Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Arizona on October 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Volleyball
at Arizona
Wednesday, September 21
Boulder, Colo.
7:00 PM
University of Utah
10-2
3
at
2
Colorado
8-3
1
2
3
4
5
F
Utah
25
15
21
25
20
3
Colorado
18
25
25
16
18
2
Team Stats
UTAH
COLO
Kills
67
60
Errors
28
27
Attempts
185
187
Hitting %
.211
.176
Points
81.0
73.0
Assists
59
54
Aces
2
1
Blocks
12.0
12.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
27
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballUtes Open Pac-12 Play with 3-2 Win at #16 Colorado
9/21/2016 10:35 PM | Volleyball
Anae and Luafalemana register double-digit kills on the night
Tawnee Luafalemana's magnificent kill scores @UtahVolleyball's #12Best moment!https://t.co/5EV11Us24b
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 22, 2016
BOULDER, Colo. – The Utah Utes (10-2, 1-0) opened Pac-12 play with a thrilling five-set road victory, downing the No. 16-ranked Colorado Buffaloes (8-3, 0-1), 3-2 (25-18, 15-25, 21-25, 25-16, 20-18), Wednesday evening at Coors Events Center.
Â
Utah Junior Adora Anae registered a match-high 27 kills and collected 16 digs for her ninth double-double of the season, all the while also managing to collect the 1,000th kill for her career in a Utah uniform. Anae becomes just the 17th player in school history to earn a membership into the elite 1,000-kill club.
Â
Junior Tawnee Luafalemana registered 10 kills and matched a season-high with seven total blocks on the night. After Utah fell behind 2-1 in the match, Luafalemana teamed up with fellow junior Eliza Katoa on a block that sent the contest into a decisive fifth set. Meanwhile, Katoa posted a season-high nine kills and was credited with five total blocks on the evening.
Â
Utah opened the night cruising to a 25-18 win in the first set. The Utes tallied 14 kills and a .244 hitting percentage, while limiting the Buffs to just 11 kills on .021 hitting in the frame.
Â
Colorado countered though, winning the next two sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-21, while hitting .438 and .308 in the two frames, respectively. Utah was limited to hitting efforts of just .188 and .132, while going down 2-1 in the match to the home squad.
Â
Utah built a 6-3 lead early in the fourth set with back-to-back kills from freshman Torre Glasker. A block from Luafalemana and a kill from Anae pushed Utah's lead to 15-8 and that forced Colorado to take a timeout. The Utes capped off a 7-0 run with yet another block from Luafalemana, which extended Utah's lead to 11 points, up 19-8.
Â
Colorado would rally with a 5-1 run to get back within seven points, but Anae's 20th kill of the night, followed by Luafalemana's and Katoa's block pushed the match to a fifth set with Utah taking the frame 25-16.
Â
Both teams traded points to open the fifth set before a 3-0 run gave the Utes an 8-5 advantage. With both teams trading sides of the net, Colorado managed to counter Utah's run with a 4-0 run of its own and take a 9-8 lead, which happened to be the very first lead change for either team on the evening.
Â
Utah called a timeout and opened a 4-0 run with a block from sophomore Berkeley Oblad. Trailing 12-9, Colorado again came back with another run, this time scoring five of the next six points to take a 14-13 lead.
Â
Down match point, Utah called its final timeout of the evening and then came out of the break with back-to-back kills from Anae. Her 25th kill of the match gave Utah a 15-14 advantage and it was the junior's 1,000th kill of her career.
Â
Congrats to @anaealator, who records her 1000th career kill for the Utes! #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/WGs6a0MrUp
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) September 22, 2016
Â
Colorado again countered, winning four of the next six points to go up match point, 18-17. Utah fought off the home court advantage though, as Anae registered a kill and Katoa followed with a kill to put Utah up match point, 19-18. Anae then put the match away with her 27th kill of the evening, giving Utah the 20-18 win and escaping Coors Events Center with another road victory.
Â
"We really worked to fine-tune our offense there in the end," Anae said after the match. "We were getting really good passes and were able to execute on them there in the fifth set."
Â
Utah matched its win total from all of last season, moving to 10-2 overall in 2016. The Utes also moved to 3-0 on the road this season – matching its road-win total from last season, while also winning three straight road games for the first time since a 3-0 stretch from Sept. 6-17, 2014. The win also snapped a four-match losing streak to the Buffs in Boulder.
Â
Utah closed out the match hitting .242 in the fourth set and .244 in the fifth set, while finishing the evening hitting .211 as a team. The Utes have now posted better hitting percentages than all 12 of its opponents this season as Colorado finished the match hitting just .176.
Â
Freshman Bailey Choy closed out the match with 39 assists and a career-high 17 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Sophomore Jessie Openshaw registered 15 assists, while sophomore Megan Shughrou recorded a team-high 19 digs.
Â
"Bailey has really stepped up when we have needed her most," said Anae. "She comes in this season as a true freshman and that is a lot on her plate already, but she has been dishing the ball equally to both the outside hitters and middle blockers. I could not do what I do without her effort."
Â
Utah returns home this Saturday, Sept. 24, to host Arizona State in its Pac-12 home opener. First serve between the Utes and Sun Devils is set for 7 p.m. inside the Huntsman Center.
Â
Utah Volleyball's Emrie Moea'i - ESPN+ Feature
Thursday, September 25
Hear It From Harlan featuring Utah Volleyball's Kamryn Gibadlo
Thursday, September 25
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Tony Caridi, voice of the West Virginia Mountaineers
Tuesday, September 23
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Urban Meyer
Wednesday, September 17