Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus Weber State (Exhibition) on August 15, 2026 at 3:00 P.M.
3:00 P.M.
Volleyball
vs Weber State (Exhibition)
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The University of Utah Athletics
Volleyball Continues Conference Action At Home
10/5/1999 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 5, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utes opened their conference schedule with two big matches over the weekend. Utah defeated New Mexico on the road in four games (15-9, 13-15, 15-9, 15-13) Fri., Oct. 1. The Utes came back from a two-game deficit Saturday night to defeat Air Force in five games, (11-15, 9-15, 15-8, 15-7, 15-13). Utah's overall record is currently 11-4. Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against Idaho State are: Graciela Torres-Lopez (Sr., S), McKelle Stilson (So., MB), Jen Snow-Richards (Jr., OH), Katrena Ellett (Fr., MB), Brooke Barton (Jr., OH), Adrianne Bradley (So., OH), or Lucie Turkova (Jr., DS). Utah's all-time assists leader Graciela Torres has added 704 assists thus far to her career total of 4,410. The Utes add four transfers and four true freshmen to this year's roster.
AFTER THIS:
On Fri. Oct. 15, Utah will take on in-state rival, 10th ranked BYU at home at 7:00 p.m. Utah ends its four-match homestand on Oct. 20, when they take on Notre Dame at 7:00 p.m. On Oct. 22, the Utes travel to Laramie, Wyo. to take on the Cowgirls of Wyoming at 7:00 p.m. Utah hits the road once again on Sat., Oct. 23, when they take on Colorado State at 7:00 p.m.
NEW MEXICO MATCH RECAP:
Utah defeated New Mexico in four games, 15-9, 13-15, 15-9, 15-13 to open its Mountain West Conference schedule. New Mexico drops to 5-12 overall, 0-1 in conference play.
Utah sophomore Adrianne Bradley led the Utes with 15 kills for a .216 hitting percentage and 14 digs. Sophomore transfer Alisa Geddes led the team with 17 digs and 14 kills. Teammate McKelle Stilson totaled 13 kills and 5 total blocks. Freshman Brenda Beal added 7 total blocks. Senior setter Graciela Torres-Lopez posted 53 assists and 14 digs. As a team, the Utes hit .193 in the match.
New Mexico was led by Amber Smith. Smith posted 17 kills for a .217 hitting percentage. Teammates Jessie Goffard and Micaela Conley added 11 kills and 10 kills, respectively. The Lobos hit .115 as a team.
AIR FORCE MATCH RECAP:
The University of Utah women's volleyball team defeated MWC opponent Air Force in five games, 11-15, 9-15, 15-8, 15-7, 15-13. Air Force drops to 11-4 overall, 0-2 in the MWC.
Sophomore McKelle Stilson led the Utes with 21 kills, 10 digs and three total blocks. Teammate Alisa Geddes totaled 17 kills, 14 digs and three total blocks. Graciela Torres-Lopez had 55 assists and 12 digs, while Brooke Barton posted 16 digs. Adrianne Bradley added 15 digs. Utah hit for .139 in the match.
Air Force was led by Brooke Effland who totaled 22 kills and 13 digs. Tracy Wilkerson posted 10 kills and 16 digs, while teammate In Tharommony led the team with 20 digs. Shaylor Billings added 12 kills in the match. Air Force posted a .136 hitting percentage.
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE:
The San Diego State women's volleyball team opened its 1999 Mountain West Conference season with a 3-2 win over UNLV, Sat., Oct. 2 in Las Vegas, Nev. The Aztecs are currently 7-7 overall, 1-0 in the MWC. Junior outside hitter Amy Hallquist leads the team in kills, averaging 2.63 kills per game. Hallquist is second on the team in digs, averaging 2.30 DPG. In 1998, Hallquist finished the season with 194 kills (2.20 KPG), adding 158 digs (1.80 DPG) defensively. Senior Jamie Evans leads the team in digs, averaging 2.69 digs per game. Evans is second on the team in kills, averaging 2.61 kills per game. Last season, Evans posted 1.21 digs per game. San Diego State returns five starters from last year's team that went 5-23 overall and 2-11 in the WAC. Head Coach Mark Warner begins his 5th season at San Diego State. Warner has compiled a 72-50 career record.
SCOUTING UNLV:
The UNLV women's volleyball team lost to San Diego State in five games (15-9, 10-15, 11-15, 15-6, 12-15) to open its Mountain West Conference schedule, Sat., Oct. 2. UNLV returns five starters from last year's team, which posted a 23-8 overall record, 11-3 in the WAC. Justine Kamelamela leads the team in kills and digs, averaging 3.31 KPG and 2.86 digs per game. Last season, Kamelamela averaged 3.68 kills per game and 2.56 digs per game. Teammate Jeanette Graves currently averages 2.89 kills per game. In 1998, Graves posted 3.55 kills per game and 1.37 digs per game. Head Coach Deitre Collins enters her 3rd year at the helm for the Rebels. Collins has compiled a 37-48 career record.
