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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Hits The Road
10/1/2001 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2001
Salt Lake City -
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COMING UP: The Utes hit the road on Fri., Oct. 5, travelling to Fort Collins, Colo., facing Colorado State at 7:00 p.m. On Sat., Oct. 6, Utah will take on the Wyoming Cowgirls at 7:00 p.m. in Laramie, Wyo.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The Utes were a perfect 3-0 last week, with wins over Idaho State, Air Force and New Mexico. Utah defeated Idaho State, 3-1 (30-22, 30-16, 30-32, 30-18) on Tues., Sept. 25, in Pocatello, Idaho. On Fri., Sept 28, the Utes swept the Air Force Falcons, 3-0 (30-17, 30-13, 30-19) at home. Utah topped the New Mexico Lobos in three games, 30-20, 30-25, 30-14, on Sat., Sept. 29 at Crimson Court. The Utes are currently on a four-match win streak and a perfect 6-0 record at home. Utah is currently 8-3 overall, 2-1 in MWC play.
Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against Colorado State and Wyoming are: McKelle Stilson (Sr., MB), Kelsie Kartchner (Fr., S), Lenka Urbanov? (Sr., OH), Sylva Strzinkov? (Jr., OH), Katrena Ellett (Jr., OH/MB), Alisa Geddes (Sr., OH), Kim Turner (So., MB) and Adrianne Bradley-Drake (Sr., MB/OH).
The Utes return four starters, 10 letterwinners and add three true freshmen, along with two transfers to this year's roster. Utah moved up three spots this week to No. 19 in the Oct. 1 USA Today/AVCA Top-25 poll. The Utes have been ranked for six consecutive weeks.
SERIES SHORTS: Colorado State leads the all-time series with Utah, 32-16. In their last meeting on Oct. 27, 2000, Utah lost, 3-0 (15-7, 15-2, 15-11) to the Rams in Salt Lake City. Utah is 9-11 at home, 4-16 away and 3-5 at a neutral site vs. the Rams. Utah leads the all-time series with Wyoming, 22-21. In their last meeting on Oct. 28, 2000, Utah defeated Wyoming, 3-0 (15-3, 15-7, 15-12) at Crimson Court. Utah is 12-9 at home, 7-12 away and 3-0 at a neutral site vs. the Cowgirls.
QUOTING LAUNIERE: On the upcoming Colorado State and Wyoming matches-"This is a big weekend for us. We have to be able to win on the road. Any conference match on the road will be tough and we've got to be prepared. Colorado State is very experienced and tough to play on the road. Laramie (Wyoming) is always a tough place to play and Wyoming has been playing well as a team right now."
SCOUTING COLORADO STATE: The Colorado State Rams are currently 10-0 overall, 2-0 in MWC play. Colorado State has recorded wins over Arkansas, Murray State, Utah State, Georgia Tech, LSU, Georgetown, St. Mary's, San Diego State and UNLV. Currently, the Rams are on a ten-match win streak. Angela Knoph leads the team, averaging 4.55 kills per game for a .522 hitting percentage, 2.61 digs per game and 1.76 blocks per game. Courtney Cox totals 4.29 kills per game for a .243 hitting percentage and adds 2.97 digs per game and 1.00 blocks per game. Allison Peckham averages 13.44 assists per game and 2.22 digs per game. Head coach Tom Hilbert is in his 5th year at Colorado State. He posts a 113-22 record at CSU and a 287-94 career record in 12 seasons.
SCOUTING WYOMING: The Wyoming Cowgirls are currently 6-4 overall, 1-1 in the MWC. The Cowgirls recorded wins over UT-Arlington, Oklahoma, Idaho State, Wake Forest, St. Mary's and UNLV. Wyoming has losses to San Diego, Cincinnati, Furman and San Diego State. The Cowgirls snapped a four-match conference road losing streak with a victory at UNLV on Fri., Sept. 28. Rachel Lau, Sara Maytorena and Michele Rauter tallied double figure kills in each of last week's matches. Lau led Wyoming with 15 kills vs. UNLV and 15 vs. San Diego State, while Maytorena picked up her fifth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 14 digs vs. the Aztecs. Rauter leads the team, averaging 4.07 kills per game for a .314 hitting percentage and 2.43 digs per game. Melissa Robinett adds 3.08 kills per game 1.21 digs per game and 1.04 blocks per game. Amy Doman averages 12.63 assists per game and 2.10 digs per game. Head coach Susan Steadman is in her 5th year at Wyoming. She posts a 58-64 career record and a 31-27 conference record at Wyoming.
