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Utah Volleyball To Face Air Force and New Mexico
11/6/2000 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 6, 2000
Salt Lake City - COMING UP: Utah travels to Colorado Springs, Colo. on Fri., Nov. 10, taking on the Air Force Falcons at 7:00 p.m. (MST). On Sat., Nov. 11, Utah will face MWC opponent New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. at 7:00 p.m. (MST).
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The No. 19 ranked University of Utah women's volleyball team lost to the No. 14 ranked Brigham Young Cougars in a grueling four-game match-up. The Utes lost, 5-15, 15-12, 13-15, 14-16, in Provo, Utah on Fri., Nov. 3. Utah is now 17-6 overall, 8-4 in MWC play.
The University of Utah women's volleyball team continues to stay in the Top 25 USA Today/AVCA poll. The Utes are ranked No. 19 in this week's poll. Utah received 328 votes in the Nov. 6 poll. The Utes earned their first-ever national ranking, coming in 18th in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll released Mon., Sept. 11.
Possible starters for the Utes in the match-ups against Air Force and New Mexico are: Jen Snow-Richards (Sr., OH), Lucie Turkov? (Sr., S), Lenka Urbanov? (Jr., OH), Alisa Geddes (Jr., OH), Katrena Ellett (So., MB), Brooke Barton (Sr., OH/DS), Kim Turner (Fr., MB) and Adrianne Bradley-Drake (Jr., OH/DS). The Utes return five starters, 12 letterwinners and add three true freshmen to this year's roster. Utah received 31 votes to rank 29th in the 1999 season end USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll. Utah's 1999 final RPI ranking, produced by the NCAA, was 22nd.
SCOUTING AIR FORCE: The Air Force volleyball team lost its final two road matches of the season, as the Falcons were swept by Wyoming and Colorado State last weekend.
The Falcons started the road trip in Laramie (Nov. 3), where Wyoming defeated the Falcons 3-0 (15-5, 15-13, 15-10). Delavane Diaz (16k-13d) and Brittany Edmonds (11k-10d) each notched a double-double in the match, but the team hit just .077 percent for the match. Ana-Marie Ortega added 10 kills, while setter Kristen Huitt notched 12 digs.
The Falcons then traveled to Fort Collins (Nov. 4) to face No. 6 Colorado State. The Rams handled the Falcons easily, winning 3-0 (15-4, 15-2, 15-7). The Rams hit .325 (40k-15e-77a), winning the match in just 65 minutes.
As a team, the Falcons notched just 21 kills and 19 digs. Diaz and Jamie Rempel led the team with six kills apiece, as no individual finished the match in double figures in either category. Air Force finished the match with a -.092 hitting percentage, second lowest total of the season.
The loss keeps the Falcons (6-18, 0-12 MWC) winless in the conference. They will also finish the season winless on the road, having been swept in their 11 road matches. The team finishes the season with home matches against No. 14 BYU on Nov. 9, and then-No. 20 Utah on Nov. 10.
Head coach Penny Lucas-White, is in her 5th season at Air Force, posting a 35-80 overall record with the Falcons and a career record of 113-148.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO: The Lobos split their weekend series defeating the Wyoming Cowgirls in five games, 10-15, 15-11, 11-15, 15-6 on Fri., Nov. 3. New Mexico lost to the No. 6 ranked Colorado State Rams in Fort Collins, Colo., in four games by the scores of 6-15, 9-15, 15-13, 7-15. The Lobos are now 9-13 overall, 5-7 in MWC play.
Against Wyoming, New Mexico had two players score 20+ kills and 60+attempts including senior Micaela Conley with 22 kills/a career and team season high 66 attempts and junior Jessie Goffard who scored a career-high 26 kills and added 63 attempts.
Both players also scored their MWC leading 11th double-doubles of the season. Conley defensively had 18 digs while Goffard scored 20. Sophomore setter Kelly Griffin scored her eighth double-double of the season with 57 assists (one short of her career mark) and 13 digs.
Lobos Erika Sansoni (13) and Blaire Burns (17) also scored double figure digs. As a team, UNM scored a season high 89 digs and 22 block assists. Freshman Amy Amundson had a tremendous night blocking scoring one block solo and a career-high 9 block assists. Goffard, aside from attacking the ball 63 times, scored five block assists.
