Volleyball Set to Host NCAA Tournament First & Second Rounds

MATCH 32 \| #13 UTAH (22-9) vs. CLEVELAND STATE (22-7)
DATE/TIME	Thursday, Nov. 30 \| 7 p.m. MT
LOCATION	Huntsman Center \| Salt Lake City
STREAM	Pac-12 LIVE (link TBA)
LIVE STATS	NCAA.com

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
• Utah is making its 14th overall NCAA Volleyball Championship appearance and fourth in the past five seasons.
• Utah earned the No. 11 seed in the tournament will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the third time overall and for the first time since 2005. The Utes are 3-1 all-time when playing NCAA Tournament matches on its home court.
• Utah finished the regular season 22-9 overall and 13-7 in Pac-12 play. Utah eclipsed the 20-win mark for a second straight season and for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Utah's 13 Pac-12 wins are the most in program history, surpassing last season's previous best mark of 11 conference wins.
• Utah heads into the tournament ranked No. 13 in the latest AVCA top-25 poll. Utah has earned a top-25 ranking all 15 weeks of the 2017 season.
• Seniors Adora Anae, Tawnee Luafalemana, Carly Trueman and junior Berkley Oblad were each named to the Pac-12 Volleyball All-Conference Team. Anae earned first team honors, while Luafalemana, Trueman and Oblad earned honorable mention accolades.

FIRST SERVE
For the first time since 2005, the Utah volleyball team will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, as announced by the NCAA Sunday night. Utah (22-9, 13-7 Pac-12), who earned the No. 11 overall seed in the bracket, will be making its second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and will face Cleveland State (22-7) of the Horizon League in the first round on Thursday with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.

The Utes will make their fourth appearance in the postseason tournament over the last five seasons and their 14th overall in program history. Utah is one of four teams in the Salt Lake City sub-regional played at the Huntsman Center. High Point (24-7) and Purdue (22-9) will match up on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. MT, and the Utah-Cleveland State contest will follow. Winners from Thursday's matches will advance to the second round and meet at 7 p.m. MT on Friday, Dec. 1.

TICKETS
Tickets for the Salt Lake City sub-regional are on sale now and can be purchased at the Utah ticket office or online at www.utahtickets.com. All-Session tickets, which gets you into all three matches on both days, can be purchased for $18 (reserved floor) or $10 (general admission). Single Day tickets are also available for $10 (reserved floor), $6 (general admission, adult) or $3 (general admission, youth).

COVERING THE UTES
Utah's match against Cleveland State will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks. On-air talent for the match is to be determined. Should Utah advance to the second round, Friday's contest would also be aired live on the Pac-12 Networks. Fans can also follow the action on-line by logging onto Pac-12.com/live or watching via smart phones and tablets using the Pac-12 Now App, which can be downloaded at the Apple Store, Google Play Store or Amazon Apps Store.

Live stats will be provided for all three contests this week, with links to these matches found at www.UtahUtes.com or www.StatBroadcast.com.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Cleveland State Vikings
Cleveland State captured the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles to earn a NCAA Tournament berth for the third straight year. Cleveland State also became just the second team to win three straight conference championships in Horizon League history after taking tournament titles in 2015 and 2016 as well. The Vikings notched a 22-7 record during the 2017 campaign and closed out the season on a 12-game winning streak.

The Vikings are led by Sara Skeens and Alexis Middlebrooks who register 3.16 kills per set and 3.06 kills per set, respectively. Gina Kilner totals 10.85 assists per set to run the offense. Defensively, Shannon Grega records 4.68 digs per set to rank second in the conference and lead the Vikings, while Middlebrooks leads the team with a 1.04 blocks-per-set average.

High Point Panthers
High Point notched its third NCAA Tournament selection in school history with an at-large bid after the previous two appearances came from earning the Big South Conference's automatic bids in 2010 and 2016. The Panthers put together a 19-game winning streak to go undefeated during conference play to head into the conference tournament as the No.1-seed. Second-ranked Radford knocked off High Point for the conference title, which would snap the winning streak and win the automatic bid for the Big South Conference.

Haley Barnes notches 3.25 kills per set and Molly Livingston adds in 2.98 kills per set to lead the Panther offense. Jenna Smith and Carly Jimenez run the offense with Smith bringing in 6.76 assists per set, while Jimenez totals 5.03 assists per set. Abby Bottomley ranks first in the conference with a 5.25 digs-per-set average and Haley Barnes registers 2.98 digs per set for High Point's defense.

Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue finished fifth in the Big Ten Conference and is one of eight Big Ten programs to advance into the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers notched four wins over top-10 teams during the 2017 season, which were at the time No. 9 Creighton, No. 5 Minnesota, No. 10 Wisconsin, and No. 10 Michigan State. This year's selection marks the 12th appearance since 2003 when Dave Shondell was named head coach. Under Shondell, Purdue has appeared in seven Sweet 16 appearances, as well as two trips to the Elite Eight.

Purdue's offense is led by Danielle Cuttino, who registers 4.08 kills per set to rank second in the conference, and Sherridan Atkinson, who averages 3.48 kills per set. Ashley Evans has the sole duty of running the offense and records 11.56 assists per set, which ranks third in the Big Ten. Defensively, Brooke Peters leads the Boilermakers with a 3.70 digs-per-set average, while Azariah Stahl adds in 2.36 digs per set.

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's match will mark the first-ever meeting between the Utes and Vikings. Despite having never played Cleveland State, Utah is 4-0 all-time against teams from the Horizon League, which includes a win over Green Bay earlier this season. The Utes are 2-0 all-time against Green Bay and has also registered single wins over Valparaiso and Wright State. This also marks the first time that a Ute squad has taken on a Horizon League opponent in the NCAA Tournament.

Utah has never faced High Point, but is 1-0 all-time against teams from the Big South. That victory came back in 2004 over Liberty.

The Utes are 2-1 all-time against the Purdue Boilermakers, but the two teams have not faced each other since 2008. All three meetings have come in the regular season, with Purdue taking the last match over the Utes in Salt Lake City, back on Sept. 13, 2008. Utah won the first two meetings, picking up a home win back in 1997 and then downing Purdue on its home court in 2007.

NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
This marks Utah's second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, the fourth appearance in the past five years and the 14th appearance overall ... Utah is hosting the sub-regional for the third time in program history, but the first since 2008 ... Utah's No. 11 overall seed is the highest the program has received ... The only other time the Utes earned a top-16 seed came back in 2008, but Utah played at the Clemson sub-regional that year ... Utah is 12-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, which includes a 10-3 record in first-round matches and a 3-1 mark in matches played at home ... Utah has tallied a pair of Sweet Sixteen appearances (2001, 2008) ... All 14 NCAA appearances have come under the direction of head coach Beth Launiere.

UTES NOTCH PROGRAM-BEST 13 PAC-12 VICTORIES
Utah finished the Pac-12 campaign at 13-7 overall, registering the program's most Pac-12 victories in a season since joining the league in 2011. The Utes surpassed last season's win total of 11 victories, which was the most conference wins a Utah team had earned as a member of the Pac-12.

The 13 conference wins are also the most the program has recorded since going 14-2 in the Mountain West Conference back in 2008. Utah's 22 regular season wins are the most since notching 24 wins, which also came back in 2008

Utah's fourth place finish in the Pac-12 is the highest finish since joining the league in 2011. The Utes' previous best mark was finishing in a tie for fifth place last season.

DROP AND GIVE ME 20
Utah eclipsed the 20-win mark for the second straight season and for the fourth time in the past five years. The Utes have totaled at least 20 wins on the season 22 times overall, with 17 of those seasons coming under head coach Beth Launiere.

POLL TALK
The Utes moved up two spots to No. 13 in this week's AVCA top-25 poll. Utah has donned an AVCA top-25 ranking all 15 weeks this season, which included coming in at No. 23 in the preseason poll. Utah's highest ranking this season came back on Oct. 16th and 23rd, when the Utes were ranked No. 12 in the poll. Utah has been ranked No. 18 or higher for 13 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 4.

Utah has been ranked in the AVCA top-25 poll for 24 consecutive weeks, which dates back to week 7 last season. It is Utah's longest streak since earning a top-25 ranking for 45 straight weeks from Sept. 11, 2000 to Dec. 2, 2002.

PAC-12 HONORS
Senior outside hitter Adora Anae, senior middle blocker Tawnee Luafalemana, senior outside hitter Carly Trueman and junior middle blocker Berkeley Oblad were each named to the 2017 All-Pac-12 Volleyball Team, the league office announced on Tuesday.

Anae was tabbed a first team selection for a third consecutive year, while Luafalemana, Trueman and Oblad earned honorable mention accolades. This is first honor for both Trueman and Oblad, while Luafalemana was named honorable mention for a second straight season.

Anae becomes the first Utah player to earn three consecutive All-Pac-12 Conference honors and becomes the first Ute to earn three consecutive first team honors since Karolina Bartkowiak was tabbed First Team All-Mountain West Conference from 2008-10.

This is Anae's third All-Pac-12 Team honor and fourth overall conference postseason selection after being named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team in 2014.

Anae and Luafalemana become the first Utah duo to earn consecutive all-conference honors in back-to-back seasons since Kim Turner and Sylva Strzinkova were both honored in 2001 and 2002.

