Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus Weber State (Exhibition) on August 15, 2026 at 3:00 P.M.
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Volleyball
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The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Travel To Mountain West/Pac 10 Challenge
9/20/1999 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 20, 1999
COMING UP:
Utah travels to Pocatello, Idaho, Mon., Sept. 20, to take on the Bengals of Idaho State at 7:00 p.m. The Utes are on the road again, Fri.-Sat., Sept. 24-25, participating in the Mountain West/Pac 10 Challenge in Palo Alto, Calif. They will play Stanford on Friday, at 7:30 (PDT) p.m. and California on Saturday, at 5:00 (PDT) p.m.
A Quick Look At Utah:
The Utes played two big matches over the weekend. Utah won a five-game marathon over in-state rival Utah State Thurs., Sept. 16, (16-14, 15-12, 6-15, 10-15, 15-12). They lost a heartbreaker to 10th ranked Pepperdine Fri., Sept. 17. Pepperdine took the first two games, but Utah came back after the break with a fierce intensity, claiming the next two games. In the fifth match, Utah seemed to have the momentum, but with the rally scoring, an out of bounds shot by Adrianne Bradley gave the Waves the point to win the game and the match. Utah's overall record is currently 7-3. 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 Turkov? (Jr., DS). Utah's all-time assists leader Graciela Torres has added 458 assists thus far to her career total of 4,164. The Utes add four transfers and four true freshmen to this year's roster.
AFTER THIS:
The Utes are back on the road Fri., Oct. 1, when they take on the Lobos of New Mexico in Albuquerque at 7:00 p.m. On Sat., Oct. 2, the Utes travel to Colorado Springs, Colo. to take on Air Force at 7:00 p.m. Utah is back at home again on Fri., Oct. 8 at 7:00 p.m. vs. San Diego State. On Sat., Oct. 9, Utah hosts UNLV. Match-time is set for 7:00 p.m.
Utah State MATCH RECAP:
The Utes battled against in-state rival Utah State and won, 3-2 ( 16-14, 15-12, 6-15, 10-15, 15-12). Utah improves to 7-2 overall, 0-0 in the MWC. Utah State moves to 1-3 overall, 0-0 in the Big West.
For the Utes, McKelle Stilson posted 20 kills for a .316 hitting percentage. Stilson also added four total blocks. Adrianne Bradley totaled 17 kills and 13 digs and teammate Alisa Geddes added 11 kills and 12 digs. Senior setter Graciela Torres-Lopez recorded 50 assists and 10 digs in the match. The Utes hit for .141 against the Aggies.
For the Aggies, Melissa Schoepf totaled 19 kills and nine digs. Denae Mohlman totaled 10 kills and 11 digs. Utah State posted a .174 hitting percentage in the match.
Pepperdine MATCH RECAP:
The Utes came back from a 0-2 deficit and won games three and four, but 10th ranked Pepperdine edged Utah in game five to take the win. The Waves won 3-2 ( 15-2, 15-6, 11-15, 14-16, 16-14). Utah moves to 7-3 overall, 0-0 in the MWC. Pepperdine moves to 6-0 overall, 0-0 in the West Coast Conference.
For the Utes, Graciela Torres-Lopez recorded her first triple double of the season. Torres-Lopez totaled 12 kills for a .345 hitting percentage, 60 assists and 16 digs. Sophomore middle blocker McKelle Stilson posted 20 kills for a .326 hitting percentage. Stilson also recorded eight total blocks for the Utes. Jen Snow-Richards posted 15 kills and 10 digs and freshman Brenda Beal added 11 kills. Adrianne Bradley posted 16 digs for Utah. The Utes hit for .193 against the Waves and recorded 17 total team blocks.
For the Waves, Stacy Rouenhorst totaled 27 kills for a .346 hitting percentage and 20 digs. Melissa Plass totaled 14 kills and 10 digs, while teammate Jamie Hill recorded 20 kills. The Waves totaled 18 team blocks and posted a .237 hitting percentage in the match.