The Lobos hit .129 (67k-41e-202ta) to Wyoming's .088 (64k-45e-216ta). UNM had four service aces for the match, two each by Goffard and Griffin.
Against CSU, New Mexico as a team hit .150 (54k-30e-160ta) to CSU's .303 (92k-36e-185ta). Leading the Lobos individually was sophomore setter Kelly Griffin who hit a career-high .700 for the match on 7 kills, no errors in 10 attempts. Griffin added 40 assists.
Three Lobos had double figure kills including senior outside hitter Micaela Conley (12), junior outside hitter Jessie Goffard (14), and sophomore middle blocker Erika Sansoni with 13.
Conley scored her 10th double-double of the season adding 13 digs defensively for New Mexico. Freshman middle blocker Amy Amundson scored five block assists against the powerful Ram attack.
Head coach Laurel Brassey Iversen,UNM's winningest coach, is in her 17th season at New Mexico with a career record of 287-201 (.588). She is just 12 shy of 500 career matches.
SERIES SHORTS: New Mexico leads the all-time series with Utah, 25-24. In their last meeting on Nov. 21, 2000, the Utes won in five games. Utah is 11-9 at home, 10-14 away and 3-2 at a neutral site vs. New Mexico. Utah is a perfect 4-0 against Air Force Academy. The Utes are 2-0 at home, 2-0 away and 0-0 at a neutral site vs. the Falcons.
QUOTING LAUNIERE: On the upcoming Air Force and New Mexico matches: "Our goal this weekend is to win both matches and secure a thrid place finish in the Mountain West Conferece. That will be a big accomplishment in this conference. The neat thing about it is that it is in our control and in our hands with the two matches we play this weekend. No road matches in the MWC are easy and so we are expecting two tough matches. Getting two wins this weekend will be good momentum going into the MWC Tournament and that is our goal."
INJURY REPORT: Junior outside hitter Alisa Geddes went down with an ankle sprain Fri., Oct. 21, in the match-up with UNLV. Geddes may or may not play this weekend against Air Force and New Mexico. She could possibly play back row for the Utes. The decision is still pending. Middle blocker McKelle Stilson is out for one week and possibly two weeks for an on-going knee injury. Stilson has seen limited practice time due to the knee injury, but needs more rest and will not play in the match-ups with Air Force and New Mexico.
UTES IN THE POLLS: The University of Utah women's volleyball team continues to stay in the Top 25 USA Today/AVCA poll. The Utes are ranked No. 19 in this week's poll. Utah received 328 votes in the Nov. 6 poll.
The Utes earned their first-ever national ranking, coming in 18th in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll released Mon., Sept. 11. Utah, which wasn't ranked in previous polls, received 417 points and boasts an 8-1 overall record entering this week's match-ups with San Diego State and UNLV.
Utah has already defeated three ranked teams this season. The Utes defeated then-No. 1-ranked Stanford in five games on Tues., Sept. 5, and then-No. 24-ranked San Diego on Sat., Sept. 9. Utah lost its first match of the 2000 season to then-No. 13 ranked Arizona on Sat., Sept. 16. The Utes lost to then-No. 3 ranked Colorado State in three games, 15-1, 15-8, 15-10 on Sat., Sept. 30 in Fort Collins, Colo. Utah upset in-state rival and then-No. 13-ranked Brigham Young in a three game sweep, 15-5, 15-8, 15-7, on Fri., Oct. 6. The Utes lost to then-No. 3 ranked Colorado State in three games, 15-7, 15-2, 15-11 on Fri., Oct. 27 in Salt Lake City. On Fri., Nov. 3, Utah lost 3-1, 15-5, 12-15, 15-13, 16-14 to the No. 14 ranked BYU Cougars in Provo, Utah.
Utah is one of three MWC teams ranked in the polls. Other MWC teams ranked are: Colorado State (5th) and BYU (14th).
"It is really nice recognition for our program and for our players because they deserve it," said Launiere. "Even though we are ranked now, we still have our focus and each match is an important one for us. We've done very well near the end of the season for the past few years and we want to continue that because that is when it counts."
Utah was one of three Mountain West Conference schools that appeared in the USA Today/AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches' Association) Preseason Poll, announced on Mon., Aug. 14. Colorado State and Brigham Young ranked 13th and 15th, while Utah, with 59 points, checked in at No. 30.
