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The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Hit The Road For MWC Matches
11/2/1999 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 2, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY - On Fri., Nov. 12, the Utes travel to Provo, Utah to take on in-state rival BYU at 7:00 p.m. Utah will be back in action at home on Fri., Nov. 19 when they take on Mountain West Conference opponent Colorado State at 7:00 p.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH:
Utah's overall record is currently 17-6, 7-2 in the MWC. Utah won both of its matches last week. On Fri., Oct. 29, the Utes defeated the Air Force Academy in four games, (15-9, 15-9, 6-15, 15-9). Utah shut down New Mexico on Sat., Oct. 30 in four games, (15-10, 16-14, 14-16, 15-9). Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against UNLV and San Diego State are: Graciela Torres-Lopez (Sr., S), McKelle Stilson (So., MB), Lenka Urbanova (So., OH), Alisa Geddes (So., OH), Brooke Barton (Jr., OH), Adrianne Bradley (So., OH), or Lucie Turkova (Jr., DS). Utah's all-time assists leader Graciela Torres-Lopez has added 1038 assists thus far to her career total of 4,744. The Utes add four transfers and four true freshmen to this year's roster.
Utah at UNLV
Nov. 4 - Lied Gymnasium - Las Vegas, Nev. - 7:00 p.m. (PST)
Utah at San Diego State
Nov. 6 - Peterson Gym - San Diego, Calif. - 1:00 p.m. (PST)
AFTER THIS:
The Utes host the Cowgirls of Wyoming on Sat., Nov. 20 at 7:00 p.m. On Nov. 24-28, Utah will travel to Provo, Utah to compete in the first-ever Mountain West Conference women's volleyball tournament.
Air Force MATCH RECAP:
Utah defeated Mountain West Conference opponent Air Force in four games, 15-9, 15-9, 6-15, 15-9, Fri., Oct. 29. Air Force fell to 16-6 overall, 4-4 in conference play.
Outside hitter Adrianne Bradley led Utah with 15 kills for a .242 hitting percentage and four total blocks. Middle blocker McKelle Stilson totaled 13 kills for a .296 hitting percentage and seven total blocks. Sophomore transfer Alisa Geddes posted 10 kills and 13 digs. Brooke Barton added 13 digs, while Graciela Torres-Lopez totaled 52 assists. As a team, the Utes hit .196 in the match.
Air Force was led by Shaylor Billings who had 12 kills, and four total blocks. Teammate Tracy Wilkerson posted 10 kills and four total blocks. Tharommony In totaled 37 assists and led Air Force with 11 digs. Robyn Duncan added 10 digs. Air Force hit .155 as a team.
New Mexico MATCH RECAP:
Utah defeated New Mexico in four games, 15-10, 16-14, 14-16, 15-9, Sat., Oct. 30. In game two, Utah came back from a 14-5 deficit to score 11 unanswered points and win the game, 16-14. The Utes were down 3-9 in game four after senior setter Graciela Torres-Lopez went down with a knee injury. The Utes came back to score 12 unanswered points and win the game (15-9) and the match. New Mexico fell to 7-19 overall, 2-7 in conference play.
Sophomore transfer Alisa Geddes posted 17 kills for a .364 hitting percentage and 10 digs. Middle blocker McKelle Stilson posted 15 kills and nine total blocks. Lenka Urbanova totaled a career-high 13 kills and 11 digs. Adrianne Bradley had 13 kills and led the Utes with 16 digs. As a team, the Utes hit .193 in the match.
New Mexico was led by Amber Smith who had 14 kills and five total blocks. Teammate Micaela Conley totaled 13 kills and 12 digs. Jessie Goffard added 12 kills, while Vanessa Shields totaled 10 kills. Kelly Griffin posted 49 assists and 12 digs in the match. New Mexico hit .145 as a team.
SCOUTING UNLV:
The UNLV women's volleyball team lost to San Diego State in five games (15-9, 9-15, 13-15, 15-7, 10-15), Fri., Oct. 29. UNLV is currently 9-10 overall, 1-7 in Mountain West Conference play. UNLV returns five starters from last year's team, which posted a 23-8 overall record, 11-3 in the WAC. Angie Sylvas leads the Rebels in kills, averaging 3.80 kills per game. Sylvas is second on the team in digs, averaging 2.42 digs per game. Teammate Justine Kamelamela leads the team in digs, averaging 2.67 digs per game. Last season, Kamelamela averaged 3.68 kills per game and 2.56 digs per game. Teammate Jeanette Graves currently averages 2.95 kills per game. In 1998, Graves posted 3.55 kills per game and 1.37 digs per game. Robyn Sheaaverages 10.43 assists per game, while Alicia Erickson posts 1.20 blocks per game. Head Coach Deitre Collins enters her 3rd year at the helm for the Rebels. Collins has compiled a 37-48 career record.
SCOUTING San Diego State:
The San Diego State women's volleyball team defeated UNLV, Fri., Oct. 29 in Las Vegas, Nev., in five games (9-15, 15-9, 15-13, 7-15, 15-10). The Aztecs are currently 10-12 overall, 3-5 in the MWC. Senior Jamie Evans leads the team in kills, averaging 2.77 kills per game and in digs, averaging 2.49 digs per game. Last season, Evans posted 1.21 digs per game. Junior outside hitter Amy Hallquist is second on the team in kills, averaging 2.51 kills per game. Hallquist currently averages 2.20 DPG. In 1998, Hallquist finished the season with 194 kills (2.20 KPG), adding 158 digs (1.80 DPG) defensively. Junior middle blocker, Erin Grady leads San Diego State in blocks, averaging 1.16 blocks 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.
