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The University of Utah Athletics
Ute Volleyball Hosts Utah Classic
9/8/2008 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 8, 2008
Utes Host Utah Classic
The Utah volleyball team (5-1) hosts its second home tournament of the season, the Utah Classic, Friday and Saturday at Crimson Court. The Utes are enjoying their best start since 2002, when they won the first six matches of the season. The Utes last hosted the Utah Classic in 2003, where they swept New Hampshire and Murray State, 3-0, then defeated Pacific, 3-2.
The 2008 Utah Classic features four different teams in six matches at Crimson Court:
#15 Purdue vs. Saint Louis (Fri., 5 p.m.)
Utah State at Utah (Fri., 7 p.m.)
Saint Louis at Utah (Sat., 10 a.m.)
Utah State vs. #15 Purdue (Sat., 12 p.m.)
Saint Louis vs. Utah State (Sat., 5 p.m.)
#15 Purdue vs. Utah (Sat., 7 p.m.)
Last Week
Utah went 3-1 at the New Mexico State Tournament last weekend, including a pair of 3-0 victories over Florida Gulf Coast and Houston and a 3-1 win against the host Aggies. The Utes' only loss of the tournament, and the season, was to No. 4 Texas in their opening match of the tournament.
Showdown Saturday
A nationally-recognized pool of teams will be competing against the Utes Saturday in the Utah Classic. Purdue was ranked 15th in the latest CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. Saint Louis received 134 votes and defeated then-No. 3 Stanford Stanford, 3-1 (27-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22), and swept then-No. 19 Illinois earlier the same day.
Scouting The Utah Classic Field
Utah State has yet to win a match through its first seven contests this season. Last weekend, the Aggies were defeated by Texas- Arlington, 3-1, UC Santa Barbara, 3-0, and host San Francisco, 3-0, at the USF Asics/Powerade Challenge. Senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh is averaging 3.92 kills and 2.08 digs per set. Utah holds a 41-24 edge in the all-time series.
Saint Louis is 5-1 overall and fresh off a stunning 3-1 win over then-No. 3 Stanford Saturday in its Billiken Invitational. Four SLU players reached double figures in kills, as junior Sammi McCloud led the way with 19. Megan Boken and Bridget Fonke had 15 kills each, while Sally Warning had 14. The Billikens also defeated then-No. 19 Illinois, 3-0, earlier the same day. This will be the first-ever meeting between the schools.
No. 15 Purdue comes into the weekend with an undeafeated 6-0 record. The Boilermakers were ranked 25th in the national preseason coaches' poll and have moved up each of the past two weeks. Six-foot-four senior outside hitter Danita Merlau leads the team with 3.95 kills per set. Stephanie Lynch is Purdue's leading blocker, going up for 1.42 blocks per set and totaling 27 blocks in 19 sets. The Utes are a perfect 2-0 all-time against the Boilermakers. Utah defeated Purdue, 3-2, last season in West Lafayette, Ind.
600 And Counting
With a 3-0 win against Florida Gulf Coast Saturday morning, Utah won its 600th match in program history. After notching two more wins over the weekend, the Utes own a 602-476 record for a .558 winning percentage early in their 34th season.
Home Victory Milestones
Utah is also closing in on its 100th home win at Crimson Court since 2000. The Utes have posted a 96-15 record for a .865 winning percentage at home in the last nine seasons.
Fast Starts
The 2008 edition of the Utah volleyball team is off to arguably one of the best starts in program history. This year's squad has won five of its first six matches and is tied with the 1999 and 2002 teams for the second-best start in school history. Both clubs went on to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The 1999 team finished 22-10 overall, while the 2002 squad was 25-9. Both the 1992 and 2000 teams opened their seasons 6-0, tying for the best season-opening six-match stretch in school history. Both teams went on to win two of the next three matches and held 8-1 records after their first nine contests. The current Utes could join this elite company with three wins this weekend.
Bartkowiak Steps Up
Sophomore middle blocker Karolina Bartkowiak came through at the right time in Utah's 3-0 sweep of Houston Saturday.Bartkowiak registered a season-high 10 kills on only 13 attempts without a single attack error for a match-high .769 hitting percentage (minimum 10 attempts) against the Cougars. Bartkowiak totaled 26 kills in 10 sets during three appearances in the New Mexico State Tournament.
A Helping Hand
Setter Stephanie Shardlow dished out a career-high 52 assists Sunday at New Mexico State. The sophomore from Saugus, Calif., has 170 total assists this season for an 11.33 assist-per-set average.
Approaching Club 1,000
Kathryn Haynie and Lori Baird are both close to becoming the next members of Utah's 1,000-kill club. Both had more than 800 career kills in their first three seasons with the Utes. Six matches into their respective senior seasons, Baird holds a slight edge with 961 kills in 388 sets for a 2.48 kills-per-set average, while Haynie has 926 kills in 258 career sets for a 3.59 kill-per-set mark.
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.
Toone On The Block
Preseason All-MWC selection Emillie Toone 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 508 career blocks, leading the team with 20 this season at 1.67 blocks per set.
The American Fork, Utah native is also second in the school's record book with 461 career block assists, and needs five more solo blocks to tie for 10th place all-time in that category.
Utah Receiving Votes
The Utes received 34 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 was ranked 21st and BYU was 23rd.
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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