UP NEXT: The Utes will travel to Fort Collins, Colo. on Nov. 15-18 to compete for the Mountain West Conference Tournament crown. On Nov. 22, Utah will face Weber State in Ogden, Utah at 7:00 p.m. (MST). The Utes end their regular-season at home with a match against non-conference opponent Denver on Sat., Nov. 25, at 1:00 p.m. (MST).
BYU RECAP: The University of Utah women's volleyball team lost to the Brigham Young Cougars in four games, 5-15, 15-12, 13-15, 14-16 in Provo, Utah on Fri., Nov. 3. BYU improved to 18-6 on the season, 10-2 in Mountain West Conference play.
Sophomore Katrena Ellett led the Utes with 15 kills and 12 digs. Lenka Urbanova totaled 13 kills and 10 digs and teammate Kim Turner had 14 kills and six total blocks. Seniors Jen Snow-Richards and Brooke Barton combined for 24 digs, while setter Lucie Turkova posted 51 assists and 10 digs. As a team Utah had a .103 hitting percentage and added 8.5 total team blocks.
Nina Puikkonen posted a triple-double with 22 kills, 18 digs and 10 total blocks. Jackie Bundy totaled 15 kills and 14 digs, while former Ute Kalani Tonga added 12 kills and 18 digs. Karina Puikkonen racked up 56 assists and 12 digs, while Sunny Tonga posted 13 kills and 10 digs in the match. BYU hit for .191 and added 16 total team blocks.
"Before the match, I talked with Elaine (Michaelis) and I told her that I hoped we had a good match," said Head Coach Beth Launiere. "Traditionally Utah and BYU don't always have good matches and there is always a lot of three-game matches where the hype sometimes gets in the way of good volleyball. I got what I asked for, and I thought that if we could get into that kind of game, we could win it, but they made some plays when they needed to. It was a well played match on both sides and we needed a little bit more offensive production out of a few players. It was a great match and I'm very proud of the way our kids competed."
UTAH VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: Utah is 3-5 (.375) vs. opponents ranked in the Top 25 USA Today/AVCA Coaches' Poll. On Tues., Sept. 5, the Utes made a five-game comeback win over then-No. 1-ranked Stanford University in a 2 1/2-hour match at Crimson Court. Utah won 13-15, 12-15, 15-6, 15-10, 15-9. On Sat., Sept. 9, Utah shut-down No. 24 ranked San Diego in five games, (14-16, 15-6, 11-15, 15-12, 15-10). On Sat., Sept. 16, Utah was handed its first loss of the 2000 season by then-No. 13-ranked Arizona Wildcats. The Utes lost in three games, 15-3, 15-8, 15-10. Utah lost to then-No. 3 ranked Colorado State in three games, 15-1, 15-8, 15-10 on Sat., Sept. 30 in Fort Collins, Colo. The Utah women's volleyball team upset in-state rival in a three game sweep, 15-5, 15-8, 15-7, over then-No. 13-ranked Brigham Young on Fri., Oct. 6. Utah lost to then-No. 25-ranked Utah State in Logan, Utah on Tues., Oct. 10. The Utes lost, 3-1 (15-8, 8-15, 12-15, 10-15). Utah lost to then-No. 3 ranked Colorado State in three-games (15-7, 15-2, 15-11) on Fri., Oct. 28, in Salt Lake City. On Fri., Nov. 3, Utah lost 3-1, 15-5, 12-15, 15-13, 16-14 to the No. 14 ranked BYU Cougars in Provo, Utah.
NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL ATTENDANCE: Utah ranks just out of the top 30 in the nation in home match attendance this week. In 11 matches at home, the Utes have brought in 8,331 fans, an average of 757 fans per match. Utah's match with then-No.-13 ranked Brigham Young on Oct. 6, ranks in as the 165th highest with a single-match attendance of 1,427. Utah's match-up with then-No. 3 ranked Colorado State ranks in as the 222nd highest with a single-match attendance of 1,113. Utah's match with then-No. 1-ranked Stanford on Sept. 5, ranks in as the 230th highest with a single-match attendance of 1,072.
TURKOVA NAMED VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior setter Lucie Turkov? from Utah was named the Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week (Oct. 9-13) after leading the Utes to victories over Idaho State and then-No. 13 BYU last week. The Player of the Week honor was the first for Turkov?.
