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Utah Women's Volleyball At Mountain West Conference Tournament
11/12/2001 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2001
Salt Lake City -
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COMING UP: On Nov. 15-17, the Utes will compete for the MWC Tournament crown in Provo, Utah. The No. 2 seed Utah will face the No. 7 seed New Mexico on Thurs., Nov. 15 in the quarterfinal round of the MWC Tournament in Provo, Utah at 4:00 p.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The Utes enter the MWC Championship as the No. 2 seed-their highest conference tournament seed since 1986. Utah advanced to the MWC semifinals two straight years, but fell to the eventual conference champion each year (Colorado State, 1999, BYU, 2000). The Utes reached their highest national ranking in school history earlier this season at No. 14 and snapped Colorado State's 20-match win streak this year. Sylva Strzinkova was MWC statistical champion for digs with 154 (3.14 per game), while ranking in the league's top 10 for kills (4), aces (6) and points (6).
The Utes went 1-1 last week with a 3-2 (27-30, 30-25, 30-23, 30-32, 13-15) loss to San Diego State on Fri., Nov. 9, in San Diego, Calif., and defeated the UNLV Rebels in four games, 31-33, 30-26, 30-21, 30-25, in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sat., Nov. 10. Utah ended a 10-match win streak with the loss at San Diego State. The Utes are a perfect 13-0 at home this season and are on a 15-match overall home win streak. The Utes are currently 19-5 overall, and finished with an 11-3 Mountain West Conference record. Utah finished the regular-season in second-place in the MWC. The second-place finish is the highest finish ever in the Launiere era.
Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against New Mexico 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 to the No. 16 spot in the Nov. 12 USA Today/AVCA Top-25 poll. The Utes have been ranked for 12 consecutive weeks. The No. 14 ranking in the Nov. 5th poll was the highest-ever ranking for the Utah volleyball program.
MWC TOURNAMENT BRACKET: The No. 1 seed Colorado State will take on the No. 8 seed Air Force at 11:00 a.m. in the first quarterfinal match on Thurs., Nov. 15. No. 4 seeded San Diego State will match up with the No. 5 seed UNLV at 1:30 p.m. in the second quarterfinal match on Thurs., Nov. 15. The No. 2 seed Utah will face the No. 7 seed New Mexico in the third quarterfinal match at 4:00 p.m. on Thurs., Nov. 15. No. 3 seeded Brigham Young will match-up with the No. 6 seed Wyoming in the final quarterfinal match on Thurs., Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. The semifinal matches will start at 4:00 p.m. on Fri., Nov 16 with the winner of quarterfinal matches 1 and 2 advancing. The 7:00 p.m. semifinal match on Fri., Nov. 16 will see winners of quarterfinal matches 3 and 4 advancing. The championship match will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 17 with winners from the semifinal matches advancing.
DIRECTIONS TO smith fieldhouse: From Salt Lake City International Airport, exit airport heading South on I-215. Merge with I-15 heading South. Go South on I-15 until exit 272: (University Parkway) in Orem. Go East on University Parkway through Orem until you reach University Avenue in Provo. Turn right (South) on University Avenue until Bulldog Blvd: (1230 North). Turn left (East) on Bulldog Blvd, for one block and turn right (South) and then immediately left into the parking lot area. Proceed to the stop sign and turn left. The Smith Fieldhouse entrance is just ahead on the right (South).
MWC TOURNAMENT TICKET INFORMATION: All-Tournament Package: Adults $12.00, Seniors/Students/Children $8.00. Single Session Adults: $7.00, Seniors/Students/Children $5.00
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Brigham Young University Athletics Ticket Office at 800-322-BYU1.
MWC TOURNAMENT TELECASTS: For the second straight year, the Mountain West Conference has contracted with SportsWest to televise all matches of the 2001 Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship. This year's championship takes place in Provo, Utah with BYU serving as host. All eight MWC members will compete in a single-elimination tournament Nov. 15-17, with the champion earning an automatic bid to the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Listed below is a list of clearances along with the satellite coordinates. Check local listings for match coverage.