SERIES SHORTS:
The Utes lead the series with UNLV, 4-1. Earlier this season, Utah defeated the Rebels 3-0, (15-10, 15-6, 15-11). San Diego State leads the all-time series with Utah, 13-4. On Oct. 8, the Utes defeated the Aztecs at home in four games, (12-15, 15-9, 15-9, 15-2).
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 on October 1st 1999.
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 175-134 (.566) career record.
The 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 Air Force match - "I think we played really good against Air Force. They are the type of team that keeps pressure on you, so if we're at our best we'll beat them, but if we start to slack off or struggle, they're right there. They are very experienced and don't make a lot of errors. I was really pleased with our blocking, we worked on that quite a bit last week. We are a young team and we keep finding ways to win."
On the New Mexico match - "I was really proud of them for staying aggressive and making the transitions that needed to be made, especially after Graciela went down in game three. They pulled it out and it could have been a disaster, but they really pulled together."
On the upcoming UNLV and San Diego State matches - "UNLV is a team that is so much more talented than their record indicates. Colorado State went down there and got beat and we cannot take anyone lightly. San Diego State has been playing good volleyball too, they beat UNLV in five games last weekend. Going on the road late in the season, we've got to stay focused. We need to take it one match at a time and realize that even though we beat them at home earlier in the season, it's a whole different game on the road."
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 LEADS UTAH:
Sophomore middle blocker McKelle Stilson leads Utah's offense and plays a key role in the defense as well. In 19 out of 23 matches, Stilson has posted double figures in kills. Stilson currently leads Utah with 315 total kills. She averages 3.71 kills per game and currently posts a .309 hitting percentage. Stilson is also a threat to any opponent's offense. She has racked up 15 block solos and 99 blocks assists, for 114 total blocks to date. Stilson leads the team, averaging 1.34 blocks per game. Earlier this season, Stilson posted a career-high 25 kills for a .435 hitting percentage and eight total blocks vs. California. Stilson has posted 20-plus kills in four matches this season. On Oct. 5, she was named the Mountain West Conference's Volleyball Athlete of the Week.
Torres-Lopez Approaching 5,000 Career Assists:
Utah's all-time assists leader Graciela Torres-Lopez is quickly approaching 5,000 career assists. Torres-Lopez needs just 256 assists and with five matches left and the Mountain West Conference Tournament to follow, she could very well hit the mark. The way Utah is playing this season posting a 17-6 overall record, 7-2 in the MWC, a second consecutive trip to the NCAAs could be within reach and that means more assists added to Torres-Lopez's career totals. Torres-Lopez totaled 1206 assists her freshman year in 1996. In 1997, she posted 1091 and in 1998 she racked up 1409. Torres-Lopez has added 1038 assists thus far to her career total of 4,744.
MWC STATISTICAL LEADERS:
Utah as a team leads the conference in digs, averaging 16.08 DPG. The Utes are currently second in blocks (2.78 BPG), third in kills (16.47 KPG) and in assists (14.46 APG). Utah is third with a .209 team hitting percentage and eighth in service aces (1.43 SAPG). Individually, Utah ranks among some of the best in the conference. McKelle Stilson currently ranks second in the conference in blocks, averaging 1.34 blocks per game and seventh in kills, averaging 3.71 kills per game. Stilson is ninth in the conference with a .309 hitting percentage. Sophomore transfer, Alisa Geddes currently ranks second in the MWC in digs, averaging 3.18 digs per game. Senior co-captain, Graciela Torres-Lopez is currently third in the MWC in assists, averaging 12.66 assists per game. Torres-Lopez ranks tenth in the conference with a .258 hitting percentage. Adrianne Bradley is fifth in digs, averaging 2.93 digs per game, while teammate Brooke Barton is ninth in digs, averaging 2.53 digs per game.
Player Notes:
In 13 out of 20 matches, sophomore transfer Alisa Geddes has recorded double figures in digs. She has posted 20-plus digs in two matches this season. In 15 out of 21 matches, Geddes has posted double figures in kills. Geddes posted a career-high 23 kills Oct. 20, 1999 vs. Notre Dame. In 13 out of 20 matches, outside hitter Adrianne Bradley had totaled double figures in kills. In 11 out of 22 matches, Bradley has posted double figures in digs. Bradley recorded a career-high 19 kills and 19 digs Sept. 10 vs. Georgia. Freshman Brenda Beal posted a career-high 19 kills vs. California on Sept. 25. Beal posted a career-high .778 hitting percentage (7-0-9) on Sept. 11 vs. George Mason. Junior Brooke Barton recorded a career-high 14 kills and a career-high .478 hitting percentage, Oct. 8 vs. San Diego State. Senior setter Graciela Torres-Lopez has recorded three triple-doubles so far this season. On Sept. 7 vs. Weber State, Torres-Lopez posted 10 kills, 60 assists and 11 digs. On Sept. 17 vs. Pepperdine, Torres-Lopez totaled 12 kills, 60 assists and 16 digs. Torres-Lopez recorded 12 kills, 62 assists, and 10 digs on Oct., 20 vs. Notre Dame. In 10 out of 20 matches, Torres-Lopez has posted double figures in digs.
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