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Utes Look To Continue Winning Streak On The Road
10/29/2007 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 29, 2007
SALT LAKE CITY - Utah takes its three-match winning streak on the road this week at Utah State (Oct. 30), TCU (Nov. 2) and New Mexico (Nov. 3).
Baird Named MWC Player of the Week
Junior middle hitter Lori Baird was named Mountain West Conference Co-Volleyball Player of the Week for her performances against Utah Valley, Wyoming and Air Force. It is the first honor for a Utah player this season and Baird's second career award.
Baird led Utah to a 3-0 record on the week, including a 2-0 mark in conference play with wins over Wyoming and Air Force. She averaged 3.44 kills, 2.56 blocks, 0.44 digs, 0.44 service aces and 5.39 points per game with a .569 hitting percentage.
The Week In Review
The Utah women's volleyball team snapped a three-match losing streak by winning three in a row, all 3-0 sweeps, over Utah Valley, Wyoming and Air Force this past week.
In addition to Baird's stellar play, Kathryn Haynie had 3.78 kills per game with 18 digs and two aces. Whitney Webb tallied 3.00 kills per game on .314 hitting, recording 10 blocks. Keisha Fisher had 74 assists and two aces while Connie Dangerfield recorded 3.78 digs per game and four aces.
Scouting Utah State
The Aggies are 14-10 on the season and 9-4 in the Western Athletic Conference. Utah State has won its last five matches and has a lot of depth on its bench.
Amanda Nielson is nationally ranked with 5.12 kills per game and 35 aces. She is also averaging 1.04 blocks per game. Melissa Osterloh has 3.14 kills per game while Danielle Taylor is averaging 2.09 kills per game. Taylor leads the team with 1.04 blocks per game.
Chelsea Fowles has 12.22 assists per game. Cristine Morrill leads the squad with 3.92 digs per game.
Utah is 39-23 all-time against Utah State with a 13-10 record in Logan. Overall, USU has lost three straight matches to the Utes.
Utah/USU Connections
Utah assistant coach Burt Fuller spent five years (2001-05) as the head coach at Utah State, leading the Aggies to an 82-70 (.539) record and trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and 2005. Fellow Utah assistant coach, Heather Olmstead, was a four-year starter on Utah State's volleyball team (1998-2001) and earned first-team all-Big West honors in 2001. Olmstead later served as an assistant coach at Utah State for three years (2003-05). Olmstead's brother, Shawn, is an assistant coach at Utah State after playing volleyball at Brigham Young University (2001-2004).
Scouting TCU
Utah will be looking for a little revenge this week after TCU defeated the Utes 3-2 in their last meeting. TCU is 19-9 overall but is tied for fourth with Utah in the MWC with a 6-5 record.
Kourtney Edwards is averaging 3.37 kills per game with a .354 hitting percentage. She also leads the team with 1.17 blocks. Setter Nirelle Hampton has 10.87 assists per game to her credit with 31 aces. Libero Calli Corley has 4.87 digs per game.
The Utes are 7-1 all-time against the Horned Frogs.
Scouting New Mexico
New Mexico, also tied for fourth in the league with a 6-5 MWC record, 15-8 overall, is coming off a tough 3-2 loss to TCU. The Lobos have dropped three of their last four.
Jeanne Fairchild is averaging 4.82 kills per game. Lisa Meeter is coming away with 3.10 kills per game and a team-best 32 aces. Gayle Tripp leads New Mexico with 4.38 digs per game and Anna Lehne is the lead blocker with 1.12 blocks per game. Jade Michaelsen has 8.13 assists per game.
The Utes downed the Lobos earlier this year, 3-0. Utah holds a 39-27 all-time record in the series.
Against the Best
Colorado State marked the sixth team this season that Utah has played in the AVCA top 25 poll. Utah defeated No. 17 Purdue (3-2) and played competitive matches against No. 4 USC, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Florida and No. 22 New Mexico State, losing several games in each match by just a few points. In addition, the Utes fell to Dayton, 3-2, which moved into the rankings after playing Utah. UNLV has received votes in the poll and BYU has also been ranked this season.
Holding Opponents
Utah leads the MWC in opponent hitting percentage. The Utes are holding opponents to just a .162 hitting percentage. Utah has held opponents below .100 three times, holding Dayton (8/31) to .080, Air Force (9/28 and 10/27) to .008 and .071, respectively, and Utah Valley (10/23) to .067.
Spinning the Webb
Senior Whitney Webb has led Utah in its last eight matches with 3.33 kills per game and has also recorded a .260 hitting percentage. She has tallied 29 blocks during that span.
For the year, Webb is averaging 3.26 kills and 1.37 digs per game.
Middle (Wo)man
Senior Lori Baird has led the Utes in blocking, averaging 1.60 blocks per game, which ranks second in the MWC. She was named MWC Co-Player of the Week last week.
Players Mentioned
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