A native of Brno, Czech Republic, Turkov? became just the second Mountain West Conference player to record a triple-double this season after totaling 32 assists, 10 kills and 10 digs while hitting .600 (10k-1e-15a) in a three-game upset over then-No. 13 BYU (15-5, 15-8, 15-7) Fri., Oct. 6. The Ute win snapped a nine-match drought vs. the Cougars, and marked the first conference victory for Utah over BYU since 1985. Turkov? also racked up 36 assists and hit .222 (3k-1e-9a) in a three-game sweep over Idaho State (15-6, 15-10, 15-5) on Tues., Oct. 3.
An Academic All-MWC selection in 1999, Turkov? set the single match assist record with 81 vs. then-No. 1 Stanford on Sept. 5.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Three Utah players were named to the 2000 University of New Hampshire All-Tournament Team. They were: Lucie Turkov?, Jen Snow-Richards and Tournament MVP Katrena Ellett.
Three Utah players were named to the 2000 Cal Poly SLO All-Tournament Team. They were: Lenka Urbanov?, Jen Snow-Richards and tournament MVP, McKelle Stilson.
INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM NOTES: Senior Brooke Barton tied a career-high for kills (14) vs. Cal Poly SLO on Sat., Sept. 9, 2000. On Sept. 9, Barton recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs vs. Cal Poly SLO. She has posted double-figure kills one time and double-figure digs four times in 23 matches. Senior Jen Snow-Richards set a career-high .722 hitting percentage against UMass and a career-high four service aces vs. New Hampshire on Sat., Sept. 2, 2000 On Tues., Sept. 5, 2000, Snow-Richards racked up a career-high and a MWC record for digs in a five-game match (30). She racked-up a career-high 11 assists vs. Nevada-Reno on Fri., Sept. 8, 2000. Snow-Richards recorded a triple-double with 12 kills, 11 assists and 14 digs on Sept. 8 vs. Nevada-Reno. She had a season-high 14 kills on Sat., Oct. 28 against the Wyoming Cowgirls. Snow-Richards has posted double-figure kills seven times and double-figure digs nine times in 23 matches. Senior setter Lucie Turkov? recorded a career-high 15 kills vs. SDSU on Sat., Oct. 21. She posted her first triple-double (10 kills, 10 digs, 32 assists) of her career on Fri., Oct. 6, vs. BYU. Turkov? posted a career-high 81 assists vs. Stanford on Tues., Sept. 5, 2000. Turkov? has recorded seven double-doubles to date this season. She has posted double-figure kills two times, double-figure digs nine times and double-figure assists in all 23 matches. Adrianne Bradley-Drake tied a career-high with five total blocks vs. Stanford University on Tues., Sept. 5, 2000. On Sat., Sept. 9, 2000, Bradley-Drake broke Snow-Richards MWC record for digs in a five-game match with 31 digs. She also tied a career-high for assists with five. Bradley-Drake recorded double-figures in digs in seven out of 23 matches, including one double-double on Sept. 5, vs. Stanford. She also recorded double-figure kills one time this season. Lenka Urbanov? recorded a career-high .353 hitting percentage against Eastern Michigan on Fri., Sept. 1, 2000. On Sat., Oct. 21, Urbanov? posted a career-high 21 kills and 21 digs against SDSU. She has recorded six double-doubles this season. Urbanov? has posted double-figure kills nine times and double-figure digs seven times in 23 matches. On Fri., Nov. 3, 2000, Katrena Ellett posted a career-high four service aces against BYU. Against San Diego State on Sat., Oct. 21, 2000, Ellett totaled a career high 16 digs. Against Stanford University on Tues., Sept. 5, 2000, Ellett racked-up a career-high 24 kills and three assists. She recorded three double-doubles so far this season. Ellett has posted double-figure kills six times and double-figure digs five times in 22 matches. In 11 out of 21 matches, junior Alisa Geddes has recorded double figures in digs and posted four double-doubles to date. She has recorded double-figure kills four times in 21 matches. Junior McKelle Stilson has posted double-figure kills in 11 out of 21 matches.
Utah set a school record for team assists (95), a school record for team kills (99) and a school record for team attempts (265) in the match-up with San Diego State on Sat., Oct. 21, 2000.
