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)
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Hosts Stanford
9/4/2000 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2000
Salt Lake City - COMING UP: On Sept. 5, Utah hosts the Stanford University Cardinal at 7:00 p.m. (MST).
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The Utah women's volleyball team went undefeated and clinched the New Hampshire Tournament last weekend. The Utes are currently 3-0 overall, 0-0 in the MWC. Utah players Jen Snow-Richards and Lucie Turkova were named to the all-tourney team along with tournament MVP Katrena Ellett.
Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against Stanford are: McKelle Stilson (Jr., MB), Jen Snow-Richards (Sr., OH), Lucie Turkov? (Sr., S), Katrena Ellett (So., MB), 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 STANFORD: The third-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team wrapped up play at the UNM-Comcast Invitational with a 3-0 victory over host, New Mexico. Game scores were 15-9, 15-4, 15-4. The Cardinal also won matches over Portland State and Drake University. Stanford shut-down Portland State in three games (15-4, 15-5, 15-8) and Drake, 3-0 (15-5, 15-3, 15-8). The Cardinal improves to 3-0 on the year, 0-0 in the Pac 10 Conference.
For their efforts, outside hitters Ashley Ivy and Sara Sandrik were named to the all-tournament team. Sandrik led the Cardinal with 34 kills (3.78 kpg) for the tourney while Ivy contributed 27 kills (3.00 kpg). Setter Lindsay Kagawa notch 90 assists over the three matches and moved into fourth on Stanford's career assists list with 2,107. Stanford hit .300 over the course of the tournament and did not drop a single game. They held their opponents to a .027 hitting percentage as well.
Interim Head Coach Denise Corlett enters her first year at Stanford with a 0-0 overall and career-record.
SERIES SHORTS: Stanford leads the all-time series with Utah, 1-0. On Sept. 24, 1999, the Utes lost in three games (15-1, 18-16, 15-12) to the Cardinal.
QUOTING LAUNIERE: On the upcoming Stanford match-"Playing Stanford this week will be like playing a whole new level of volleyball compared to what we saw last weekend at the New Hampshire Tournament. What I was pleased about last weekend was that we never let down and consistently played at a high level statistically and intensity wise. I think we're ready to match up with Stanford and see really where we are at. I think it will be a good match-up for us heading into our season, in the Mountain West Conference and into some of the tough tournaments we have coming up. We are excited to have Stanford in our gym, obviously it's program has a tremendous amount of tradition and it is great for volleyball in this area. We are going into this match prepared to play as hard as we can and seeing what we come up with."
NEXT WEEK: Utah travels to the Cal Poly Tournament on Sept. 8-9 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Utah plays Nevada-Reno Fri., Sept. 8 at 5:00 p.m. (PST). The Utes will face San Diego on Sat., Sept. 9 at 11:30 a.m. (PST) and its host Cal Poly at 7:30 p.m. (PST).
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 183-138 (.570) 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.
EASTERN MICHIGAN RECAP: The University of Utah women's volleyball team opened its season on the road in Durham, N.H. with a 3-0 win (15-7, 15-2, 15-1) against Eastern Michigan in the New Hampshire Tournament on Fri., Sept. 1. Eastern Michigan dropped to 0-1 overall.
For the Utes, sophomore Katrena Ellett led the team with nine kills for a .438 hitting percentage and totaled a career high 14 digs. Lenka Urbanova and teammate Kim Turner racked up eight kills each. Turner posted a .500 hitting percentage and totaled four blocks in the match. Adrianne Bradley-Drake totaled seven kills and Jen Snow-Richards added six kills, seven digs and four blocks. Senior setter Lucie Turkova posted 35 assists and five kills for an impressive .714 hitting percentage. All 12 Utes saw time in the match, and as a team Utah posted a .317 hitting percentage.
Kristie Price and Sara Schaub led the Eagles with six kills each. Danielle Black posted 18 assists and teammate Courtney Huffman led the team with 11 digs. Eastern Michigan was a -.037 as a team for the match.
"The best thing about this match was that we got better as it went on and I think that is very important for our first match," said Launiere. "I also thought we were executing at a pretty high level and we played all 12 players and nothing dropped off from our game. Individually we had some outstanding performances and I'm pleased with the way we came out and played in our opening match."
UMASS RECAP: The Utes defeated the UMass Minutewomen in three games, 15-8, 15-10, 15-2, at the New Hampshire Tournament on Sat., Sept. 2. UMass fell to 1-1 overall, 0-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
For the Utes, senior Jen Snow-Richards led the team with 13 kills for a career-high .722 hitting percentage and six digs. Freshman middle blocker Kim Turner racked up 11 kills and Katrena Ellett totaled 10 kills and led the Utes with 11 digs. McKelle Stilson added nine kills and three blocks. Senior setter Lucie Turkova had five kills for a .625 hitting percentage and 49 assists. All 12 Utes saw time in the match, and as a team Utah posted an impressive .339 hitting percentage.
Jennifer Davis led the Minutewomen with nine kills and teammate Lymarie Llovet added seven kills. Jennifer Drennan posted 21 assists and teammate Rebecca Hasson led the team with 10 digs. UMass managed a .131 hitting percentage as a team in the match. "It has been a really good team effort in a three game match where we had three players score double-figures in kills,," said Launiere. "What I liked about the match was that we started off pretty rattled and it looked like the second match of the season, but once again we got a lot better as the match went on. We started figuring them out and exploiting their weaknesses and at the same time taking their strengths away and that allowed us to play a more controlled match."
NEW HAMPSHIRE RECAP: Utah shut-down its host New Hampshire in three games, 15-12, 15-4, 15-4, to win the New Hampshire Tournament held in Durham, N. H., on Sat., Sept. 2. UNH dropped to 1-2 overall, 0-0 in the America East Conference.
For the Utes, junior McKelle Stilson led the team with 14 kills for a .545 hitting percentage and four total blocks. Katrena Ellett and Lenka Urbanova racked up nine kills each, with Ellett leading the Utes with eight digs. Freshman Kim Turner added eight kills and senior setter Lucie Turkova posted 35 assists. All 12 Utes saw time in the match, and as a team Utah posted an impressive .394 hitting percentage.
Jillian Ross led the Wildcats with nine kills and teammate Katie Jentes added six kills. Stacy Barnett posted 20 assists and teammate Alyson Coler led the team with 10 digs. UMass managed a .190 hitting percentage as a team in the match.
"I felt we've been serving really well and that took them out of their game," said Launiere. "We were able to take away some of their strengths from our serving and we had a lot of things click for us. I think the name of the game is serving and passing, and we did that very well tonight. It allowed us to run our offense and take control of the game."
NEW HAMPSHIRE ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: Three Utah players were named to the 2000 New Hampshire All-Tournament Team. They were: Lucie Turkova, Jen Snow-Richards and tournament MVP, Katrena Ellett. Other players selected were: Jen Walker (UNH), Rebecca Hasson (UMass) and Lymarie Llovet (UMass).
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.
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.
Get to know new Utah Volleyball Head Coach Alyssa D'Errico.
Wednesday, December 10
Utah Volleyball Press Conference - 12.10.25
Wednesday, December 10
ESPN+ Feature | Utah Volleyball's Leah Wilton-LaBoy
Thursday, November 20
ESPN+ Feature | Utah Volleyball's Devyn Weist
Thursday, November 06