Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus Weber State (Exhibition) on August 15, 2026 at 3:00 P.M.
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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Heads Back East
8/25/2000 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2000
Salt Lake City - COMING UP: On Sept. 1-2, Utah opens its 2000 season, participating in the New Hampshire Tournament in Durham, N.H. Utah will take on the Eagles of Eastern Michigan on Fri., Sept. 1 at 4:30 p.m. (EST). On Sat., Sept. 2, the Utes will play UMass at 10:00 a.m. (EST) and New Hampshire at 7:00 p.m. (EST) in Ludholm Gym.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The Utah women's volleyball program made unprecedented strides last season. The Utes made their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and once again advanced to the second round. With a 22-10 overall record, Utah posted 20 wins for the fourth straight year and the fifth time in its history. Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against Eastern Michigan, UMass and New Hampshire are: McKelle Stilson (Jr., MB), Jen Snow-Richards (Sr., OH), Brenda Beal (So., MB), Lucie Turkov? (Sr., S), Alisa Geddes (Jr., OH), 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 Eastern Michigan: After qualifying for the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the first time in eight years, most would say that EMU will be in rebuilding mode after losing seven players from last years team. The Eagles open their season on Friday against Utah. Eastern Michigan returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 20-12 overall and finished third in the MAC with a 10-8 record. Senior Sara Schaub (5-10) anchors the outside and averaged 3.76 kills per game and 3.61 digs per game last season. Junior outside hitter Courtney Huffman posted 1.75 kills per game and 2.68 digs per game in 1999, while teammate Camila Olaio (Jr., S) racked up 11.26 assists per game and 2.73 digs per game. Head Coach Kim Berrington enters her fourth year at Eastern Michigan, posting a 46-70 record and a 149-146 (6 years) career record.
SCOUTING UMass: UMass finished fifth in the Atlantic 10 last season with a 16-11 overall record and a 10-8 mark in conference action. The Minutewomen return three starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's squad, and will add four newcomers in the upcoming season. Senior Rebecca Hasson will control the middle for the Minutewomen in 2000. Last year, Hasson totaled 311 kills (3.08 kpg), 123 digs (1.22 dpg) and 129 blocks (1.28 bpg). Junior outside hitter Janeen DeMarte posted 2.23 kills per game and 2.94 digs per game in 1999, while teammate Lymarie Llovet (Jr., OH) added 1.67 kills per game and 2.38 digs per game. Head Coach Bonnie Kenny enters her seventh year at UMass, posting a 140-91 record and a 311-228 (16 years) career record.
SCOUTING New Hampshire: Last season, Head Coach Jill Hirschinger guided the 'Cats to a 24-12 mark and a second-place finish in America East. In the process, UNH set a 23-match conference win streak, which set a new America East record. The Wildcats return four starters, nine letterwinners and add six newcomers to their roster in 2000. Senior Jillian Ross led New Hampshire in kills last season (2.73 kpg) and added 2.76 digs per game. Kim Mirts-Poen (Sr., OH) led the Wildcats, averaging 3.18 digs per game and posted 2.40 kills per game. Teammate Jennifer Walker (Sr.) anchored the middle for the `Cats last season, averaging 1.12 blocks per game and totaled 2.2 kills per game. Senior Stacy Barnett returns as the starting setter. Barnett averaged 10.94 assists per game and 2.41 digs per game last season. Hirschinger enters her fifth year at the helm of the Wildcat volleyball program. She has accumulated a 486-300-10 career record and a 77-59 record at New Hampshire. Launiere was Hirschinger's assistant for three years at Ferris State (1985-87), where they made three postseason appearances and earned a berth in the 1987 NCAA Division II Final Four.
SERIES SHORTS: Utah and Eastern Michigan will meet for the first time on Fri., Sept. 1 at 4:30 p.m. (EST) in Durham, N.H. Utah leads the all-time series with UMass, 1-0. In their last meeting on Sept. 9, 1995, Utah defeated UMass, 3-0 (15-12, 16-14, 7-15, 12-15, 14-16) in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Utes lead the all-time series with New Hampshire, 1-0. Utah defeated New Hampshire in three games, (15-12, 15-7, 15-12) when they last met on Sept. 19, 1998 in East Lansing, Mich.
QUOTING LAUNIERE: On the upcoming New Hampshire Tournament-"I told my players we were going to sightsee real hard and play real hard. That is the goal of the trip. We're excited to go back east, because a lot of our players have never been to the New England area. While obviously the tournament is the most important, I really think this is going to be a great educational trip for our players and we're going to take advantage of it. As far as the tournament goes, a couple of the teams we are competing against will most likely be ranked in their districts, so it's not going to be easy. Our goal is to win the tournament and win all three matches. We will be facing some real good competition for our first weekend of play and we're excited to get the season started."
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 180-138 (.566) 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.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Utes practice from 1:00-6:00 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.
THE 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.
AVCA PRE-SEASON POLL: 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.
1999 TEAM AND PLAYER NOTES: Utah made its second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and its second-consecutive 2nd-round finish last season. The Utes, seeded No. 9 in the Mountain Region, defeated eighth-seeded Colorado in three games (15-10, 15-6, 17-15) in the first round and lost to top-seeded Hawaii in three games (15-11, 15-6, 15-4) in the second round at the sub regional in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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 finished third in the MWC, marking its fifth consecutive upper-finish in conference play.
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 and the Mountain West Conference was third.
The winningest coach in school history, Beth Launiere has overseen a tremendous change since her arrival here in 1990. She has posted a 180-138 (.566) career record in ten seasons. In the last five years alone, Launiere has guided the Utes to four 20-win seasons, and three 3rd place and two fourth place finishes in conference play.
Brooke Barton, Jennifer Snow-Richards, Lucie Turkov?, McKelle Stilson, Megan Anderson and Brenda Beal earned academic all-MWC honors last season. Utah and Colorado State garnered the most honorees with six out of a field of 37 student-athletes.
Graciela Torres-Lopez ended her career as Utah's all-time leader in assists with 5,130. She broke the 5,000 mark on Wed., Nov. 24 in the opening match of the inaugural Mountain West Conference Tournament against San Diego State. She broke the record for the number of assists in a season with 1,424.
Utah had four players selected as members of the inaugural All-Mountain West Conference Volleyball Teams. Sophomore McKelle Stilson was a first-team (MB) selection. Senior setter Graciela Torres-Lopez and sophomore outside hitter Alisa Geddes were second-team picks, while junior Brook Barton was named the second-team defensive specialist of the year.
Middle blocker McKelle Stilson ranked in at number five on Utah's individual season record list with a .296 hitting efficiency. She currently ranks sixth with 130 block assists, seventh with 149 total blocks and ninth with 431 kills.
Outside hitter Alisa Geddes ranked in at number five on Utah's individual season record for digs with 375.
All but one loss last season was to top 25 teams beginning with No. 18 Northern Iowa, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 2 Stanford, No. 10 BYU, No. 11 Colorado State and No. 3 Hawaii. Utah's only other loss last season came from Georgia, a non-ranked team, in five games.
Utah ranked 29th in the nation in home match attendance. In 12 matches at home, the Utes brought in 9,234 fans, an average of 770 fans per match.
Nine of Utah's wins came in three games. Ten of Utah's wins came in four games, while three wins came in five games. Five of Utah's losses came in three games, one loss came in four games, while the remaining four losses came in five games.
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