Scouting Idaho State:
The Idaho State Bengal's volleyball team, fresh off a 6-3 non-conference slate, kicked off Big Sky league play last week with matches on the road vs. Eastern Washington and CS Northridge. The Bengals hit a bump in the road and dropped both matches. Idaho State lost 3-0 to Eastern Washington (15-11, 15-5, 17-15) and they lost 3-2 (15-11, 15-11, 11-15, 12-15, 16-18) to CS Northridge. Senior outside hitter, Kadie Leonhardt leads the Bengals in kills with 148, averaging 3.44 KPG. Leonhardt also leads the team in digs, averaging 2.84 digs per game. In 1998, Leonhardt averaged 1.79 kills per game and 1.88 digs per game. Senior setter, Melissa Lucas leads Idaho State in assists, averaging 11.28 APG. Lucas is currently averaging 1.05 kills per game and 2.56 digs per game. Last season, Lucas led the team, averaging 10.92 APG. Lucas also led the team in digs, averaging 3.24 DPG. Idaho State is currently 6-5 overall, 0-2 in the Big Sky Conference. Idaho State returns three starters from last year's team that went 8-20 overall and 1-15 in the Big Sky Conference. Head Coach Bill MacLachlan begins his fifth season at Idaho State. MacLachlan has compiled a 48-70 record at Idaho State and a 64-167 career record.
Scouting Stanford:
The Stanford women's volleyball team continued its early season dominance, winning its last four matches. The Cardinals opened their conference schedule last weekend, shutting down the Washington Huskies 3-0 (15-5, 15-3, 15-10) and the Washington State Cougars 3-0 (15-3, 15-9, 15-4). Stanford returns all six starters from last year's team, which posted a 27-4 overall record, 17-1 in the Pac 10 Conference. Freshman Logan Tom leads the team in kills, averaging 5.38 KPG and in digs, averaging 3.85 DPG. Tom also averages 1.23 blocks per game. Senior middle blocker/outside hitter Kerri Walsh currently averages 3.16 kills per game and leads the Cardinals with 3.16 digs per game. Walsh posted 3.85 KPG, 3.30 DPG and 1.03 BPG in 1998. Freshman Stacy Rouwenhorst averages 4.06 kills per game and 3.25 digs per game. Teammate Lindsay Kagawa has posted 312 assists this season, averaging 14.86 APG. Kagawa is currently averaging 2.29 digs per game. In 1998, Kagawa averaged 11.63 assists per game. Head Coach Don Shaw enters his 16th year at the helm for the Cardinals.
Scouting California:
California is currently 4-3 overall, 1-1 in the Pac 10 Conference. The Golden Bears opened their season, playing many nationally ranked teams. They lost to Hawaii 3-0 and to Colorado 3-2 earlier this season. Last weekend, the Golden Bears defeated Washington, 3-1 (17-15, 15-9, 13-15, 15-10) and lost to Washington State, 1-3 (12-15, 11-15, 16-14, 3-15). Senior outside hitter, Brook Coulter leads the team in kills, averaging 3.38 KPG and in digs per game with 3.54. Last season, Coulter averaged 3.08 kills per game and 3.14 digs per game. Teammate Alicia Perry is averaging 3.13 kills per game and 2.09 digs per game to date. In 1998, Perry averaged 3.31 kills per game and 2.98 digs per game. California returns all six starters from last year's team that went 7-22 overall and 3-15 in the Pac 10 Conference. Head Coach Rich Feller begins his first season at California.
Series Shorts:
Utah leads the all-time series with Idaho State 21-9. Utah and Stanford will meet for the first time next weekend. California leads the all-time series with Utah 3-2, one win by forfeit.
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 open their conference schedule in October.
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 165-131 (.557) 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 Utah State match- "I think that match showed that we've got a lot of work to do. We were very unorganized at times throughout the match and haven't really played as a unit yet. We have some really talented individuals by evidence of a 7-2 record and that's amazing to me. That's our challenge, to find a way to flow together."
On the Pepperdine match- "I was disappointed in how we played game two, because that is not Utah volleyball. We didn't compete and that is what this program is about. I talked to them about that and we came back and won the next two. Did I think we could go 16-14 in the fifth game? I don't really know, but the main thing I wanted to do was compete. We are a young team and we played them hard in the last three games. They are a very good team and this is where we want to be, continuing to play good teams."
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 Leading The Utes:
In eight out of ten matches, sophomore middle blocker McKelle Stilson has posted double figures in kills. Stilson currently leads Utah with 135 total kills. She averages 3.75 kills per game. and currently posts a .352 hitting percentage. Stilson is also a threat to any opponent's offense. She has racked up seven block solos and 39 blocks assists, for 46 total blocks to date. Stilson leads the team, averaging 1.28 blocks per game.
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