Air Force Swept by Utah Volleyball

Thursday, November 11

Colorado Springs, Colo.

7:00 PM

University of Utah

Air Force

11/11/2010 12:00 AM | Volleyball

Nov. 11, 2010

Box Score

COLORADO SPRINGS - The Utes held a 10-1 edge in team blocks and three different players passed double-figures in kills to propel the University of Utah volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep of Air Force (25-14, 25-21, 25-19) in a Mountain West Conference contest Thursday at Cadet Gym.

Utah (14-12, 8-3 MWC) outblocked the Falcons, 10-1, and was led by a season-high-tying seven blocks from Karolina Bartkowiak. One team block for Air Force was the fewest Utah has yielded this season. The Utes outhit Air Force .327 to .107 in the match, the third consecutive match in which Utah has hit over .300.

"We blocked very well tonight," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "We were in position and on time. [Bartkowiak] really controlled the block for us. On the attack, we were swinging aggressively which made it difficult for Air Force. We played well in every phase."

Bartkowiak also notched her 10th double-double this season, the 23rd of her career, with a team-high 12 digs to go with 10 kills.

Two Ute freshman registered double-figures in kills.

Morgan Odale hit a team-high 12 kills for her 18th double-digit-kill performance in the 2010 season. Odale hit for a season-high .429 hitting percentage, taking 28 swings without committing a single attack error.

Erin Redd needed only 13 attempts to down 10 kills for a season-high .692 hitting percentage.

"Everyone attacked aggressively and with confidence throughout the match," Launiere said. "We benefitted from a lot of good sets from our setters."

Stephanie Neeley coordinated the Ute attack with 22 assists and registered six digs. Neeley currently ranks fifth in school history with 2,876 career helpers.

Libero Keisha Fisher contributed eight digs in the back row of Utah's defense, but had her 11-match double-digit-dig streak snapped. She has turned in 83 such performances over her career. She now has 1,517 career digs, which is 54 shy of the school record, with five matches left on the regular-season schedule.

Air Force jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the first set, but Utah immediately answered with a 5-2 jolt of its own to the set at seven points apiece. The set would be tied once more at eight before the Utes went on a 6-1 tear to assume a 14-9 lead. Utah would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the set and would cruise to a 25-14. Four different Utes had at least four kills in the set, led by five from Odale. Brooke McAlister, Redd and Bartkowiak all had four apiece. Utah overwhelmed Air Force by hitting for a .357 clip, compared to a .056 mark for the Falcons.

The second set was tied at 2-2 before crept out to a four-point advantage via a 5-1 run. With an 11-8 lead, Utah took eight of the next 11 points to extend its edge to eight points, 19-11. The Utes would trail by no fewer than four points the rest of the way and would take a 25-21 win and a 2-0 edge in the match. Odale turned in five digs as well as four kills to help the Utes to a .250 to .216 advantage in hitting during the set.

The Utes took the first five points of the third set and never looked back as they clinched the 3-0 victory with a 25-19 victory. Utah out hit Air Force in the set, .355 to .051 as Odale and Bartkowiak finished strong with four kills apiece.

Air Force (4-22, 1-12 MWC) received a match-high 13 kills from Caroline Kurtz, who needed 44 attempts and registered a .045 hitting percentage on the attack. Kurtz completed the double-double with 11 digs, while Maiya Perich turned in 11 as well.

The Utes continue their road trip this weekend by traveling to Las Vegas to face UNLV Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.