NEXT WEEK: The Utes are back in action at home on Fri., Oct. 12, facing the UNLV Rebels at 7:00 p.m. and the San Diego State Aztecs on Sat., Oct. 13, at 7:00 p.m. On Tues., Oct. 16, Utah will host the Weber State Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. The Utes will take on in-state rival BYU on Fri., Oct. 19 at Crimson Court at 7:00 p.m. On Tues., Oct. 23 Utah faces the Utah State Aggies at home at 7:00 p.m. The Utes are back on the road on Fri., Oct. 26 vs. New Mexico and on Sat., Oct. 27 vs. Air Force. Match times are set for a 7:00 p.m. start.
UTAH RANKINGS IN THE MWC: Utah, as a team is third in the MWC in assists (13.89) and fourth with a .242 hitting percentage. The Utes are fourth in digs (13.39) and are fifth in blocks (2.93), kills (15.26) and in service aces (1.45). Individually, Utah ranks among the top in the MWC statistical leaders. Junior Sylva Strzinkova is second in digs (3.17), ninth in service aces (0.39) and tenth in kills (3.44) and points (4.11). Sophomore Kim Turner is sixth in blocks (1.42) and Adrianne Drake is seventh in hitting percentage (.357). Freshman Kelsie Kartchner is seventh in assists (8.58) and Tracy Neumeier is ninth in assists (5.03). Katrena Ellett is ninth in with a .324 hitting percentage.
NEW ON THE STAT REPORT: The MWC is traking individual points per game this season. Points are awarded based on the following formula: kills + aces + solo blocks + 1/2-assist blocks. Utah, as a team is seventh in the MWC in points (532.5). On the year, Sylva Strzinkova leads the Utes with 148.0 points (4.11 ppg), followed by Kim Turner with 129.0 (3.40 ppg), Alisa Geddes with 119.0 points (3.13 ppg), Adrianne Bradley-Drake with 113.5 (3.15 ppg) and McKelle Stilson with 98.0 (2.8 ppg).
NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL ATTENDANCE: Utah ranks just outside the top 30 in the nation in home match attendance. In six matches at home, the Utes have brought in 3,564 fans, an average of 594 fans per match.
HEAD COACH BETH LAUNIERE: In her 12th 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 third-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000, and for a third-straight year advanced to the second round. It is the crowning achievement of Launiere's eleven-year tenure at Utah, in which she has posted a 211-149 (.586) career record. The winningest coach in school history, Launiere has overseen a significant transformation since her arrival in 1990. In the last seven years alone, Launiere has guided the Utes to six 20-win seasons and Utah's third-place finish in the MWC in 2000 marked its eighth-consecutive upper-division finish in conference play.
Launiere worked hard in 2000 to maintain the level of play and expectations of the previous season. The 2000 season was a definite breakthrough year for Utah volleyball. Starting off on a good note, the Utes checked in with 59 votes in the preseason poll. With a 23-8 overall record, Utah posted its fifth consecutive, and sixth overall, 20-win season. The Utes' .742 overall winning percentage proved the best in school history. Utah also equaled the third-best conference winning percentage in school history last season (10-4, .714). The 2000 squad was the only team in school history to beat a No. 1 ranked opponent (a come-from-behind five-game victory over Stanford). With the win over Stanford and two more wins that next weekend, Utah earned its first-ever national ranking, coming in 18th in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll released Mon., Sept. 12, 2000. Launiere recorded her 200th career victory at the McLeodUSA MWC Tournament with a 3-1 (15-9, 15-3, 5-15, 15-9) win over UNLV on Thurs., Nov. 16, 2000.
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).
WEEKLY INTERVIEWS: Members of the media who wish to interview Head Coach Beth Launiere should contact her at her office (801-581-6843) between 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. weekdays. Interviews with the athletes should be arranged through Julie Lapomarda (801-581-3771).
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.
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