No. 10 Volleyball Hammers Out 3-0 Win

Sunday, October 22

Salt Lake City

4:00 PM

University of Utah

UNLV

10/22/2006 12:00 AM | Volleyball

Oct. 22, 2006

Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY - The No. 10-ranked University of Utah volleyball team (19-2, 10-0 Mountain West) weathered a pesky UNLV team here tonight as the Utes persevered to a 3-0 win, extending its winning streak to an impressive 17 matches.

Utah claimed the victory on game scores of 30-25, 30-24 and 30-27. With the loss, UNLV falls to 14-8 overall and to 5-5 in league action.

"When it's all said and done, it's a 3-0 win," said head coach Beth Launiere. "But, I thought we came out a little flat tonight. We got better as the match went on and I was glad to see that. I don't think anything is broken. We're just in the middle of the mid-season grind right now."

Tonight's match will air several times on the mtn., the Mountain West Conference's sports network. The first airing will be Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m.

The win extended Utah's winning streak to 17 matches. It also lifted Utah's home mark to 10-0 this year and it marked the 16th 3-0 sweep of the season. In fact, all 10 of Utah's home wins have been three-game sweeps.

Utah hit an impressive .260 for the match as it saw three of its players record double-digit kill outings. Leading the three-pronged attack was Airial Salvo with 16 kills. Whitney Webb finished with 14 and Lori Baird tallied 10. Webb was the most efficient hitter, collecting kills at a scorching .650 (14-1-20) clip.

Setting Utah's attack was freshman Sydney Anderson. She dished out 41 helpers and helped out with five digs and an impressive six blocks.

The Ute defense was up to par as it out-blocked UNLV, 11.5-7, and held the Rebels to a mere .139 hitting. Both Emillie Toone and Anderson led the way with six total blocks. Baird helped out with five and Salvo chimed in with four.

The Rebels did win in the digs department as it held the 57-46 edge. Connie Dangerfield's 17 digs led the Utes.

Leading the Rebels tonight were Michelle Banks (13 kills), Melody Nua (21 assists) and Jada Walker (19 digs). Three Rebel spikers finished with three total blocks.

The Rebels fought tooth and nail, forcing Utah to earn all three victories in the match. Utah held a 5-1 lead in game one but saw that dissipate quickly. It wouldn't hold a commanding lead until late in the game when a 4-1 run extended Utah's lead to 21-17. Utah would never loose the lead again.

The Utes found themselves in the hole, 4-1, in game two. They were still down 11-6 when Baird stepped up to serve. She powered Utah to a 12-11 lead. It was back-and-forth at that point and Utah didn't take control of the game until a 4-0 run gave it the 23-19 lead.

The home team never trailed in game three, but had to battle a pesky UNLV team that rallied from a five-point deficit (21-16) to tie it at 26-26. The Utes then went on a 4-1 run and got the three-game sweep on Salvo's match-ending kill.

The Utes return to action on Friday when they host in-state power Brigham Young. First serve at Crimson Court is set for 7 p.m.