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Thursday, October 15
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7:00 PM
University of Utah
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at
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Wyoming
Ute Volleyball Wins in Five Sets at Wyoming
10/15/2009 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 15, 2009
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Ute junior opposite hitter Karolina Bartkowiak turned in her seventh double-double of the season and the University of Utah volleyball team recovered from a 24-22 fourth-set deficit to earn a 3-2 win (21-25, 25-20, 24-26, 27-25, 15-13) against Wyoming Thursday at the UniWyo Sports Complex.
UW edged out to a 24-22 lead but Utah roared back with a 5-2 run to claim a 27-25 lead to even the match at two sets apiece. The Utes gained a 5-1 edge to start the pivotal fifth set and held on for a 15-13 match-clinching victory.
"Tonight was kind of a crazy match," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "We just struggle at the start of the match but then battled back to win sets two and four. In the fifth set, we jumped out to a lead and some things went our way then found a way to win the match."
Utah (13-6, 6-1 MWC) has won 20 of its last 21 conference matches and is now a perfect 4-0 in five-set matches this year. The Utes avenged a 3-0 setback last year in Laramie on Sept. 20, 2008, and still have won 18 of the last 19 matchups in the series.
The Utes held an 18-15 advantage in team blocks while the Cowgirls managed a slight advantage in hitting throughout the match at .124 to .120.
Bartkowiak notched her seventh double-double of the season with 15 digs and 14 kills. The Aurora, Ill., native also had five blocks and tied for team-high honors with a pair of service aces. She now has hit double-figures in kills 13 times in 2009 and 27 times during her career.
Cinthia Silva posted a team-high 16 kills to go along with nine digs and a career-high-tying six blocks. For the third consecutive match, the San Paulo, Brazil native has had three consecutive double-digit-kill matches and has had 10 this season and 18 for her career.
Danielle Killpack came up with a match-high 11 blocks to set a new career high. The Idaho Falls, Idaho native is the first Ute to crack the double-digit block plateau this season. Killpack also contributed nine kills.
Miranda Bradshaw notched three new career highs with six kills, eight attempts and a .750 hitting percentage.
Junior setter Stephanie Neeley dished out a team-high 26 assists while Abby Simmons distributed 24 assists.
In the back row, junior libero Keisha Fisher came up with a team-high 17 digs for her 13th consecutive double-digit-dig output. Fisher now has 51 double-figure-dig matches in her career and 18 this season.
There were a total of 10 ties in a tightly-contested fourth set. Utah earned a 4-2 edge in the fourth set and maintained their two-point edge at 8-6. Wyoming stormed back with a 4-1 run to assume its first lead of the set at 10-9. The Utes managed to tie the set at 13 points apiece and the teams virtually traded points until the score reached 22 points apiece. UW edged out to a 24-22 lead but Utah roared back with a 5-2 run to claim a 27-25 victory to even the match at two sets apiece. Silva had six blocks in the final set while Bartkowiak had nine digs were outhit .195 to .185 but outblocked the Cowgirls, 5-2.
"We stuck together throughout the match," Launiere said. "We had a rough night offensively but we're willing to do whatever we need to do to win."
Utah gained a 5-1 edge to start the pivotal fifth set and stretched its margin to six points before holding on for a 15-13 win to clinch the match. Bartkowiak needed only four swings to connect on three kills and the Ute defense limited Wyoming to a -.143 hitting percentage in the deciding frame.
In the first set, Utah took a 6-4 lead after a 4-0 run at the beginning of the match but neither team led by more than two points until Wyoming assumed a 15-9 lead off the strength of an 8-1 run. The Utes promptly responded with five consecutive points to climb within a point at 15-14. Unfortunately, the Cowgirls were able to build a five-point advantage, 21-16, and eventually went on to a 25-21 first-set victory. The Utes gained a 5-1 edge in team blocks during the first set, led by a team-high three by Killpack. Yet Utah was outhit .244 to .128 in the first set, led by Sandberg and Silva, who both recorded three kills apiece. The Utes improved to 6-5 when losing the first set of a match.
The Utes scored the first five points of the second set and eventually worked to a 10-1 advantage. Utah inched out to its largest lead of the set, at 15-5, before Wyoming scored four consecutive points to get back within six points at 15-9. The Utes' advantage got back to 10 points, 21-11, as they put together a 6-2 spurt. Unfortunately, the Cowgirls responded with an 8-1 run to cut their deficit to three points, 22-19. The Utes were able to secure the match-tying 25-20 win by scoring three of the last four points of the set. Silva posted a team-high four kills to lead a Ute offense that hit .026 compared to just a -.161 mark for the Cowgirls. Utah was also outblocked 5-2 in the set but still pulled out the victory.
Wyoming jumped out to a 4-1 lead to start the third set and extended their lead to four points at 12-8 before Utah scored thee straight points to close within a point. UW took six of the next 10 points to grab a 20-15 edge. The Utes then forced the first tie since the 1-1 mark, at 20-20, and took a 21-20 lead thanks to a 6-0 run. The set was tied four more times before the Cowgirls earned a 26-24 win in the third set. Bartkowiak registered five kills and the Utes hit .184 compared to a .265 clip for the Cowgirls while team blocks were equal at three apiece.
Wyoming (10-11, 1-6 MWC) was led by Whitney Lauren, who posted a match-high 20 kills to go along with six digs and two blocks.
The Utes travel down to Fort Collins, Colo., to face first-place Colorado State Saturday at 1 p.m. MT. A live video stream of the match can be purchased at http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=csu.
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