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12/3/2005 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Dec. 3, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah (23-9 overall) saw its NCAA Tournament run come to an end when No. 4-seeded and No. 6-ranked Arizona edged the Utes, 3-1, in the second round of single-elimination tournament here tonight.
Arizona (24-5) moves on to the "Sweet 16" in Palo Alto, Calif., on Dec. 10-11.
Game scores were 30-28, 30-26, 28-30 and 30-27.
"I'm very proud of the effort and performance of our team," noted head coach Beth Launiere. "Arizona stepped it up when it needed to. We were in position to win in games one and four but Arizona stepped it up to get the win.
"I'm proud of the match we played. We hit .299 tonight against a very good team. Unfortunately for us, Arizona hit a little bit better."
Seniors Shelly Sommerfeldt, Danielle Leichliter and Katie Theurer wrapped up their collegiate careers tongiht. Sommerfeldt led the team with 18 kills on .359 hitting and had a double-double with 10 digs. Leichliter tallied seven digs and four assists while Theurer came in to serve for Utah. Theurer recorded two aces for the match, including a key ace late in game three to preserve the Utah win.
"This team came together for this tournament," Launiere continued. "I'm proud of its seniors. They provided great leadership. This is their team."
The Utes hit .299 for the match in overcoming a sluggish start in game one. After hitting a meager .152 in the first frame, the Utes never hit worse than .303. Trailing Sommerfeldt in the kills department is the trio of Airial Salvo (15 kills), Lori Baird (10) and Whitney Webb (10). Emillie Toone led all Ute hitters in tallying nine kills on .389 hitting.
Shannon Krug set the attack and handed out 54 assists. She turned in her second double-double performance in as many days in scooping up 10 digs.
The Wildcats finished the match hitting .323, and out-blocked the Utes, 11-9.5. Leading the Utah defense was Toone with seven blocks and Webb with five. Salvo's 15 digs led all Utes.
Arizona had a bevy of attackers with 20-plus kills. It was led by Kim Glass who tallied 27 kills on .315 hitting. Kristina Baum posted 21 kills and hit a match-high .594. Amy Dyck set the attack in dishing out 64 assists while Brittany Leonard (18 digs) and Dominique Lamb (five blocks) led the defense.