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The University of Utah Athletics
Weekly Volleyball Notes
9/19/2006 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2006
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This Week - The No. 18-ranked University of Utah volleyball team (9-2 overall, 2-0 Mountain West) begins a five-match road swing with two conference dates this week. First up is UNLV (9-3, 1-0 MWC) in a rare Thursday night match-up. Utah and UNLV will clash on Thursday, Sept. 21. Weekend action concludes with a match at San Diego State (6-7, 0-1 MWC) on Saturday, Sept. 23. Thursday's match is a 7 p.m. start while Saturday's match will begin at 1 p.m. Both times are PDT.
Quoting Head Coach Beth Launiere:
On This Week: "These are two big matches for us this week. This road trip has always been a tough one for us. Both UNLV and San Diego State are quality opponents. They both have good talent and will be a difficult challenge. But, it will aslo be a good test for us."
On Last Week: "Our defense has been winning matches for us and that was no different in our last few matches. Hopefully, that doesn't change. But, I was also pleased with our offensive efforts. Our offense is starting to come around and the numbers are starting to go up for us."
Name That ... - Emillie Toone has not only asserted herself as a premiere blocker in the conference, but has now done it on the national level. Toone entered last week as the nation's top blocker (2.27 per game) and still ranks No. 1 with an impressive 2.23 average. Last weekend, she averaged 2.11 blocks per game, racking up 19 total blocks (four solo, 15 assisted). Her efforts were buoyed by a nine-block outing against Colorado State.
I Can Name That "Toone" in Two Notes - It's time to talk about Emillie Toone's offensive efforts now. Not only does she spark the defense but she was the team's most efficient hitter over the three matches last week. She had 22 kills on 37 swings in action last week, only committing three errors. That means she was collecting kills at an eye-popping .514 clip. She averaged 2.44 kills per game. For the year, Toone is hitting a team-best .398 and averaging 2.34 kills.
An "F" for Effort - Ute opponents haven't fared well in the offensive categories this season. With Utah averaging 4.01 blocks per game and 16.49 digs, it's easy to see why. Moreover, Utah's opponent hitting percentage is a scant .083. Last week, none of the three opponents broke the .100 barrier in hitting. Weber State (.051), Colorado State (.064) and Air Force (-.132) all struggled with Utah's defense last week. On the season, only three of Utah's 11 opponents have topped the .100 plateau in hitting.
What Comes After "Three"? - Not too many Ute fans may be able to answer that question as nine of Utah's 11 matches this year have been three-gamers. Fortunately for the Utes, they've all been 3-0 victories. The only two matches that weren't 3-0 wins were four-game losses to then-No. 5 Florida and then-No. 14 USC.
Leading By Example - With Utah's 9-2 mark comes some impressive team numbers. In fact, Utah ranks in the top two in the league in six of the seven published categories. It's the No. 1 team in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.083), assists (14.74) and blocks (4.01). The Utes rank second in hitting (.283), kills (16.06) and digs (16.49). In seventh category, aces, Utah ranks fourth (1.77).
Outsider Art - Utah's top three outside hitters had quite an impressive week last week. The trio of Airial Salvo, Kate Robison and Whitney Webb combined to average 8.55 kills per game, hitting an impressive .331. Robison was the most efficient with a .364 average and 2.44 kills per game. Salvo hit .329 but tallied kills at a 4.00 per-game clip. Webb hit .302 in tallying 2.11 kills per game.
Earning Your Wings - Freshman Chelsey Sandberg came off the bench to have a solid two-game showing against the Air Force Falcons. During the two stanzas, the middle blocker hit .400 (3-1-5) and led the team with a career-high four total blocks.
National Rankings - In the national rankings through Sept. 17, Emillie Toone was the No. 1 blocker (2.23 bpg) in the nation while the team ranks second in blocks per game (4.01) and 18th in hitting percentage (.283).
Reserve Duty - Kate Robison came off the bench and recorded some impressive efforts last week. The junior outside hitter tallied a career-high 14 kills against Weber State. She also tied her season highs with seven digs and three blocks against the Wildcats. Versus Air Force, Robison hit a career-high .545 (6-0-11) and had five digs with a season-high-tying three blocks.
The Envelope Please - Airial Salvo won her first Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honor this season in helping Utah to its three wins last week. Over the three matches, she averaged 4.00 kills, 3.00 digs, 0.78 blocks and 0.33 service aces per game, while hitting .329 (36-8-85). This award marks the third of her career.
