Completed Event: Volleyball versus University of Northern Iowa on December 4, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 3
Final Score
Volleyball
2
vs University of Northern Iowa
3
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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Moves Up To No. 15 Nationally
10/22/2001 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 22, 2001
Salt Lake City -
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COMING UP: 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.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The Utes went 2-0 last week with wins over in-state rivals Weber State and Brigham Young. The Utes made a 3-0 sweep over the Weber State Wildcats (30-20, 30-18, 30-21), on Tues., Oct. 16, at Crimson Court. Utah recorded an upset win over No. 13 Brigham Young, 3-2 (30-25, 25-30, 30-32, 30-26, 15-12) on Fri., Oct. 19 at Crimson Court. The Utes are a perfect 10-0 at home this season and are on a 12-match overall home win streak. Utah is currently 13-4 overall, 6-2 in the MWC.
Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against Utah State, New Mexico and Air Force are: McKelle Stilson (Sr., MB), Kelsie Kartchner (Fr., S) or Jackie Morrill (So., S/DS), 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 to No. 15 this week in the Oct. 22 USA Today/AVCA Top-25 poll. The Utes have been ranked for nine consecutive weeks. The No. 15 ranking ties the highest-ever ranking for the Utah volleyball program.
SERIES SHORTS: Utah leads the all-time series with Utah State, 35-22. In their last meeting on Oct. 10, 2000, Utah lost to the Aggies, 3-1 (15-8, 8-15, 12-15, 10-15) in Logan, Utah. The Utes are 14-10 at home, 14-8 away and 7-4 at a neutral site vs. Utah State. Utah leads the all-time series with New Mexico, 26-25. In their last meeting on Sept. 29, 2001, the Utes won in three games, 30-20, 30-25, 30-14. Utah is 12-9 at home, 11-14 away and 3-2 at a neutral site vs. New Mexico. Utah is a perfect 7-0 against Air Force Academy. The Utes are 4-0 at home, 3-0 away and 0-0 at a neutral site vs. the Falcons. Utah defeated the Falcons, 3-0 (30-17, 30-13, 30-19) on Sept. 29, 2001 at Crimson Court.
QUOTING LAUNIERE: On the upcoming Utah State, New Mexico and Air Force matches- "We need to move forward to Utah State because it is a big match especially since they are doing so well right now. It will be a good match for us in terms of our goals to play them and hopefully win. We have New Mexico and Air Force this weekend and every conference match is important, especially the road matches. We have to continue with our preparation and take it one match at a time."
SCOUTING NO. 25 RANKED UTAH STATE: The Utah State Aggies are currently 11-4 overall, 7-1 in conference play. The Aggies have recorded wins over Murray State, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Idaho, Cal Poly, UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton, Pacific, Cal State Northridge and Brigham Young. Currently, Utah State is on a seven-match win streak. Lisa Borom leads the team, averaging 3.78 kills per game for a .221 hitting percentage and 2.64 digs per game. Chelsi Neves adds 1.37 kills per game, 12.54 assists per game and 2.24 digs per game. Heather Olmstead leads the team defensively, totaling 2.78 digs per game. Head coach Burt Fuller is in his 1st year at Utah State.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO: The New Mexico Lobos are currently 3-15 overall, 1-8 in the MWC. The Lobos recorded wins over Texas-El Paso, McNeese State and Air Force. Anna Reines leads the team, averaging 3.16 kills per game and Kelly Griffin adds 1.39 kills per game, 8.18 assists per game and 2.23 digs per game. Ashley Kirsch averages 2.16 kills per game and 1.81 digs per game. Head coach Tom Peterson is in his 1st year at New Mexico. He posts a 243-109 career record in 10 seasons.
SCOUTING AIR FORCE: The Air Force Falcons are currently 1-15 overall, 0-9 in MWC play. Currently, the Falcons are on a 14-match losing streak. Delavane Diaz leads the team, averaging 3.39 kills per game and 2.00 digs per game. Kristin Huitt adds 7.74 assists per game and 2.37 digs per game. Returning for her sixth season as the Falcons' head volleyball coach, Penny Lucas-White posts a 41-101 record at Air Force and a 136-182 career record in 10 years.