SERIES SHORTS:
San Diego State leads the all-time series with Utah, 4-13. Utah leads the all-time series with UNLV, 4-1.
THE NEW MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE:
Utah and seven other schools broke away from the WAC to form the new Mountain West Conference. Joining the Utes in the nation's newest conference are: Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV and Wyoming. The Utes opened their conference schedule last weekend.
HEAD COACH BETH LAUNIERE:
In her tenth season, Beth Launiere has not only resurrected the Ute volleyball program and turned it into a consistent winner, she has also guided Utah to unprecedented success on the national level.
Under Launiere's leadership, Utah made its first-ever appearance in 1999 and advanced to the second round. It is the crowning achievement of Launiere's tenure at Utah, in which she has posted a 169-132 (.562) career record. vThe winningest coach in school history, Launiere has overseen a significant transformation since her arrival in 1990. In the last five years alone, Launiere has guided the Utes to four 20-win seasons and five upper division finishes in the Western Athletic Conference.
QUOTING LAUNIERE:
On the New Mexico match- "This was a challenging match for us. We hit .193 and that's under our average, but New Mexico is a very defensive team and any time you come down here it's always a tough match-up. It was a huge blocking night for us and it feels really good to get this win with the start of conference play."
On the Air Force match- "Air Force played incredibly well. They dug everything we threw at them and played great defensively. It was a great win for us to come back and win this MWC match on the road."
On the upcoming matches match- "We've got our work cut out for us and both opponents are going to be tough. I knew going into the conference schedule that no opponent would be an easy match and that was evident from last weekend's matches. It will be nice to be back at home as this has been one of the roughest pre-conference travel years for us so far. I felt fortunate to get away from last weekend's road trip with two wins. We didn't play our best volleyball, but we played well enough to win and sometimes that's what it's all about."
On the San Diego State match- "San Diego State beat UNLV in Las Vegas, Nev. last weekend in five games. Both match-ups are going to be tough for us. San Diego State is traditionally always a strong team and we expect nothing less from them this coming weekend."
On the UNLV match- "UNLV has been playing very well all season long and has had some really good wins. We know that UNLV has a lot of talent on their team, we came up against them last year and had a tough time with them in the WAC Tournament. We're expecting two big matches."
MWC PRE-SEASON POLL:
In a survey of the Mountain West Conference coaches before the season, Utah, which received votes in the preseason national poll, was picked to finish third. Brigham Young was the unanimous favorite in the poll, with Colorado State projected to be the MWC runner-up. BYU entered the season ranked No. 7 in the nation, while Colorado State climbed into the preseason national poll at No. 24.
STILSON NAMED MWC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:
Sophomore middle blocker McKelle Stilson was named the Mountain West Conference's Volleyball Athlete of the Week for the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 3. Over the weekend, Stilson posted 34 kills in two matches (3.78 KPG) against MWC opponents New Mexico and Air Force. She also racked up 10 digs in the Air Force match. Stilson had eight total blocks in the two matches, averaging 0.89 blocks per game. In 12 out of 15 matches, Stilson has posted double figures in kills. Stilson currently leads Utah with 212 total kills. She averages 3.85 kills per game and currently posts a .353 hitting percentage. Stilson is also a threat to any opponent's offense. She has racked up nine block solos and 60 blocks assists, for 69 total blocks to date. Stilson leads the team, averaging 1.25 blocks per game. Earlier this season, Stilson posted a career-high 25 kills for a .435 hitting percentage and eight total blocks vs. California.
MWC STATISTICAL LEADERS:
Utah as a team leads the conference in digs, averaging 16.21 DPG. The Utes are currently third in kills (16.37 KPG) and assists (14.70 APG). Utah is fourth in blocks (2.35 BPG) and fourth with a .214 team hitting percentage and eighth in service aces (1.37 SAPG). Individually, Utah ranks among some of the best in the conference. Senior co-captain, Graciela Torres-Lopez is currently second in the MWC in assists, averaging 13.04 assists per game. Torres-Lopez ranks 10th in digs, averaging 2.56 DPG. McKelle Stilson currently ranks third in the conference with a .353 hitting percentage. Stilson is fifth in blocks, averaging 1.25 blocks per game and fifth in kills, averaging 3.85 kills per game. Sophomore transfer, Alisa Geddes currently ranks third in the MWC in digs, averaging 3.26 digs per game. Adrianne Bradley is fourth in digs, averaging 3.07 digs per game.
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