This marks the first time that four Utah players have been named to an all-conference team since 2010 when Bartkowiak, Keisha Fisher, Morgan Odale and Erin Redd-Brandon were each named All-MWC players.

UTAH MILESTONES IN 2017
Multiple Utah players have managed to record different milestones throughout the 2017 season. These milestones include becoming members of different career clubs, along with becoming the program's all-time leader in kills.

Senior Adora Anae became Utah's all-time leader in career kills, while also moving up the ranks in career digs. Anae is Utah's all-time leader with 1,857 kills as she surpassed former All-American Kim Turner's total of 1,620 kills. She currently ranks No. 5 all-time with 1,284 career digs - just three digs off the pace to move into the No. 4 spot. Anae also became just the fifth player in program history to become a member of 1,000-kill and 1,000-dig club.

Senior Carly Trueman became the 18th Utah player to become a member of the 1,000 kill club. Trueman, who registered her 1,000th kill at UCLA back on Nov. 11, heads into the NCAA Tournament with 1,020 career kills.

Sophomore Bailey Choy registered a couple of milestones for the Utes this season as she eclipsed the 1,000-assist mark in a season and 2,000-assists in her career. Choy, who heads into the week with 2,048 career assists, became just the eighth player in school history to become a member of the 2,000-assist club. She has tallied 1,130 assists in 2017, becoming just the fourth player since 2004 to hit the 1,000-assist mark during a season. She became just the fifth player to net 1,000 assists in a season during the rally scoring era. Stephanie Neeley was the last Utah setter to record at least 1,000 kills in a single season, after netting 1,146 assists back in 2010.

20-20 VISION
Senior Adora Anae totaled 24 kills and a season-high 20 digs in Utah's match against Washington a few weeks back. Anae tallied at least 20 kills and at least 20 kills in a single match for the fifth time of her career and for the first time since notching 25 kills/25 digs at USC back on Oct. 28, 2016. She also tallied 20-20 efforts against Arizona (23 K-21 D, 9/12/15), California (27 K-25 D, 10/18/15) and Seton Hall (21 K-25 D, 9/12/15).

Anae and former All-American Shelly Sommerfeldt are the only two players in Utah history to record at least 20 kills and 20 digs in a single match. Anae is the only Ute to do so multiple times in her career.

UTAH VOLLEYBALL STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Utah closed out the regular season leading the Pac-12 and ranking 10th in the nation with 13.71 assists per set, first in the Pac-12 and 13th in the nation with 14.39 kills per set, first in the Pac-12 and seventh in the nation with 1,631 total assists, and ranking first in the Pac-12 and ninth in the nation with 1,713 total kills.

Senior Adora Anae ranked fourth in the league and 24th in the nation with 484 total kills, while her 4.28 kills per set average ranked fourth in the conference and 22nd in the nation. Senior Tawnee Luafalemana's 143 total blocks ranked fourth in the league and 35th in the nation and her 3.64 hitting percentage was fourth-best in the Pac-12 and 55th in the nation.

SEEING DOUBLE
Senior Adora Anae has tallied a team-high 19 double-doubles overall on the season, while sophomore Bailey Choy has tallied 12 double-doubles on the year. Freshman Camryn Machado ranks third on the team with a pair of double-doubles, while junior Berkeley Oblad, freshman Dani Barton, freshman Shannon Scully and freshman Kenzie Koerber have each tallied one double-double on season.

Barton, who registered her double-double with 10 kills and 11 blocks, became the first Utah player to notch a double-double with kills and blocks since Erin Redd-Brandon did so back in 2013. Oblad also notched her double-double with 15 kills and 11 blocks, giving Utah its first player duo to record a double-double in the same season via kills/blocks since Lori Baird and Emilie Toone did so back in 2006.

Utah's total of seven different players with at least one double-double on the year is one shy of the all-time high, as eight different Utes tallied at least one double-double back in 2005. This season's total is the highest number of players to record a double-double in a match since six different players notched double-doubles back in 2014.

UTES AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
Utah went 5-8 against AVCA top-25 ranked teams this season. All eight losses have come to teams ranked No. 19 or higher (No. 14 Kentucky, No. 14 BYU, No. 12 Oregon, No. 19 USC, No. 15 Oregon, No. 11 Washington, No. 17 USC, No. 18 UCLA and No. 4 Stanford). Four of the eight losses came in five sets.

UP NEXT
Should Utah advance through the first and second rounds of the sub-regional, the Utes would advance to the regional round in Palo Alto, Calif.

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Volleyball Set to Host NCAA Tournament First & Second Rounds

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