Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus Colorado on September 27, 2025 at 1:00 P.M.
1:00 P.M.
Volleyball
vs Colorado
Saturday, November 28
Long Beach, Calif.
7:30 PM
University of Utah
2
at
3
Long Beach State
Ute Volleyball Drops Regular-Season Finale at Long Beach State
11/29/2009 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 28, 2009
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Senior middle blocker Chelsey Sandberg hit a career-high 19 kills in the final regular-season match of her career but the University of Utah volleyball team fell 3-2 (18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 13-15) at Long Beach State Saturday in the Mizuno Thanksgiving Classic at the Walter Pyramid.
Utah (17-12) hit .234 for the match, compared to a .238 for Long Beach State, while blocks were even at 15 apiece.
The Utes were led on the attack by Sandberg, who got her 19 kills on 40 swings with only three errors for a team-high .400 hitting percentage. The West Jordan, Utah native also had five blocks, three digs and a pair of service aces.
Karolina Bartkowiak and Cinthia Silva also reached double figures in kills and also turned in double-double performances. Bartkowiak came up with her 12th double-double of the season with 16 kills to go with 15 digs.
Silva also had 16 kills to go with 11 digs for her 10th career double-double and fifth this season. Silva also pitched in a pair of blocks.
Setter Abby Simmons was the third Ute to record a double-double after distributing 26 assists and turning in a career-high 16 digs.
Setter Stephanie Neeley tied her season high with 28 helpers and also had nine digs and one service aces. The junior from Saugus, Calif., is sixth in school history with 1,856 career assists heading into her senior season.
Libero Keisha Fisher had a team-high 26 digs for her 27th double-figure-dig match of the season and now has 60 in her career. Fisher's 437 digs is the fifth-highest single-season total in Utah history. The Ririe, Idaho native now has 1,110 digs in her career to rank also rank fifth in school history with one more year of eligibility remaining.
Danielle Killpack paced the Utes with a team-high nine blocks, the 12th time she has led or tied for the team lead in blocks this season. The Idaho Falls, Idaho native also added seven kills. Jennifer Lanting tied her personal best with six blocks.
There were five ties in the first 18 points of the first set before Long Beach State scored four consecutive points to jump out to a 13-9 edge. The 49er's would extend their lead to as many as 10 points thanks to a 5-0 run and would eventually earn a 25-18 first-set victory. The Utes finished the season 7-10 when dropping the first set. Despite hitting .051 as a team, Sandberg connected for five kills on just six swings for a .667 hitting percentage.
The ninth and final tie of the second set saw the action tied at 16 points apiece. The Utes took six of the next eight points to assume a 22-18 advantage en route to a 25-22 victory to even the match at one set apiece. Silva came through with a team-high five kills in the set as the Utes outhit the 49ers .372 to .250.
Utah trailed by as many as eight points in the third set, at 19-11, before reeling off 12 unanswered points to assume a 23-19 edge. The Utes would eventually hold on for a 25-23 for the third-set win and a 2-1 lead in the match. Sandberg added five more kills and the Utes limited the 49er's to a .179 hitting percentage while maintaining a .326 mark of their own.
The fourth set was even at 13 points apiece, and featured eight ties, before LBSU took control by outscoring Utah 8-4 to assume a 21-17 which led to a 25-22 victory in the fourth set to even the match at two sets apiece. Killpack registered four kills on five swings during the set and Utah was outhit .261 to .156.
LBSU scored six of the first eight points in the fifth set and would maintain that four-point edge until 14-10 before holding on for a 15-13 win to clinch the match. Sandberg and Bartkowiak chipped in three kills apiece but the 49ers were able to hit .389 in the finale.
Long Beach State (19-7, 12-4 Big West) was led by Naomi Washington and Caitlin Ledoux, who both recorded over 20 kills apiece. Washington posted a match-high 22 kills and Ledoux added 21. Setter Ashley Lee distributed 54 assists.
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
L/S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballUtah Volleyball's Emrie Moea'i - ESPN+ Feature
Thursday, September 25
Hear It From Harlan featuring Utah Volleyball's Kamryn Gibadlo
Thursday, September 25
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Tony Caridi, voice of the West Virginia Mountaineers
Tuesday, September 23
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Urban Meyer
Wednesday, September 17