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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Takes On Air Force In MWC Home Opener
9/22/2008 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah volleyball team (7-4, 0-2 MWC) plays its first Mountain West Conference home match of the season at 7 p.m., Thursday at Crimson Court against Air Force.
Last Week
Lori Baird (Murray, Utah) slammed down the 1,000th kill of her career but Utah lost 3-2 (20-25, 22-25, 25-13, 28-26, 12-15) in its MWC opener at then-No. 15 Colorado State Thursday. Senior middle blocker Emillie Toone (American Fork, Utah) had 10 kills and six blocks but Utah could not avoid its third consecutive loss (25-22, 25-20, 25-18) Saturday at Wyoming.
Scouting Air Force
Air Force is 4-9 overall and 0-2 early in MWC play. This will be the Falcons' first road match of the season and Air Force finds itself on a two-match losing streak after opening its conference schedule with a pair of 3-0 losses against UNLV and San Diego State. After opening their season with a sweep of Kennessaw State, the Falcons endured a season-long six-match losing streak from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6.
Jasamine Pettie and Nichole Stilwell are the leading Falcon attackers this season. Pettie leads the team with 2.53 kills per set, while Stilwell averages 2.20. Air Force is being outblocked 2.40-1.47 by their opponents, with Michell Harrington leading the way for the Falcons at 0.88 blocks per set.
The Utes have never lost in 20 meetings with the Falcons, including a 9-0 mark at Crimson Court. Utah downed Air Force, 3-0, in the last meeting at Crimson Court, Oct. 27, 2007.
In that match, Baird led the Utes with 11 kills and hit .611 to go along with seven blocks. Kathryn Haynie (North Salt Lake City, Utah) was also in double digits in kills with 10, including seven digs. Chelsey Sandberg (West Jordan, Utah) turned in nine kills on a .571 hitting percentage.
Baird Enters 1,000-kill Club
Baird joined Utah's 1,000-kill club during the fourth set Thursday to reduce Colorado State's advantage to 4-3 and came through with a team-high-tying total of 15 for the match, to go along with six digs and a match-high 10 blocks. Baird, a Murray, Utah native, is the 10th member of the exclusive club and now has 1,008 career kills.
Haynie Chasing 1,000 Kills
Now that Baird has surpassed the 1,000-kill milestone, Haynie is hoping to join her soon in Utah's 1,000-kill club. Haynie has 977 kills in 277 career sets for a 3.53 kill-per-set average. This season, the North Salt Lake City, Utah, native leads the team with 3.05 kills per set. If Haynie reaches this milestone, it will be the first time in school history that a pair of active Utes both have more than 1,000 kills in their respective careers.
Haynie is also currently in a fifth-place tie among MWC players in service aces per set, with a 0.28 ace-per-set average.
Toone On The Move
Toone recently moved into sole possession of second place on the school's career total blocks list, moving past Sheila Cottrell-Sorenson (482 from 1982-86). The redshirt senior currently has 531 career blocks and is second on the team with 49 this season (1.26 blocks per set). Toone needs 59 more to become Utah's all-time leader, and is currently tied for third place among MWC players in blocking, with 1.26 blocks per set. Baird is just .01 blocks per set behind with 50 total blocks in 40 sets this season for a 1.25 block-per-set average to rank fifth in the MWC.
Toone has not only been effective on the block, but on the attack as well, hitting for a .457 percentage (23 kills on just 46 attempts with only two errors). Toone registered 13 blocks in Utah's conference season-opening pair of road matches last weekend at then-No. 15 Colorado State and Wyoming. The American Fork, Utah, native pounded down 13 kills on 28 attempts and was second on the squad with seven blocks in Thursday's match against the Rams in Fort Collins, Colo. Toone totaled 10 kills on 18 swings for a .556 clip to go along with a match-high six blocks Saturday against the Cowgirls. For the season, Toone is third in the MWC with a .374 hitting percentage, a mere .001 behind San Diego State's Lauren Salisburg for second place in the conference.
Approaching The Century Mark
Utah is closing in on its 100th home win at Crimson Court since 2000. The Utes have posted a 98-16 record for a .860 winning percentage in that time frame.
Good Starts Are The Key
In all seven of the Utes' victories this season, they have won the first set. Consequently, Utah is 0-4 when it doesn't come up with a first-set victory.
Fisher Digging In
Keisha Fisher (Ririe, Idaho) dug out a career-high 33 attack attempts in the back row Thursday against then-No. 15 Colorado State in Colorado Springs, Colo. Her previous career best was a 22-dig performance against Purdue on Sept. 1, 2007. The sophomore libero is eighth in the conference this season with 3.03 digs per set. The Utes are 6-0 this year when coming up with more digs than their opponents.
Baird Among The Nation's Best
Baird was one of only 22 players from around the country selected to participate in the U.S. Women's Senior A2 National Team program this past offseason. Baird has earned honorable mention recognition on the AVCA's All-West Region team and All-Mountain West Conference honors each of the last two seasons.
Shardlow Setting The Table
Sophomore setter Stephanie Shardlow (Saugus, Calif.) is third in the MWC so far this season with 10.00 assists per set through Utah's 11 matches. Shardlow dished out a career-high 52 assists in Utah's 3-1 win at New Mexico State, Sept. 7. The sophomore leads the team with 330 total assists this season and coordinated the Ute attack with 58 assists in a pair of road matches last weekend at then-No. 15 Colorado State and Wyoming.
Utah Receiving Votes
The Utes received 19 votes in the latest 2008 CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I Coaches Top-25 Poll. Two other MWC teams were recognized, as Colorado State moved up to 13th and BYU stayed 24th.
Utes Picked Second In MWC Preseason Poll
Utah accumulated 95 points and was picked to finish second in the 2008 MWC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Players Mentioned
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