Trailblazers drop five-set heartbreaker at Utah Valley

Stan Plewe/Utah Tech Athletics

Box Score

Utah Tech UTTECH 9-17,5-11 WAC

Utah Valley UVU 11-16,8-8 WAC

Utah Tech UTTECH

9-17,5-11 WAC

Final

Nov. 11, 2023

Utah Valley UVU

11-16,8-8 WAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Utah Tech UTTECH	20	25	22	25	11	(2)
Utah Valley UVU	25	22	25	15	15	(3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 11/11/2023 4:00:00 PM | Utah Tech Athletics Media Relations

Trailblazers drop five-set heartbreaker at Utah Valley

Utah Tech finishes the season with a 9-17 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the WAC.

(Orem, Utah – Nov. 11, 2023) - The Trailblazer volleyball team closed out the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a tough five-set defeat at Utah Valley at Lockhart Arena.

Utah Tech (9-17, 5-11 WAC) dropped the opening set, 25-20 to Utah Valley (11-16, 8-8 WAC) winning the second set, 25-22 before the Wolverines took the third set, 25-22. The fourth set went to the Trailblazers, 25-15 before UVU took a hard-fought fifth set, 15-11.

The Trailblazers were led by a career-high 25 kills from sophomore Kennedi Knudsen with the outside hitter adding her eighth double-double of the season with a team-leading 12 digs.

The duo of setters Taela Laufiso and Marley Roe added 26 and 25 assists, respectively, while Kate Hardy added a team-leading eight blocks. The senior middle blocker wraps up her Utah Tech career finishing in the top four in career hitting percentage, solo blocks, block assists and total blocks.

After dropping the opening set, the Trailblazers raced out to an 8-0 lead in the second set, but a 13-5 run for the Wolverines tied up the set at 13. With UVU taking a 19-18 lead after a block of Adee Butler, UT finished off the set on a 7-3 run getting a kill by Hardy and blocks from Knudsen and Hardy for the three-point set win.

The Wolverines responded with a three-point win in the third set, but the Trailblazers again responded in the fourth set. Getting out to an 11-11 tie, UT went on a quick 7-0 run to jump ahead 18-11 with five of the final six points of the set going the way of the Blazers capped off by an ace by Knudsen to send the match to a fifth set.

Heading to a fifth set for the ninth time this season, the Blazers got off to a 5-4 lead after a kill by Knudsen. The Wolverines answered back with a 4-0 run for a 8-5 lead. A kill by Hannah Howard kept UT within a pair at 10-8, but that was as close as the Trailblazers could get down the stretch.

The Trailblazers totaled season highs in kills (68) & assists (60) and matched their season-best with 11 service aces.

With the loss, Utah Tech closes out the season with a 9-17 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the WAC to finish ninth in the conference.

Individual Career Records