Utah Volleyball Defeats Brigham Young 3-1

Friday, October 10

Provo, Utah

7:00 PM

University of Utah

BYU

10/10/2003 12:00 AM | Volleyball

Oct. 10, 2003

Box Score

PROVO, Utah - The Utah women's volleyball team improved to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the Mountain West Conference with a four-game win (30-25, 30-27, 19-30, 30-20) over instate rival Brigham Young at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo tonight. Utah hit for .226 in the match, while the Cougars combined for a .208 hitting percentage. The Utes also out-blocked BYU 15-10.

"We executed very well in the first and second games," Head Coach Beth Launiere said. "We served and blocked well and we worked a lot on those things in practice this week. In game three, they came out a lot more focused and intense. We got back to that same level of execution in game four, stayed in control and kept our composure. For us to hit .226 against their block says a lot."

Senior All-America candidate Kim Turner led Utah with 16 kills, seven blocks and seven digs. Sophomores Shelly Sommerfeldt and Danielle Leichliter added 14 and 12 kills, respectively.

Junior setter Tracy Neumeier, who started and played the majority of the match, dished out 43 assists. She also had five blocks. Junior Lyndsey Henderson finished with eight kills and seven blocks, while senior libero Jackie Morrill finished with a match-high 15 digs.

Game one was close throughout, with 12 ties, before the Utes scored five straight to take a 24-19 lead. Utah went on to win 30-25. The Utes hit for .282 on the game, compared to the .233 of the Cougars. Henderson and Sommerfeldt had four kills apiece to lead Utah, while Morrill notched five digs on the game.

With the exception of two ties, Utah led throughout all of game two, leading by as many as five early (10-5). BYU tied it at 24, but the Utes scored three straight points and went on to win 30-27. Utah combined for a .234 hitting percentage on the game and held the Cougars to .184. The Utes also out-blocked BYU 5-3 on the game. Turner had five kills on the game to pace Utah.

The Cougars dominated game three, leading throughout and winning 30-19. Utah hit for just .081 on the game, while BYU hit for .308. The Utes had 10 kills on the game, while the Cougars had 17.

Utah scored the first eight points in game four and never looked back, leading by as many as 10 five times and winning 30-20. Turner had seven kills and five blocks on the game.

UP NEXT:
Utah hosts UNLV and San Diego State next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17 and 18. Both matches start at 7 p.m.