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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Faces Idaho State Tuesday In Pocatello, Idaho
9/24/2001 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2001
Salt Lake City -
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COMING UP: Utah travels to Pocatello, Idaho on Tues., Sept. 25, facing Idaho State at 7:00 p.m. On Fri., Sept. 28, the Utes will take on the Air Force Falcons in Crimson Court at 7:00 p.m. On Sat., Sept. 29, Utah will match-up with New Mexico in Crimson Court at 7:00 p.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The Utes went 1-1 last week, with a 3-0 (30-26, 30-25, 30-25) loss to No. 14 ranked BYU on Thurs., Sept. 20 and a four-game (30-25, 23-30, 30-25, 30-19) win over Loyola Marymount on Sat., Sept. 22. Utah is currently 5-3 overall, 0-1 in MWC play.
Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against Idaho State, Air Force and New Mexico 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 is currently No. 22 in the Sept. 24 USA Today/AVCA Top-25 poll. The Utes have been ranked for five consecutive weeks.
SERIES SHORTS: Utah leads the all-time series with Idaho State, 24-8 (.750). Utah is 12-2 at home, 9-4 away and 3-2 at a neutral site vs. the Bengals. In their last meeting on Oct. 3, 2000, the Utes shut-down ISU in three games in Salt Lake City. Utah is a perfect 6-0 against Air Force Academy. The Utes are 3-0 at home, 3-0 away and 0-0 at a neutral site vs. the Falcons. Utah defeated the Falcons, 3-0 (15-6, 15-3, 15-8) on Nov. 10, 2000 in Colorado Springs, Colo. The all-time series between Utah and New Mexico is tied, 25-25. In their last meeting on Nov. 11, 2000, the Utes won in three games, 15-10, 15-7, 15-6. Utah is 11-9 at home, 11-14 away and 3-2 at a neutral site vs. New Mexico.
QUOTING LAUNIERE: On the upcoming Idaho State, Air Force and New Mexico matches-"Idaho State is playing well right now and it will be a good match to play. We're glad to be close to home and I am expecting a very competitive match-up. I am looking forward to playing back at home against Air Force and New Mexico this weekend. No match in the Mountain West Conference is an easy one, but it will be nice to be home and try to get a few more wins."
UTES ON THE RADIO: The Idaho State University campus radio station KISU (91.1 FM) plans to broadcast the ISU women's volleyball contest vs. the Utes on Tues., Sept. 25 at 7:00 p.m.
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE: The Idaho State Bengals are currently 4-6 overall, with wins over Portland, Montana-Western, Wake Forest and Oklahoma. ISU recorded losses to Cal-State Northridge, Marquette, UT-Arlington, Wyoming, Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. Idaho State has started 0-2 in Big Sky play for the first time since 1998, when the Bengals started 0-11 en route to an 8-20, 1-15 season under former head coach Bill MacLachlan. All four of ISU's wins have been by 3-0 sweeps and the Bengals have not dropped three straight games all season. A look at the ISU stats would suggest that the Bengals are .500, not 4-6. Both kills and attack errors are slightly in favor of the opposition, while ISU has just eight fewer assists. ISU has 4 1/2 less blocks than their opponents, but 10 more aces. The largest disparity may be in digs, where opponents are out-digging ISU 14.9-13.6, a 1.3 dig advantage. Mike Welch (Chico State, 1986) is in his second season at the helm of the Bengals after six seasons as the head coach at North Florida. Prior to his stint there, Welch served as the head coach for Morehead State, winning an Ohio Valley Conference championship.
SCOUTING AIR FORCE: The Air Force Falcons are currently 1-8 overall, 0-2 in MWC play. Air Force has suffered losses to Florida International, UCF, Stetson, UIC, Washington, SE Louisiana, San Diego State and UNLV. Currently, the Falcons are on a seven-match losing streak. Delavane Diaz leads the team, averaging 3.47 kills per game for a .227 hitting percentage and 2.00 digs per game. Kristin Huitt adds 8.66 assists per game and 2.84 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.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO: The New Mexico Lobos are currently 2-7 overall, 0-2 in the MWC. The Lobos recorded wins over Texas-El Paso and McNeese State and losses to Northern Iowa, Long Beach State, Arizona State, Loyola Marymount, Indiana UNLV and San Diego State. Anna Reines leads the team, averaging 3.25 kills per game and Kelly Griffin adds 1.03 kills per game, 9.34 assists per game and 2.31 digs per game. Ashley Kirsch averages 2.86 kills per game and 2.21 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.
NEXT WEEK: The Utes hit the road on Fri., Oct. 5, travelling to Fort Collins, Colo., and 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. 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.
UTAH RANKINGS IN THE MWC: Utah, as a team is fourth in the MWC in assists (13.54) and fourth with a .221 hitting percentage. They are fifth in blocks (2.98), kills (14.75) and in digs (13.39). The Utes are seventh in service aces (1.29). Individually, Utah ranks among the top in the MWC statistical leaders. Junior Sylva Strzinkova is fifth in digs (3.00) and sophomore Kim Turner is fifth in blocks (1.46). Freshman Kelsie Kartchner is eighth in assists (7.89). Adrianne Drake is eighth with a .318 hitting percentage and Alisa Geddes is seventh in service aces (0.43).
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 94.0 points (3.62 ppg), followed by Kim Turner with 93.0 (3.32 ppg), Adrianne Bradley-Drake with 86.5 (3.20 ppg) and McKelle Stilson with 78.0 (2.79 ppg).
NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL ATTENDANCE: Utah ranks 30th in the nation in home match attendance. In four matches at home, the Utes have brought in 2,148 fans, an average of 537 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 208-149 (.583) 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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