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The University of Utah Athletics
Weekly Volleyball Notes
9/26/2006 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 26, 2006
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This Week - The No. 18-ranked University of Utah volleyball team (11-2, 4-0 Mountain West Conference) has only one match on the docket this week but it's a big one. The Utes battle conference rival and No. 16-ranked Brigham Young (12-1, 4-0 MWC) in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Sept. 29. The match will be held at Smith Fieldhouse and will start at 7 p.m.
Quoting Head Coach Beth Launiere:
On This Week: "This is going to be a big match for both teams in terms of national rankings and in the conference race. But, it's always a big match when BYU and Utah play each other. Both teams are talented and physical and what it's going to come down to is who serves and passes better."
On Last Week: "I was ecstatic with our results last weekend. This is typically one of our most difficult trips and we came down and controlled both matches and got the wins. To execute as well as we did last weekend is big for this team." v
Letting the "Kat" Out of the Bag - Kathryn Lovell entered action last weekend averaging 3.00 kills per game and hitting .169. But, last weekend against UNLV and San Diego, she averaged 3.71 kills and collected them at an impressive .352 clip. Her hitting percentage led all outside hitters last weekend. She had a season-high-tying 13 kills in both matches and hit .219 against UNLV and a scorching .545 versus SDSU.
Better or Worse? - UNLV and San Diego State broke a string that saw five straight Utah opponents hit well below .100 for the match. The Rebels hit .129 while SDSU hit .229. The Aztecs were the first team to even break the .200 hitting barrier since USC (.246) did it back on Sept. 2. While last weekend's rivals enjoyed marginal success, opponents are still hitting a paltry .097 against the Utes.
Armed and Dangerous - Ute arms were on fire in the three-game win over San Diego State on Saturday. Utah hit a season-high .442 against the Aztecs, collecting 62 kills on 113 swings. There were only 12 hitting errors charged to Utah's hitters. That was the sixth time Utah has hit better than .300 this year and second time it's topped the .400 plateau. It is 6-0 when it hits better than .300 in a match this year.
The Great Wall of... Utah - The fearsome threesome of Emillie Toone, Lori Baird and Whitney Webb threw up a big defensive wall last weekend. All three of them had 11 total blocks on the weekend and averaged 1.57 blocks per game. That was well above Baird's (1.22) and Webb's (1.37) averages. Toone entered the week as the No. 1 blocker in the country. She currently averages 2.12 blocks per game.
The Great Wall... Part 2 - On the heels of last weekend, the trio of Emillie Toone, Whitney Webb and Lori Baird all rank in the top four in the conference in blocking. Toone is the league leader with 2.12 blocks per game while Webb is third (1.37) and Baird fourth (1.22).
Scoopin' Up What You're Puttin' Down - Utah is the only MWC team with two athletes averaging four-plus digs per match. Airial Salvo leads the team with 4.07 digs per game while libero Connie Dangerfield is netting 4.05. With that, Utah is the only team with its two digs leaders ranking in the top seven in the league. Salvo ranks fifth and Dangerfield seventh. However, they are part of a whole as the team ranks second in the league, averaging 16.79 digs per game.
Dial "12" For Assistance - Shannon Krug is only a sophomore but has already firmly etched her name in Utah's record book. Last weekend, she dished out 27 assists which pushed her over the 1,600 career assist mark. Krug now has 1,620 assists and ranks ninth all-time at Utah. She needs 79 more to take over eighth. As a freshman last year, she handed out 1,423 assists, the second best single-season mark in Ute annals.
From the Top -With the 11-2, 4-0 MWC, start, Utah has recorded some impressive numbers. It ranks first in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.097), assists (15.10), Kills (16.33) and blocks (3.88). It ranks second in digs (16.79). The only category it doesn't rank in the top two is service aces (fourth, 1.67).
National Rankings - In the national rankings through Sept. 17, Emillie Toone is the No. 1 blocker (2.12 bpg) in the nation and 25th in hitting (.398). Meanwhile, the team ranks first in blocks per game (3.88), 14th in hitting (.290), 19th in assists (15.10), 24th in kills (16.33) and 26th in win-loss percentage (.846).
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 3-2 in games that go extra points ... ten of the 11 Utah victories have been by a 3-0 count. The only team to win a game off the Utes in their victories was SDSU. The Aztecs lost 3-1... Utah has hit better than .300 in three of the last five matches, topping out at a season-high .442 in its last outing against San Diego State ... San Diego State held the 7.5-7 edge in team blocks. It is the first team to out block Utah since Arkansas State (6-5) did it in the season opener ... the Utes tied a season high when they collected 79 digs in the four-game win over UNLV. They also had 79 digs in the four-game loss to then-No. 5 Florida ... Utah had 31 block assists in the four-game win over UNLV. That was four shy of the school record 35 set against Utah State back in 1991. The 31 block assists is a season high ... the team is 11-2 in games one and two, 12-1 in game three and 1-2 in game four ... it is also 10-0 in three-game matches while it is 1-2 in four-gamers. Utah has yet to play a five-game match this season.
Scouting the Opponents:
Brigham Young- The Cougars bring a 12-1, 4-0 MWC, mark in to this week's match against Utah. BYU has won six straight, including a 3-1 win over San Diego State and a 3-0 win over UNLV last weekend. BYU owns the 54-19 all-time series leads but lost two-out-of-three last year. Both losses were 3-0 sweeps including one of them in the MWC Tournament championship match. Leading the Cougars are Erica Lott (4.64 kills), Lindsy Hartsock (.420 hitting and 1.68 blocks), Jenna Judkins (11.37 assists) and Janvier Beaumont (3.61 digs).
Last Week - The Utes raced their conference record out to 4-0 with a 3-1 win over UNLV (30-16, 32-34, 30-28, 30-23) and a 3-0 win over San Diego State (30-25, 30-18, 30-20) last weekend.
Utah out-hit the Rebels, .244-.129, led by Airial Salvo and her 17 kills. She finished the match with a double-double as she also had a match-high 21 digs. The Utes held the 15.5-9 edge at the net as Emillie Toone's eight total blocks led the way.
The Utes remained perfect in league play as they edged SDSU by hitting a scorching .442. Leading the way was Kathryn Lovell. She hit .545 in racking up 13 kills on the Aztecs. The Utes' kills leader however was Salvo who finished with 15. SDSU held the 7.5-7 edge in team blocks but it only hit .221 for the match. Leading Utah's block was Lori Baird and Whitney Webb. Both had four blocks apiece. Sydney Anderson's 13 digs also led the Ute defense.
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 333-189 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 - Next week sees Utah playing three matches as they battle Idaho State (Oct. 3) on the road and host New Mexico (Oct. 6) and TCU (Oct. 7) at Crimson Court. The following week, they host UVSC (Oct. 10) and play at Wyoming (Oct. 14).
Players Mentioned
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