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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Team To Kick Off Season With Utah Classic
8/26/2002 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY -
THIS WEEK: The Utes open the 2002 season when they host the Utah Classic on Friday and Saturday, at Crimson Court in Salt Lake City. Utah will open with New Hampshire at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, the Utes face Murray State at noon, followed by No. 12 Pacific at 7:00 p.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The 2001 Utes posted their sixth consecutive winning season, going 25-7 overall and 11-3 in conference play, capturing the Mountain West Tournament Championship for the first time. Utah also made its inaugural trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and went 15-0 at Crimson Court to record its first-ever undefeated home season.
The Utes' goals for 2002 begin with expanding their NCAA resume, which already includes four straight appearances. Also on the checklist for Utah is winning its first regular-season MWC title and advancing one round further in the NCAAs.
Utah's big guns return from last season in Kim Turner and Sylva Strzinkov?. Turner, a 2001 honorable mention All-American and two-time all-conference honoree, led the Utes with 1.50 blocks per game and a .346 hitting efficiency. Strzinkov? also garnered first team all-MWC honors after notching 15 double-doubles in league matches.
In the preseason polls, the Utes are ranked No. 11 by Volleyball Magazine and No. 13 in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll. In addition, for the first time in the 27-year history of women's volleyball, the Utes were picked in the preseason poll to win the conference title. In a vote of the Mountain West Conference's eight head coaches, Utah earned six first-place votes and 48 points.
UTAH CLASSIC SCHEDULE:
Aug. 30 (Fri.) Pacific vs. Murray State 5:00 p.m. UTAH vs. New Hampshire 7:00 p.m.Aug. 31 (Sat.) Pacific vs. New Hampshire 10:00 a.m. UTAH vs. Murray State 12:00 p.m. New Hampshire vs. Murray State 5:00 p.m. UTAH vs. Pacific 7:00 p.m.
SERIES SHORTS: * Utah leads the all-time series with New Hampshire 2-0. In their last meeting on Sept. 2, 2000, Utah defeated the Wildcats 3-0 in Durham, N.H. The Utes are 1-0 away and 1-0 at a neutral site vs. New Hampshire.
* The Utes will face Murray State for the first time on Saturday.
* Utah trails the all-time series with Pacific 0-1. In their only meeting on Nov. 3, 1979, at the UCLA Invitational, Utah lost 0-2.
Quoting Head Coach Beth Launiere: On the upcoming Utah Classic - "The Utah Classic has been a tradition on and off for many years. It's a great chance to see where you're at as a team after practicing for three weeks. Both New Hampshire and Murray State are well coached, so anything can happen in those matches. We're very excited to play Pacific because they are a very talented team. It will be a great opportunity to give us a measuring stick."
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:
New Hampshire2001 Overall Record: 18-92001 Conference Record/Place: 11-3/2nd2001 Postseason Finish: N/A2002 Preseason Ranking: N/AReturning Starters/Letterwinners: 3/8Top Returners: Alyson Coler (Jr., OH, 5-10, America East all-tournament team, America East all- conference team); Lauren Knight (Sr., OH, 5-10, America East honorable mention)Top Newcomers: Lan "Amy" Dai (Fr., OH, 6-3); Anne Davis (Jr., S, 5-8)
Murray State2001 Overall Record: 8-202001 Conference Record/Place: 6-10/7th2001 Postseason Finish: N/A2002 Preseason Ranking: N/AReturning Starters/Letterwinners: 5/9Top Returners: Chrissy Dabbert (Sr., S, 5-6); Lindy Northcutt (Sr., OH, 5-8); Eleanor Reed (Sr., L, 5-4); Sara Schmitt (Sr., OH, 5-11)Top Newcomers: Paige Sun (Fr., OH, 6-0), Nikki Wang (Fr., S, 5-9)
Pacific2001 Overall Record: 28-82001 Conference Record/Place: 15-3/2nd2001 Postseason Finish: NCAA Regional semifinals2002 Preseason Ranking: No. 9 by Volleyball Magazine, No. 12 by USA Today/AVCAReturning Starters/Letterwinners: 3/9Top Returners: Jennifer Joines (Jr., MB, 6-3, 2001 second-team AVCA and third-team Volleyball Magazine All-American, first-team all-Big West); Megan Hauschild (Sr., S, 5-11, first-team all-Big West); Elaine Goeders (Sr., MB, 6-1, 2001 honorable mention all-Big West)Top Newcomers: Sidney Bennett (Fr., MB, 6-2); Susan Drollinger (Fr., MB, 6-3); Ashley Grothuis (Fr., OH, 6-1); Jennifer Knox (Fr., MB, 6-3)
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The starters beat the reserves 3-1 (29-31, 30-28, 30-20, 30-19) in the intra-squad scrimmage last Saturday, Aug. 24, at Crimson Court. For the starters, Strzinkov? had 19 kills and nine digs, while senior Brenda Beal had 14 kills, 11 blocks and three service aces. Turner added 12 kills and 12 digs, and sophomore setter Kelsie Kartchner finished with 51 assists and 11 digs. Sophomore transfer Lyndsey Phillips notched 15 kills to go along with five blocks.
Freshman Shelly Hundley had 12 kills, while sophomore Tracy Neumeier had 30 assists and nine digs to lead the reserves. Freshman Danielle Leichliter added 12 kills and eight digs.
NEXT WEEK: Utah travels to Stanford, Calif., to participate in the Stanford Invitational Sept. 6-7. The Utes face Cal Poly at 5:00 p.m. (PDT) on Friday, Sept. 6. On Saturday, Sept. 7, Utah will play San Jose State, which finished No. 24 in the final 2001 poll, at noon, followed by a 7:00 p.m. match against Stanford, the No. 1 team in the nation and reigning national champions.
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