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University of Utah
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San Diego State
Ute Volleyball Falls In Four Sets at San Diego State
11/19/2009 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 19, 2009
SAN DIEGO - Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Hibbert registered a career-high .577 hitting percentage with a team-high 15 kills but the University of Utah volleyball team fell in four sets at San Diego State, 3-1 (16-25, 24-26, 25-23, 21-25), in a Mountain West Conference match Thursday at Peterson Gym.
Utah (16-11, 9-6 MWC) managed to hit .288 in the match, but allowed SDSU to hit .296. The Utes outblocked the Aztecs, 11-9.
Hibbert had her 15 kills on 26 attempts without a single attack error and also chipped in two digs and one block.
Chelsey Sandberg was second on the team with 11 kills on 20 swings with only one attack error for a .500 hitting percentage. The West Jordan, Utah native was also second on the squad with five blocks. Sandberg now has six double-digit-kill matches this season and seven for her career.
Karolina Bartkowiak had nine kills to go along with six digs and four blocks while Cinthia Silva turned in nine digs, eight kills and two blocks. Jennifer Lanting chipped in five kills without an attack error to go with a pair of blocks.
Sophomore middle blocker Danielle Killpack posted a team-high six blocks, the 11th time she has led or tied for the team lead this season.
Junior setter Stephanie Neeley dished out a season-high 31 assists and also had four digs. Sophomore Abby Simmons added 15 assists to go along with six digs.
Defensively in the back row, junior libero Keisha Fisher came up with her 25th double-figure-dig match this season. The Ririe, Idaho native now owns 58 such performances in her career.
Utah took the first point of the first set but San Diego State quickly reeled off six consecutive points to assume a 6-1 edge to force a Ute timeout. The Aztecs put together another 5-0 run to climb out to an eight-point lead at 11-3. Utah pushed back with a 5-1 stretch to cut its deficit back to three points at 16-13. SDSU ended the set by taking seven of the last eight points to take a 25-16 first-set victory. The Utes hit only .154 in the opener, compared to a .500 mark for the Aztecs. Bartkowiak and Killpack both had two kills apiece. Utah dropped to 7-9 in matches in which it drops the first set.
The Utes scored five of the first seven points of the second set in what would turn out to be a back-and-forth affair that featured 10 ties. Utah was able to inch out to a 13-11 lead after scoring back-to-back points but SDSU quickly turned a 5-1 run to assume a 16-14 advantage. SDSU came back by taking four of the next five points to extend its lead to three points at 20-17. The Aztecs maintained their three-point lead, at 23-20, but the Utes climbed to within a point after taking consecutive points as part of a 3-1 run. The teams traded points before an SDSU error tied the set at 24 points apiece (the 24th tie of the set). Unfortunately, the Aztecs were able to take the final two points of the second set en route to a 26-24 second-set victory. Utah outhit SDSU, .243 to .152, and outblocked the Aztecs, 5-0, but could not come up with the victory. Both Hibbert and Silva had four kills apiece in the second set alone. Killpack led the way up front with three blocks. Utah is 1-6 in 2009 in matches where it trails 2-0. The lone victory in this scenario came Oct. 23 at BYU.
Once again, Utah was able to three of the opening four points in the third set was highlighted by 14 total ties. SDSU put together a 5-1 run to assume its first lead of the set, 7-6, but the score would be knotted 11 more times before Utah was able to inch out to a 20-18 advantage. The Aztecs managed to tie the set two more times before a pair of Bartkowiak kills gave the Utes a 23-21 lead. Another Bartkowiak kill and one by Lanting closed the set to give Utah a 25-23 third-set win. The Utes were effective offensively, posting a .429 hitting percentage, compared to just a .263 mark for the Aztecs. Utah also claimed a 3-1 advantage in team blocks during the set. Hibbert and Silva recorded four kills apiece in the set and Bartkowiak had three, which all came down the stretch to key Utah's victory.
SDSU used a 5-1 run early in the third set to jump out to a 7-3 lead. The Utes fought to within a point on a pair of occasions before tying the set for the third time, thanks to a pair of Hibbert kills, at 12. Utah then took its first lead of the set, since a 1-0 advantage, at 13-12. Unfortunately, SDSU took eight of the next 11 points to cease a four-point lead, 20-16 and clinched the match with a fourth-set victory by the same margin, 25-21. Utah was slightly outhit in the set. .342 to .324, but was outblocked 5-1 by the Aztecs. Hibbert needed only eight swings to register six kills for a .750 hitting percentage in the fourth set.
The Utes still own a 22-19 in the all-time series with the Aztecs and has won 12 of the last 14 matches against SDSU.
San Diego State (14-13, 7-8 MWC) had four players hit double figures in kills and was led by 16 kills apiece from Andrea Hannasch and Hannah Evans. SDSU setter Lauren Van Orden dished out 55 assists.
The Utes conclude their MWC slate Saturday at Air Force. First serve from Cadet Gym is set for 1 p.m.
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