr (2.00). At the net, Raven Colvin has presented a problem for opposing offenses by recording 19 blocks, along with Taylor Anderson and Lourdes adding 13 each. Taylor Anderson has facilitated the Purdue offense, dishing out 122 of the Boilermaker's 143 assists this season.

UP NEXT
Utah Volleyball will hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to the Windy City for three matches at the Loyola Chicago Tournament. The Utes will take on host Loyola University on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13-14, with Friday's match against the Ramblers is set for 6 p.m. MT and Saturday's match taking place at 7 p.m. MT. Utah will end the weekend trip taking on Northeastern on Sunday, Sept. 15, at noon MT.

SEASON TICKET TIME
Fans can secure their season tickets for the 2024 campaign and catch all of the action in the Huntsman Center, to help Utah Volleyball make the Huntsman Center the best home-court advantage in the nation. Visit UtahTickets.com to purchase tickets for all 14 home matches.

OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock a refreshed game-day experience that offers access to news and information, schedules, rosters, stats and behind-the-scenes videos, and allows fans to buy and manage game tickets and order concessions straight from their mobile device. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready!

FOLLOW THE UTES
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UtahVolleyball | Instagram: @UtahVolleyball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahvolleyball), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360.