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San Diego State
Utah Volleyball Comeback Falls Short at SDSU
10/9/2010 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 9, 2010
SAN DIEGO - After dropping the first two sets of the match, the University of Utah volleyball team recovered to force a fifth set but lost 3-2 (19-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 13-15) to San Diego State in a Mountain West Conference match Saturday at Peterson Gymnasium.
Utah (7-10, 2-2 MWC) is now 2-2 in five-set matches this season but managed to outhit the Aztecs over the final three sets of the match. The Utes were outhit .261 to .244 and outblocked in the match, 13-9.
Three Utes hit for at least 10 kills in the match, led by Morgan Odale, who posted a team-high 17 kills to go along with 11 digs to compile her seventh double-double this season.
"We did a good job having everyone get an opportunity," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "We had to because SDSU was blocking us really well in the first two sets. We had to move the ball and [Stephanie Neeley] did a nice job with that. We made a lot of great plays. We just didn't have enough of them at the end."
Erin Redd posted 12 kills on 22 swings for a .409 hitting percentage.
Karolina Bartkowiak and Danielle Killpack registered 11 kills apiece. Eleven kills for Killpack was a season high and she also pitched in five blocks. Bartkowiak now stands 51 kills away from the 1,000-kill club. The Aurora, Ill., native also tied her season high with six blocks.
Fisher had a team-high 17 digs and now has 74 double-figure-dig performances in her career and has led or tied for team-high honors 12 times this season. The Ririe, Idaho native has 1,379 career digs, which is 192 shy of the school record, with 14 matches left on the regular-season schedule. Charlee Dyroff popped up a season-high 15 digs in the back row of the Ute defense.
Stephanie Neeley distributed 44 assists and contributed seven digs, while McKenzie Odale chipped in 10 assists.
"We put together a good comeback," Launiere said. "San Diego State came out on fire. We played alright, but SDSU played really well. After the first two sets, we just matched their intensity and defensive effort. We started playing great defense and were holding them to get back into the match, but we were stuck at the end of the fifth set."
Down 2-0 in the match, the Utes fought to win a competitive third set that featured 10 ties and four lead changes. Utah jumped out to a 3-1 advantage in the third set and would work to a three-point lead, 6-3. Unfortunately, the Aztecs took four of the next five points to force the first tie of the set at seven points apiece. After the fourth tie of the set, Utah sprinted out to 14-11 after taking three consecutive points, but SDSU once again tied the set (for the fifth time) at 18 all thanks to a 7-4 spurt. Unfortunately, the Aztecs came back to capture their second lead of the set, 20-19. The Utes closed the set strong, however, by taking six of the final 10 points to seize a 25-23 victory. Bartkowiak had seven kills on 11 swings and the Utes outhit the Aztecs in the set, .250 to .297.
Utah once again crept out to a 3-1 lead at the start of the fourth set and would lead by as many as four points, 10-6. The Utes then used a 6-2 spurt to extend their advantage to six points, 18-12. Utah would never trail again in the set as Killpack's season-high 10th kill of the match gave the Utes a 25-19 win the fourth set to even the match at two sets apiece.
The Utes scored five of the first seven points in the fifth and decisive set and would eventually climb to a 10-4 advantage. Utah would work to take a six-point lead at 13-7 but unfortunately, the Aztecs reeled off the last eight points of the set to clinch the match with a 15-13 win.
After having already jumped out to a 7-3 lead at the start of the match, SDSU extended its lead to eight points (14-6) after a 7-2 run. The Aztec lead would grow to as many as 10 points on a pair of occasions despite a late 4-1 Utah run to cut its deficit to five points (21-16). Unfortunately, the Aztecs were able to hold on and win the set, 25-19. Killpack had a team-high four kills on six swings in the set while Dyroff had four digs in the opener. Utah was outhit by SDSU, .414 to .133, and outblocked, 4-2, in the first set of the match. The Utes are now 3-6 this season after dropping the first frame of a match.
The Aztecs took four of the first five points in the second set but the Utes quickly fought back with four consecutive points to tie the set at eight points apiece. Utah eventually took its first lead of the set at 10-9. Unfortunately, San Diego State promptly came back with six straight points to assume a 15-10 edge. The Aztec lead would grow to as many as nine points, 22-13, en route to a 25-27 second-set victory. Morgan Odale had five kills in the set and Redd had four while Fisher had seven digs in the back row during the set. Utah is now 0-6 this year when down 2-0 in a match.
San Diego State (8-10, 3-3 MWC) received 17 kills from Jessica Peacock and 16-kill performances from Andrea Hannasch and Raegan Shelton. Libero Kristi Jackels posted a match-high 21 digs.
The Utes resume MWC action and return home to Crimson Court to host UNLV Thursday at 7 p.m. MT.
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