Arizona volleyball head coach Dave Rubio was worried that a 3 p.m. start time would mean that the Wildcats’ match against No. 16 Utah would lack a crowd and energy. He couldn’t have been more accurate as the Utes won 3-0 (25-9, 26-24, 25-22) in a McKale Center that felt almost as if COVID-19 attendance restrictions had been imposed again.
After beating Arizona in three close sets last month in Salt Lake City, the Utes came out and controlled the Wildcats in front of 654 people in Tucson on Friday afternoon. The only matches with lower official attendance numbers this season were pre-conference games that didn’t charge admission or count attendance.