Box Score SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – UC Irvine couldn't get the offense going as No. 19 Utah swept the season opener 3-0 (25-15, 25-21) at the Utah Volleyball Classic at the Huntsman Center.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>UCI hit .136 (35-21-103), while the Utes posted a .235 (34-14-85) hitting percentage
>The Anteaters, the conference's best serving team a year ago, struggled with 12 service errors and just two aces (Koumelis, Marjama)
>Outside hitter Loryn Carter returned after a redshirt year to lead the Anteaters with eight kills and two total blocks
>Senior Haley DeSales donned the libero jersey and led all players with 11 digs
>Utah's Lauga Gauta was the only player with double-figure kills, posting 11

TURNING POINTS
SET 1
>Utah scored the final four points to take the set 25-15
>The Utes jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and never looked back. Loryn Carter finally scored a point for the Anteaters to make it 7-3
>Both teams started slow with UCI hitting -.053 (6-8-38) and Utah at .138 (10-6-29)
>The Anteaters also had six service errors

SET 2
>Utah once again got out early with a 6-2 lead, four off of UCI errors
>UCI would rally late on a 5-0 run to inch to 23-18, but the Anteaters would run out of time as the Utes would score two of the next three for a 25-19 victory

SET 3
>UCI opened with the first two points on an ace by Abby Marjama and a block by Loryn Carter and Makayla Wolfe
>UCI trailed by its largest margin, 14-10, before the Anteaters scored four unanswered on kills by Harlee Kekauoha, Abby Marjama and Idara Akpakpa plus an Utah error to knot the score and force a Ute timeout. Another Utah error out of the timeout gave UCI a 15-14 lead, but the Utes would score five of the next six points to regain control, 19-16
>UCI wouldn't go away, scoring three in a row to close to 21-23 on an Akpakpa kill, only to watch the Utes score the final two points to win 25-21
>The Anteaters finally got the offense going, hitting .321 (14-5-28) in the final set  

NOTES
>Freshmen Abby Marjama, Lauren Russ and Sophie Wood all made their Anteater debuts
>UCI matched its non-conference loss total from a year ago when they were 12-1
>Utah has won three of the last four meetings with the Anteaters, but UCI still maintains a 4-3 advantage all-time

UP NEXT
Tournament action continues tomorrow with UCI taking on Denver at 9:00 a.m. PT then facing Saint Mary's at 3:30 p.m.