SATELLITE: Galaxy C11, Transponder 20, Down link frequency 4100 Mhz, 91 degrees
AIR TIME: Thurs., Nov. 15, 11:00 a.m. MST, Fri., Nov. 16, 4:00 p.m. MST, Sat., Nov. 17, 2:00 p.m. MST
CLEARANCES:
School Market Station AFA Colorado Springs/Denver Adelphia Cable (6) BYU/Utah Provo/Salt Lake City KSL (NBC), KBYU (11) CSU Fort Collins/Denver pending UNM Albuquerque KRQE-TV (CBS) SDSU San Diego Cox Channel 4 UNLV Las Vegas Las Vegas One Wyoming Cheyenne KGWN (CBS)
UTES ON TV: Utah's quarterfinal match with New Mexico will be shown locally on KSL and KBYU at a time yet to be determined, on Thurs., Nov. 15. On Fri., Nov. 16, the semifinal match between the winners of BYU vs. Wyoming and Utah vs. New Mexico will be shown locally on KSL and KBYU at a time yet to be determined. The championship game on Sat., Nov. 17, will be tape-delayed and shown locally at 11:30 p.m. on KSL.
TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS: Utah will depart Salt Lake City on Wed., Nov. 14 at 1:37 p.m. by bus, arriving in Provo, Utah at 2:30 p.m. The Utes are scheduled to return on Sat., Nov. 17, departing Provo, Utah by bus, arriving in Salt Lake City following the championship match.
TEAM HEADQUARTERS: The Utah traveling part will stay at the Provo Marriott, (101 West 100 North, Provo, Utah 84601). Phone: (801) 377-4700. Fax: (801) 377-4708. Utah Assistant SID Julie Lapomarda will be accompanying the team daily.
MWC TOURNAMENT PRACTICE SCHEDULE: Wednesday's (Nov. 14) practice from 4:00-5:00 p.m. will be open to the media. All practices on Thurs.-Sat., Nov. 15-17 will be closed to the media. Practice times for Thurs., Nov. 15 are from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at 138 Richards Building. Practice times for Fri., Nov. 16 are from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at Smith Fieldhouse. Practice on Sat., Nov. 17 will be from 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. at Smith Fieldhouse. Utah players and head coach Beth Launiere will be available for interviews before and after practice on Wednesday only.
MWC TOURNAMENT POST-MATCH INTERVIEWS: Post-match interviews will be conducted in the media interview room after a 10-minute cooling-off period. Beth Launiere and at least three players will be available in the interview room. The losing coach and student-athletes will be escorted to the interview room first, the winning coach and student-athletes will follow at the conclusion of the first interview session. Only individuals with appropriate credentials will be allowed in the media interview room. Each interview session will be a maximum of 15 minutes.
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS: Brigham Young Volleyball SID Brett Pyne: (801) 378-4912, Brigham Young SID Fax: (801) 378-3520, Smith Fieldhouse Press Row: (801) 378-8342,
SERIES SHORTS: Utah leads the all-time series with New Mexico, 27-25. In their last meeting on Oct. 26, 2001, the Utes won in four games, 32-34, 30-20, 30-28, 30-19, in Albuquerque, N.M. Utah is 12-9 at home, 12-14 away and 3-2 at a neutral site vs. New Mexico.
QUOTING LAUNIERE: On the upcoming MWC Tournament- "I really hope our fans will come out and support us since we'll be playing right down the road in Provo, Utah. Our most important match is New Mexico, that is the only match that matters to us right now. New Mexico had a big win over Wyoming and is playing some good volleyball right now. The MWC tournament will truly be the proverbial 'one match at a time,' and as other teams look ahead, we won't. Even the lower seeds have played some stronger teams and gotten better as the season progressed. It will be an exciting tournament and we look forward to it."