NEXT WEEK: On Fri., Nov. 2, Utah will host the Wyoming Cowgirls at 7:00 p.m. The Utes will match-up with the Colorado State Rams on Sat., Nov. 3, at 7:00 p.m. at Crimson Court. On Fri., Nov. 9, Utah will face the Aztecs of San Diego State at 7:00 p.m. in San Diego, Calif. The Utes will take on the Rebels of UNLV on Sat., Nov. 10, at 7:00 p.m. in Las Vegas, Nev. On Nov. 15-17, the Utes will compete for the MWC Tournament crown in Provo, Utah.
UTAH RANKINGS IN THE MWC: Utah, as a team is second in the MWC in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to just a .156 hitting percentage per match. The Utes are second with a .255 hitting percentage, second in match won-lost percentage (.733) and third in assists (14.28). The Utes are third in kills (15.67) and are fourth in blocks (2.96), service aces (1.57) and digs (13.22). Individually, Utah ranks among the top in the MWC statistical leaders. Junior Sylva Strzinkova is second in the MWC in digs (3.12) and is ninth in service aces (0.36), ninth in points (4.14) and ninth in kills (3.48). Senior Alisa Geddes is seventh in digs (2.43), sophomore Kim Turner is sixth in blocks (1.44), junior Katrena Ellett is eighth in hitting percentage (.338) and senior McKelle Stilson is ninth in hitting percentage (.333). Freshman Kelsie Kartchner is eighth in assists (7.66).
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK (OCT. 22): Utah sophomore middle blocker Kim Turner was named Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, marking the first time this season and second time overall she has earned the award.
A native of Chandler, Ariz. (Dobson HS), Turner helped No. 18 Utah sweep a pair of in-state teams last week. In a three-game victory over Weber State, Turner hit a season-high .750 with 10 kills, while playing just two of the three games in the match. Turner played one of her best matches of the year in a five-game upset of No. 13 BYU as she tallied a season-high 18 kills along with a .333 hitting percentage. She also posted nine block assists for a season-high 22.5 points in the match.
For the week, Turner averaged 4.0 kills, .43 digs, 1.43 blocks and 4.71 points per game, while hitting .444 (28k-8e-45a).
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK (OCT. 15): Utah junior outside hitter Sylva Strzinkova was named Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 15, marking the first time she has earned the award.
A native of Brno, Czech Republic and a transfer from Salt Lake CC, Strzinkova helped the Utes sweep UNLV and San Diego State (Oct. 12 and 13) to extend their home win streak to eight matches. Strzinkova totaled 12 kills and hit .400 vs. UNLV, and came back the next night to post her league-leading seventh double-double of the season with 12 kills and 14 digs vs. SDSU. She also tallied five block assists and hit .455 vs. the Aztecs.
NEW ON THE STAT REPORT: The MWC is tracking 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 (1171.5). On the year, Sylva Strzinkova leads the Utes with 232.0 points (4.14 ppg), followed by Kim Turner with 209.0 (3.67 ppg), Alisa Geddes with 185.5 points (3.20 ppg), Adrianne Drake with 164.5 (2.94 ppg) and McKelle Stilson with 161.5 (2.94 ppg).
NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL ATTENDANCE: Utah ranks just outside the top 30 in the nation in home match attendance. In 10 matches at home, the Utes have brought in 7,109 fans, an average of 711 fans per match. Utah's match with BYU on Oct. 19, 2001 at Crimson Court marked the second highest attendance in school history with 1,571 fans.
UTAH VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: Utah is 3-3 (.500) vs. opponents ranked in the Top 25 USA Today/AVCA Coaches' Poll. On Fri., Aug. 31, the Utes defeated then-No. 25-ranked Georgia Tech in three games at Crimson Court. On Thurs., Sept. 6, Utah lost to then-No. 5-ranked Arizona Wildcats. The Utes lost in three games in Tucson, Ariz. The Utes defeated then-No. 23 ranked Colorado in five games on Sat., Sept. 8, at Crimson Court. Utah lost to then-No. 14-ranked BYU Cougars in three games in Provo, Utah on Thurs., Sept. 20. On Fri., Oct. 5, the Utes lost to then-No. 9 ranked Colorado State in three games at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. Utah recorded a comeback win in five games over then-No. 13-ranked BYU at Crimson Court on Fri., Oct. 19.
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 216-150 (.590) 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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