MWC STATISTICAL LEADERS: Utah as a team leads the conference in digs, averaging 16.09 DPG and are third with a .739 win-loss percentage. The Utes are currently third in kills (16.02 KPG) and assists (14.22 APG), and are fourth in hitting percentage (.208) and fifth in blocks (2.44 BPG). Utah is sixth in service aces (1.36 SAPG). Individually, Utah ranks among some of the best in the conference. Senior co-captain, Lucie Turkov? is currently fourth in the MWC in assists, averaging 11.80 assists per game. Junior Alisa Geddes is fifth in the MWC in digs, averaging 2.77 digs per game. Freshman Kim Turner is eighth in the MWC in blocks per game (1.08) and 10th with a .268 hitting percentage. Junior McKelle Stilson is eighth in the MWC with a .281 hitting percentage. Junior Lenka Urbanov? is ninth in the MWC in digs, averaging 2.53 dpg and teammate Jen Snow-Richards is 10th in digs (2.47).
CAREER LIST: Three current Utah players have made their way up the Utah career-leader lists. Senior Brooke Barton is currently fourth on the career-leader list with 120 service aces. Barton is 7th in games played (422) and ninth in digs (890). Senior setter Lucie Turkov? is currently sixth in the career-leader list with 1,441 assists. She is 8th in games played (409). Junior middle blocker McKelle Stilson is currently third with a .279 hitting percentage. Stilson is third in block assists (308) and fourth in total blocks (338). She is 8th in kills (927) and 10th in attempts (2,067).
HEAD COACH BETH LAUNIERE: In her 11th 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 second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999, and for a second year advanced to the second round. It is the crowning achievement of Launiere's ten-year tenure at Utah, in which she has posted a 197-144 (.578) career record.
The winningest coach in school history, Launiere has overseen a significant transformation since her arrival in 1990. In the last six years alone, Launiere has guided the Utes to five 20-win seasons and Utah's third-place finish in the MWC in 1999 marked its seventh consecutive upper division finish in conference play.
Launiere worked hard in 1999 to maintain the level of play and expectations of the previous season. With a 22-10 overall record, Utah posted its fourth consecutive, and fifth overall, 20-win season. The Utes' .688 overall winning percentage equaled the third-best in school history. Utah also equaled the third-best conference winning percentage in school history last season (10-4, .714).
Utah received 31 votes to rank 29th in the final USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll. Utah's final RPI ranking, produced by the NCAA, was 22nd.
LAUNIERE APPROACHING 200 WINS: Utah's winningest coach in school history, Beth Launiere is quickly approaching her 200th career win. Launiere needs just three more wins and with four matches left and the Mountain West Conference Tournament to follow, she could very well hit the mark.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Utes practice from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. in East 101 at the HPER building on the University of Utah campus. All practice times and dates are tentative and subject to change. For regular scheduled practice times, please contact Julie Lapomarda. Utah Women's Volleyball practices are closed to the media. To set up interviews before or after practice with Head Coach Beth Launiere or Ute players, please contact Julie Lapomarda women's volleyball SID at: (801) 581-3771 (office), or at (801) 468-0571 (home).
POST-MATCH SERVICES/INTERVIEWS: Head Coach Beth Launiere and Utah players will be available for interviews outside the Utah lockerroom following a 10 minute cooling off period. A member of the Utah sports information staff will gather interview requests immediately following the match. Box scores will be provided and faxed upon request.
WEEKLY INTERVIEWS: Members of the media who wish to interview Head Coach Beth Launiere should contact her at her office (801-581-6843) between 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. weekdays. Interviews with the athletes should be arranged through Julie Lapomarda (801-581-3771).
THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE: The newest conference in the nation has quickly emerged as one of the best. The Mountain West Conference, which officially commenced operation on July 1, 1999, sent three volleyball teams to NCAA post-season play in its first year. League champion BYU made it to the NCAA Sweet 16, Colorado State made it to the NCAA Regional semifinals and Utah advanced to the NCAA second round.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEDIA INFORMATION: Ron Christian, Assistant Director of Communications, handles all information requests related to volleyball at the Mountain West Conference office. The MWC address is P.O. Box 35760, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3567. The MWC telephone number is (719) 533-9500. The fax number is (719) 533-9512.
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 and Colorado State each received four first-place votes to headline the 2000 Mountain West Conference Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll.
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