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
Utes Moves into Third in the WAC
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Volleyball
November 13, 1998
SALT LAKE CITY - Sara Shakula showed glimpses of her old self, leading Utah with 15 kills and a .538 hitting percentage in a 15-9, 15-1, 16-14 win Friday night over San Jose State in Western Athletic Conference volleyball at Crimson Court.
With its win and Fresno State's loss to BYU, Utah moved into a three-way tie for third place with FSU and San Jose State in the Pacific Division standings, all with 6-5 records. The Utes, now 16-8 overall, host Fresno State Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
Shakula, hindered by a bad back all season, also had five aces and six digs for the Utes. "Sara just had a great all around match," said Ute head coach Beth Launiere. "Those are the kind of numbers we were used to seeing from her almost on a nightly basis before this year."
Equaling Shakula's kills mark was Kalani Tonga, who also had a match-high 13 digs and three blocks to go with her 15 kills. McKelle Stilson had a match-high nine blocks and six kills. Jen Snow had six kills, while Lucie Turkova had seven digs. Graciela Torres posted 41 assists and seven digs.
Darcy Walker led the Spartans (18-8) with 14 kills and 12 digs. Utah out hit San Jose State .281 to .117 and had a dominating 11 to four edge in blocks.
After a hard-fought game one, which was plagued by some controversial officiating calls that frustrated both coaches, Utah dominated game two, outhitting SJSU .588 to .179.
Game four was another battle. The Spartans answered Utah's 6-1 start to tie the game at 6-6. Utah was then serving at 14-8, only to have the Spartans fight off match point four times and tie the game at 14-all. Stilson and Tonga combined for the match-winning block.
"They kind of fell apart after game one, and I knew that once they regrouped game three would be a battle," said Launiere. "Our short serve really unsettled them and took them out of their offense in the second game."
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