Potent Notables - The Utes are 0-2 against ranked teams with 3-1 losses to then-No. 5 Florida and then-No. 14 USC ... Utah is 3-1 in games that go extra points ... the Utes have nearly doubled up their opponents in blocking, holding a 140.5-76 edge in team blocks. Last week, Utah had 41.5 blocks to its opponents' 17 ... Utah hit a season-best .429 in the Air Force win. That marks the fifth time it hit better than .300 and first time it broke the .400 hitting plateau ... the Utes have had double-digit team blocks in their last 10 matches. Its opponents have had one double-digit team effort this season (Florida, 13.0) ... the team is 9-2 in game one, 10-1 in each game two and three and 0-2 in game four ... it is also 9-0 in three-game matches while it is 0-2 in four-gamers.
Scouting the Opponents:
UNLV - The Rebels (9-3, 1-0 MWC) saw their six-match winning streak come to an end with a 3-1 non-conference loss to Long Beach State last week. But, they rebounded to top UC Riverside, 3-0. Utah is 20-1 all-time against UNLV, with Utah winning both meetings last year (3-2, 3-0). Pacing the Rebels are Maria Aladjova (3.38 kills), Erin Greenwood (.296 hitting), Melody Nua (11.98 assists) and Lauren Miramontes (1.17 blocks). Leading the team in digs is Jada Walker with 5.18 per game. She is second in the league in digs.
San Diego State - The Aztecs (6-7, 0-1 MWC) enter the week having lost two of their last three. Their last outing was 3-1 loss to Cal State Fullerton. SDSU owns the all-time series lead, 17-16, as Utah split the series last season with a pair of 3-1 matches. Leading the Aztec offense is Melanie Greene (3.68 kills), Lindsey Mahan (.236 hitting) and Leah Lathrop (10.02 assists). The defensive leaders for SDSU are Aime Cordeiro (5.78 digs) and Vanessa Curtis (1.55 blocks). Cordeiro also leads the league in digs.
Last Week - The Utes extended their winning streak to seven matches as they topped Weber State (30-25, 30-12, 30-18), Colorado State (30-26, 30-21, 30-24) and Air Force Academy (30-18, 30-14, 30-14), all by a 3-0 score.
After a slow start, Utah cruised to the 3-0 win over Weber State in hitting .307 for the match. Kate Robison's 14 kills led the way as Airial Salvo helped out with 12. Utah out-blocked the Wildcats, 15-4, and held them to a meager .051 hitting. Emillie Toone's seven total blocks and Whitney Webb's 13 digs led the Ute defense.
Toone's nine total blocks (three solo) paced a Ute defense that held the usually potent CSU offense to a mere .064 hitting. Utah held the 15.5-7 edge in team blocks. Toone was just one of three Utes with six or more blocks as Webb and Lori Baird had six total blocks themselves. Utah hit .246 for the match, led by the duo of Salvo and Kathryn Lovell. They both had 11 kills on the night. Connie Dangerfield had a match-high 15 digs
The Utes' seventh straight win was the result of a season-best .429 hitting performance in beating the Falcons in three games. All 12 Utes saw action and were led were led by Salvo's 13 kills. She had a double-double with 10 digs as well. AFA never hit for a positive the entire match as it finished hitting -.132. It was Chelsey Sandberg who led the block. She came off the bench to tally four total blocks as Utah finished with an 11-6 edge in team blocks. Dangerfield's 13 digs led from the back.
Air Time - This fall, CSTV Networks and the Mountain West Conference kick off an unprecedented 14-year partnership designed to offer the most in-depth coverage ever centered around one Division I-A conference. The centerpiece of this historic relationship is the launch of The mtn. ("the mountain")--MountainWest Sports Network. The mtn. is the first-ever Super Regional Sports Network and will serve the Mountain West Conference 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Utah will be featured on The mtn. on Sunday, Oct. 22, when it hosts UNLV. That match will start at 4 p.m. It will be televised on delay at 7 p.m. Check local listings for future replay times. In addition, to regular season matches, the entire Mountain West Conference will be televised between The mtn. and CSTV.
In addition to CSTV's and the mtn.'s coverage of Utah volleyball, live audio and video of each home match is available for a nominal charge at www.utahutes.com.
At the Helm - Beth Launiere is in her 17th season as Utah's head coach. She has a 331-189 career record. She has led her squad to NCAA Tournament appearances the last eight seasons, including a "Sweet 16" showing in 2001. Following her "Sweet 16" run, Launiere was named the 2001 Tachikara/AVCA Division I West Region Coach of the Year. Launiere's Utes have recorded 10 20-win seasons, and in 2005, Utah posted a then-school-record 12 conference victories. A native of Grand Rapids, Mich., Launiere graduated from Aquinas College and was an assistant at Ferris State and Illinois before taking over the Ute program in 1990.
Upcoming - The Utes have one match on the docket next week as it travel down to Provo, Utah, to battle No. 16 Brigham Young. That match will be at Smith Fieldhouse and is set to start at 7 p.m. The following week sees Utah playing three matches, taking on Idaho State (Oct. 3) on the road and New Mexico (Oct. 6) and TCU (Oct. 7) at Crimson Court.
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