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The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Volleyball Comes Home To Face Top-10 Teams
9/4/2007 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2007
USC/Florida Match Notes in PDF Format
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - The Utah women's volleyball team returns home for the first time this season to face a pair of undefeated top-10 teams in No. 4 USC (6-0) and No. 6 Florida (5-0). The Utes take on the Trojans on Friday, Sept. 7, while facing the Gators on Sunday, Sept. 9.
Recapping the Purdue Mortar Board Tournament
Utah started the Mortar Board Tournament with its first win of the season, a 3-1 victory against North Carolina. Lori Baird led Utah with 16 kills on a .441 hitting percentage and seven blocks during the game.
The Utes dropped their second five-game match of the season against Dayton, 3-2. The Flyers (which moved into the AVCA rankings after the weekend matches) won a close game five, 16-14, to take the win.
Utah closed out the tournament with a 3-2 upset victory over No. 17 Purdue. Kate Robison tallied a career-high 21 kills against the Boilermakers in the victory.
Baird and Kathryn Haynie were both named to the all-tournament team for Utah.
Scouting USC
No. 4 USC is 6-0 this season, with its signature win coming against No. 14 Duke, 3-2, on Aug. 31. The Trojans are led by All-American hitter Asia Kaczor, who is averaging 4.33 kills, 2.05 digs and 0.38 aces per game.
The Trojans have a lot of depth, evidenced by the fact that Kaczor is the only player who has played in all 21 games for USC. Other strong players include Diane Copenhagen (3.33 kpg) and Jessica Gysin (2.50 kpg). Taylor Carico serves as the setter and averages 11.74 assists per game. Alli Hillgren leads USC with 3.11 dpg.
Head coach Mick Haley, in his sixth year at USC, is 137-22 with the Trojans. He has been a head coach at the Division I level for 22 years.
Utah is 2-5 all-time against USC. The last meeting was a 3-1 Trojan win in Los Angeles last season.
Scouting Florida
No. 6 Florida is 6-0 on the year. The Gators are coming off a 3-0 win against No. 19 Santa Clara.
Marcie Hampton, who spent the summer training with the national team, is averaging 4.67 kills and 3.42 digs per game. Amber McCray is second on the team in hitting with 2.53 kpg. She also has 12 blocks on the year.
In the back, libero Elyse Cusack has 5.75 digs per game and leads the squad with 0.62 aces per game. Setter Angie McGinnis averages 12.79 assists per game.
Head coach Mary Wise is in her 17th season at Florida. she is 527-54 in her career.
Utah is 0-2 against Florida in series history. Last year, the Utes traveled to Florida to face the Gators, falling 3-1.
Upsetting the Top-10
The last time Utah upset an opponent ranked in the top-10 of the AVCA poll was back on Oct. 16, 2004, a 3-1 victory against No. 7 Colorado State. The Utes were ranked 18th at the time. Players on the current team that played in that game were Connie Dangerfield, Kate Robison and current redshirt middle blocker Emillie Toone.
Utah actually defeated two top-10 opponents that season, upending No. 6 UCLA, 3-2, on Sept. 17.
Dangerous Dangerfield
Senior Connie Dangerfield was named to the all-tournament team of the AVCA Showcase. She averaged 5.38 digs per game at the showcase, more than any other player. Dangerfield is currently averaging 4.59 digs per game.
Dangerfield currently has 1,188 career digs, which ranks her third all-time at Utah. She is on pace to break the Utah record of 1,313, set in 1997 by Brenda Barton-Whicker.
Career Highs
Whitney Webb set a new career high with 21 kills against Tennessee at the AVCA Showcase. Also in the match, Kathryn Haynie tied her career best with 20 kills, and set a new career high with three service aces.
The next week against North Carolina, Lori Baird had a career best 16 kills. Kate Robison had her career-high of 21 kills vs. Purdue.
First Starts
Freshman Keisha Fisher made her first start for the Utes against UCLA. She had double-doubles in both of her first two collegiate matches, with 34 assists and 17 digs against UCLA and 10 digs and 59 assists against Tennessee.
Freshmen Karolina Bartkowiak and Leilani Ili also played in their first matches during the AVCA Showcase. Bartkowiak had eight kills and three blocks over the two matches, while Leilani saw action in one game.
Stephanie Shardlow played in her first career contest against North Carolina on Aug. 31. She had nine assists in the match.
Four Ute Games to be Televised
The Utah women's volleyball team will have at least four regular-season games televised in 2007. The Utes will have matches against UCLA, Florida, Colorado State and BYU air on either the mtn. or CSTV this season. In addition, seven matches of the MWC Tournament will be televised. In all, the MWC will have 18 volleyball matches on television this season.
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