Match 1: Utah (0-0) at Utah Valley (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 25 | 6 p.m. MT
Orem, Utah | Lockhart Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Match 2: Utah (0-0) vs. NC State (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 26 | 12 p.m. MT
Orem, Utah | Lockhart Arena
Watch: YouTube
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

MATCH WEEK
Utah Volleyball is set to begin the 2023 season this weekend with a short drive to Orem, Utah. The Utes are set for a season opener against Utah Valley this Friday, Aug. 25, at 6 p.m. MT in Lockhart Arena. Then, Utah will prepare for a neutral site match the next day against NC State at 12 p.m. MT in Lockhart Arena. The Utes and Wolverines' match will be streamed on ESPN+, while the neutral site match on Saturday will be streamed on Utah Valley's YouTube channel.
 
QUICK HITS
• Head Coach Beth Launiere enters her 34^th season at the helm of the program. Utah Volleyball's winningest head coach heads into the fall season with a 638-400 career record.
• Utah returns 11 letterwinners from a year ago, highlighted by the reigning Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year in KJ Burgess.
• The Utes welcome freshmen Skylar George, Kamryn Gibadlo, Kaieva Johnson, and Olga Musial, along with transfers Emrie Satuala and Rianne Vos.
• Utah is set to play 10 NCAA Tournament teams from the 2022 season and four in-state opponents.  
• Sixteen of the 18 Utes on this year's roster saw action in last week's exhibition match.
• The season opener on the road at Utah Valley marks the second time in three seasons Utah has opened its season in Orem.
• The match against NC State marks the first meeting between the programs since 1999 and just the fourth overall.  

NON-CONFERENCE NOTES
Utah continues a full slate of non-conference action after the Utah Valley Invitational and along with the match against Utah Valley, the Utes will take on in-state foes Utah State and BYU on the road, and Weber State at home. The 2023 home opener will feature the UNLV Rebels, which will be a homecoming for Malia Shoji. Shoji took the head coaching position at UNLV this past spring after spending eight seasons with the Utes. Rounding out the non-conference schedule is a road match at Portland State and the trio of opponents in Tennessee State, UC Santa Barbara and San Francisco that the Utes will see at the Utah Classic. For a full look at the schedule with dates and match times, click here.
  
UTAH CLASSIC SCHEDULE

Friday, Sept. 8	10am	UC Santa Barbara vs. San Francisco
	12pm	Utah vs. Tennessee State
	4:30pm	Tennessee State vs. San Francisco
	7pm	Utah vs. UC Santa Barbara
Saturday, Sept. 9	1:30pm	UC Santa Barbara vs. Tennessee State
	4pm	Utah vs. San Francisco

 
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY
Utah Valley is coming off an 18-11 campaign last season, which saw a 10-4 record in WAC play. The Wolverines were picked to finish fourth in this year's WAC preseason poll, while senior outside hitter Tori Ellis was named to the preseason All-WAC team. Ellis was a first-team All-WAC selection in 2022 after averaging 3.75 kills per set. The Utes downed UVU last year in the Huntsman Center in straight sets, while taking all three meetings against UVU in 2021. Utah last lost to Utah Valley in 2009 and has won 11-straight matches.
 
SCOUTING NC STATE
NC State posted a 16-13 overall record a year ago, including a 10-8 mark in ACC action. The Wolf Pack are led by sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard, who is coming off All-ACC Freshman Team honors last season. Brizard averaged 3.02 kills per set and had five double-doubles. Utah and NC State have met just three times in history with the Utes leading the series history 2-1. The contests were in 1987, 1990 and 1999.
 
SEASON TICKET TIME
Secure your season tickets for the 2023 season and catch all of the action in the Huntsman Center. Help Utah Volleyball make the Huntsman Center the best home court advantage in the nation and visit UtahTickets.com to purchase tickets for all 15 home matches.
 
EXHIBITION RECAP
The Utes hosted Colorado State for an exhibition last Saturday where 16 of the 18 Utes saw action. Every Ute hitter earned at least one kill in the five-set match. Utah won all five sets and was led by Lauren Jardine's 13 kills and Kamryn Gibadlo's 11 kills. Six additional Utes also recorded at least six kills in the match, while Viktoria Wahlgren dished out 41 assists and Grace Hammond added 16 assists. Defensively, Rianne Vos led the team with 12 digs and Wahlgren added eight. Emrie Satuala led the team with six blocks.

UP NEXT
Utah Volleyball remains on the road for a mid-week match at Utah State next Wednesday, Aug. 30. The Utes and Aggies are set for first serve at 6 p.m. MT in Logan. Then, Utah welcomes UNLV for its 2023 home opener in the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Friday, Sept. 1. The match will begin at 7 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Insider.