Utah Volleyball receives its sixth consecutive NCAA tournament offering, opening against Utah Valley in the Provo Regional

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• 2021 NCAA Championship Bracket

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah volleyball program will be its sixth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance this Friday, December 3, in the Provo Regional with a first-round matchup against Utah Valley and the 18th. The Utes and Wolverines will be the postseason at 4 p.m. MT at Smith Fieldhouse Open in Provo, Utah.

“I never take this for granted,” said head coach Beth Launiere. “The work this team has done this year to finish third in the Pac-12 and enter the tournament must be recognized and celebrated. We will get to work from tomorrow and we are very happy to be part of the tournament. Utah Valley has a very good program, very good staff, and very good head coach in Sam Atoa, and we respect them very much. We have to prepare very well for them. “

Utah finished the regular season 21-8 overall, setting a 14-6 record in the Pac-12 game, finishing third for the third year in a row. The 14 conference draws a program best in the Pac-12 game set during the 2019 season. Utah also recorded six wins over the top 25 teams, highlighted by the two highest real road wins in program history – the then No. 3 Nebraska in Lincoln and then No. 6 Washington in Seattle.

Utah Valley clinched his second straight place in the NCAA tournament after winning three games in a row in the WAC tournament for the league’s automatic bid. Consecutive WAC champions finished 16-12 and 8-6 in conference play. The Utes opened the season with two games against the Wolverines, winning 3-1 at Orem before taking a win the next day in Salt Lake City.

“The draw didn’t surprise us,” said Launiere as he traveled to the Provo Regional for the fourth time in six years. “We know our way around the arena and have been in that position before. It doesn’t matter where you end up in the dance because you have to win matches and face challenges wherever you end up.”

Should the Utes win a win over Utah Valley, they would play against the Boise State winner and the No. 11 seed BYU on Saturday, December 4th. The second round game will take place at 7 p.m. MT.