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Monday, September 6
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University of Utah
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at
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UC Irvine
UC Irvine Edges Volleyball, 3-2
9/6/2004 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2004
IRVINE, Calif. - The University of Utah women's volleyball team erased a two-game deficit here this afternoon but UC Irvine held the Utes at bay for the 3-2 win.
Game scores were 27-30, 21-30, 30-26, 30-17 and 12-15. The Utes, losers of two straight, fall to 3-2 while the Anteaters up their season mark to 5-0.
"I thought we played better volleyball in the last three games today," noted head coach Beth Launiere. "It was the best volleyball of the weekend. "It was a good sign that we didn't roll over after being down 2-0. We fought back and played well. We need to take that and get better from here." Utah, which recorded 19 attack errors in the first two games, only committed eight in the final three. The Utes hit .251 (69-27-167) for the match and were led by Shelly Sommerfeldt and her 19 kills. However, UCI's Kelly Wing was one of three Anteaters to tally double-digit kills and led all players with 27. Lyndsey Henderson finished the match with 17.
The Utes remained aggressive on defenses, chalking up 15 team blocks to UCI's nine. Henderson led the way for the Utes with a match-high nine (all block assists). Freshman Emillie Toone racked up seven blocks, including one solo.
Kelsie Kartchner's 30 assists led the Utes while Tracy Neumeier and Connie Dangerfield each finished with a team-high 11 digs. Ashlie Hain of UCI led all players with 55 assists while Anteater Keegan Featherstone tallied 21 digs.
The intensity magnified in game five when the home team took care of a three-point deficit to tie it at four. The two rivals exchanged leads until a 4-0 run gave UCI a 13-10 lead. Utah had it back down to one (13-12), but the Anteaters bagged the final two points for the win.
A fast start was too much for UCI as Utah raced out to a 5-0 lead in game four. The Ute lead stretched to as much as nine (19-10) before topping out with the final score of 13.
Utah had to ward off a late-game surge by UCI to tally a win in the third frame. The Utes, up 26-20, saw Irvine rally to within two points at 28-26. But, a Danielle Leichliter kill and a UCI attack error lifted the Utes to the win.
The Utes clawed to erase deficits midway through both games one and two. However, Utah couldn't respond to late Anteater rallies, securing a 2-0 lead at the break.
One game is left on tap this week for Utah. The Utes return to Crimson Court to host intrastate rival Utah State on Saturday, Sept. 11. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
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