Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Utah volleyball defeated College of Charleston 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament opener.
- Sophomore Kamryn Gibadlo led with 11 kills, while Emrie Satuala had a .727 hitting percentage.
- Coach Beth Launiere emphasized teamwork and preparation for the upcoming match against Marquette.
SALT LAKE CITY — Riding a seven-match win streak coming into Thursday night's first round of the NCAA Tournament, Utah volleyball had little trouble extending the run to eight.
Utah jumped out to a quick 5-1 start in the first set of a match against the College of Charleston Thursday night, and never looked back in a sweep — 25-21, 25-19, 25-16 — over the visitors to the Huntsman Center in the second match of the Salt Lake City regional.
Sophomore Kamryn Gibadlo led Utah with 11 kills, seven digs and one block; while Emrie Satuala finished with a team-high hitting percentage of .727, eight kills, and four blocks in Utah's first-round win following a disappointing 2023 campaign where Utah missed the tournament with an 11-19 record.
But Thursday night's win was not about making a statement, Utes head coach Beth Launiere said.
"I don't think it's necessarily about any kind of statement," Launiere said. "Honestly, it's just about getting the win, and one win at a time. ... It's not about statements. One thing I've learned in the NCAA Tournament is every match has its own story, and it truly is about matchups, and so that's going to be our job is to figure out what are their strengths and how do we neutralize them."
Utah used a strong defensive attack at the net, while setting itself apart with a heavy emphasis on digs. Utah finished the night with 57 digs, keeping Utah fully engaged in each volley.
"We dug a lot of balls. ... We know that we're a big, physical team at the net, but I'm really proud of our defense tonight," Launiere said.
More importantly, though, Launiere said the win fit the model of how Utah volleyball has played all season, which is a team full of players contributing and helping in all aspects of the match.
"Very pleased with the win," she said. "That was a fairly typically Utah volleyball match, in terms of we got contributions from a lot of different players at different times through the course of the match.
"That's been a defining thing for our team, we have a lot of different people who contribute, and I thought that was typical of us tonight."
3000+ strong in the stands tonight. Thanks @utahathletics fans! Please come back out tomorrow night and let's get the JHC rocking!!! 7:00pm!!! Let's Go! @UtahVolleyballhttps://t.co/lns6wu0Ly8
— Beth Launiere (@CoachLauniere) December 6, 2024
Utah opened up the night on a 5-1 run before Charleston battled back to make it an even game. Utah got key contributions from players, including a timely block at the net by Satuala, to push another 7-point run to take a 13-5 lead before the Cougars eventually went on a 5-point run of their own.
But Utah stayed firm and kept Charleston at a distance before Lauren Jardine won the set with an authoritative kill for a 25-21 win.
The second set was much more of a back-and-forth game, with Utah slowly building up a lead as the set continued. Charleston cut Utah's lead to 2 late in the set, but the Utes pulled away and Claranne Fechter secured the win with a serving ace to win 25-19.
The third set was much like the first, with Utah pushing an early lead to control a 5-point advantage. But Charleston refused to go away and Utah had to work through some miscues — with Jardine carrying the way, according to Launiere — before a late 5-point run that essentially put the Cougars away.
With a sweep on their mind, Utah pushed forward to a final 25-16 win, setting up a second-round meeting against Marquette Friday (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+) at the Huntsman Center.
"I think it's really cool just to see all of our hard work paying off," Satuala said. "I think we worked really hard in the spring and over the summer and in the fall, and things are just coming together. I still think we have so much room to grow, so I think that this is really cool to see how our team will peak at the end of the season."
Added Jardine: "I also think that having the fans and the atmosphere of Utah volleyball keeps us steady, and being able to play with people that — we see our family in the crowd and being able to have that support behind us really, really helps calm our nerves."
There didn't appear to be any nerves Thursday night in a comfortable win, but each round of the NCAA Tournament is bound to get tougher, especially against a Marquette team that also got a sweep in its first-round match.
