Utah Volleyball 'Happy To Be Home' After Two-Week Road Trip
When Kenzie Koerber returned to her home on Sunday after a long two weeks, she had two things on her mind.
The former All-American couldn't wait to sleep in her comfortable bed and she couldn't wait to go to the grocery store. After being on the road the past two weekends, it was the little things that mattered most upon return knowing she would be home for the next two weekends.
"It's so nice to be able to sleep in my bed every night and just be home, there's nothing really like it because it feels like we've been gone for so long," Koerber said. "But the best part was going to the grocery store knowing I would be able to eat at home. With everything going on, any little win is a big deal."
Koerber wasn't joking when she said any little win is a big deal.
But for Utah, all the Utes know of is winning as they're currently 6-0 on the season and ranked No. 7 in the nation, their highest ranking ever. However, the competition continues to ramp up as they'll be hosting USC on Friday and Sunday. First serve is set for 3 p.m. on Friday, followed by a noon game time on Sunday.
Utah will enter the match on Friday full of confidence after what took place this past weekend against Arizona State.
Pushed to five sets for the first time all year, the Utes found themselves trailing 2-1 after blowing late leads in the second and third set.
The fourth set proved to be the most exciting as the Utes found themselves leading 16-15 before Drews came to life serving. She led Utah on an 8-1 run that proved to be huge, not just for the victory but the momentum gained.
Weatherington came to life in the final set, recording six kills for the Utes as Utah took an early lead and never looked back.
Not wanting to leave any doubt when it came to Sunday's finale, Utah sent a message to the Sun Devils and the rest of the conference with a dominating 3-0 victory.
"We felt that we shouldn't have gone to five sets in that first match, but credit to them (Arizona State) as they played really well," Koerber said. "We were able to focus and get the win. ... But then we wanted to make sure we played better on Sunday. We were more focused and played a lot better."
Koerber has been a bright spot for her all-around game, as her 2.9 digs per set leads the team and her 2.19 kills per set is fourth for the Utes. Zoe Weatherington and Madelyn Robinson have emerged as bright spots as well, averaging 3.33 and 2.82 kills per set respectively.
But Dani Drews has emerged as the best player on the Utes.
The former all-American is coming off another week of being named Pac-12 player of the year after she finished with 51 kills over the two matches, averaging 6.38 kills per set in eight sets played. She is No. 3 in the nation in points per set at 5.88 and No. 5 in kills per set with 5.29
Standing in Utah's way of its unbeaten start to the season are the Trojans, who will enter Salt Lake City. Just 1-3 on the season, USC dropped back-to-back five-set matches against host Oregon this past weekend.
Outside hitter Brooke Botkin leads USC with 3.17 kills per set while Kalen Owes and Emilia Weske ranked second and third respectively at 2.72 and 2.39 kills per set. Setter Raquel Lazaro averages 9.67 assists per set.
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