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO: The New Mexico Lobos end the regular-season in seventh-place. The Lobos are currently 5-19 overall, 3-11 in the MWC. Anna Reines leads the team, averaging 3.33 kills per game and Kelly Griffin adds 1.36 kills per game, 8.94 assists per game and 2.56 digs per game. Ashley Kirsch averages 1.83 kills per game and 1.69 digs per game. Head coach Tom Peterson is in his first year at New Mexico. He posts a 243-109 career record in 10 seasons.
NEXT WEEK: Utah will compete in the Banker's Classic on Nov. 23-24, in Stockton, Calif. The Utes will face Hawaii at 5:00 p.m. (PST) on Nov. 23 and either Fairfield or Pacific on Nov. 24. Utah will await the chance to participate in the NCAAs on Nov. 29-Dec. 1.
UTAH RANKINGS IN THE MWC: Utah, as a team is second in the MWC in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to just a .152 hitting percentage per match. The Utes are second in match win-loss percentage (.792) and third in blocks (3.17) and third with a .253 hitting percentage. Utah is third in assists (14.42), kills (15.86), digs (13.62), and service aces (1.67). Individually, Utah ranks among the top in the MWC statistical leaders. Junior Sylva Strzinkova is second in the MWC in digs (3.07), seventh in kills (3.60) and eighth in points (4.27). Senior Alisa Geddes is fourth in service aces (0.44) and digs (2.67), sophomore Kim Turner is third in blocks (1.51) and fourth in hitting percentage (.346). Senior McKelle Stilson is sixth in hitting percentage (.340), senior Adrianne Drake is eighth in blocks (1.18) and 10th in service aces (0.33), junior Katrena Ellett is eighth with a .317 hitting percentage and freshman Kelsie Kartchner is eighth in assists (7.12).
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Nov. 5): Utah sophomore middle blocker Kim Turner was named the Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 5. This was Turner's second award this season and third overall.
Turner helped then-No. 15 Utah upset then-No. 6 Colorado State in five games in Salt Lake City. Turner played a significant role for the Utes in the blocking category last week. In a match where the Rams and the Utes combined for a MWC season-high 42 blocks, Turner totaled a career-high 11 blocks. She recorded her first double-double of the season, adding 10 kills vs. the Rams, while posting a .375 hitting percentage (10k-1e-24a). In a three-game win over Wyoming, Turner totaled six kills, three digs and three blocks. For the week, Turner averaged 2.0 kills, 1.75 blocks, .62 digs and 2.94 points per game, while hitting .275.
Utah is on a 10-match winning streak and has a league-high 13 straight victories at home. The Utes recently moved up to No. 14 in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll-their highest ranking in school history.
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK (OCT. 22): Utah sophomore middle blocker Kim Turner was named Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 22.
Turner helped then-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 (1781.0). On the year, Sylva Strzinkova leads the Utes with 359.0 points (4.27 ppg), followed by Kim Turner with 315.0 (3.75 ppg), Alisa Geddes with 275.0 points (3.20 ppg), McKelle Stilson with 255.5 (3.08 ppg) and Adrianne Drake with 249.0 (2.96 ppg).
NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL ATTENDANCE: Utah ranks just outside the top 30 in the nation in home match attendance. In 13 matches at home, the Utes have brought in 10,048 fans, an average of 773 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 5-3 (.625) 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. The Utes defeated then-No. 25-ranked Utah State in four games at home on Tues., Oct. 26. On Sat., Nov. 3, Utah upset then-No. 6-ranked Colorado State in five games at Crimson Court.
UTES HIT 450 CAREER WINS: The University of Utah women's volleyball program hit the 450 career-win mark on Oct. 27. The 3-0 win over Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo., marked the Utes 450th career win.
LAUNIERE APPROACHING 225TH CAREER WIN MARK: Utah's winningest coach in school history, Beth Launiere is quickly approaching her 225th career win. Launiere needs just three more wins and with two matches left and the Mountain West Conference Tournament, she could very well hit the mark.
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 222-151 (.595) 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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