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Utah Volleyball Notes
Utes remain at No. 22 despite two three-game victories
Oct. 28, 2002 SALT LAKE CITY - Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK: No. 22 Utah (16-6, 6-3) hosts Utah State at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, before traveling to Air Force and New Mexico over the weekend. Utah plays at Air Force on Friday Nov. 1, and at New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 2. Both matches start at 7:00 p.m. REVIEWING LAST WEEK: Utah is coming off back-to-back conference wins at home over San Diego State and UNLV. The Utes swept the Aztecs (30-23, 30-16, 30-28) last Friday before beating UNLV 3-0 (30-21, 30-22, 30-15) on Saturday. MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK ... AGAIN: For the third time this year, junior middle blocker Kim Turner was named Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week after leading Utah to sweeps of San Diego State and UNLV. In the win over SDSU, Turner had 10 kills, six digs, three blocks and an ace. The following night, she posted 13 kills, 10 blocks, two aces and hit for .550 in the victory over UNLV. It was her seventh double-double of the season. For the week, Turner averaged 3.83 kills per game, 1.33 digs per game, 2.17 blocks per game and .50 aces per game, while hitting .413. The award is Turner's seventh on her career.
USA Today/AVCA Top 25
Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: Kansas State (107), San Diego (90), Washington (86), California (52), Louisville (31), Northwestern (23), Fresno State (21), Notre Dame (16). Six teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 9 combined points.
MWC STANDINGS
SERIES SHORTS: * The Utes lead the all-time series with Utah State 37-22. The last time the two teams met, on Nov. 30, 2001 in the NCAA Tournament, Utah won 3-1 to advance to its first-ever Sweet 16. The Utes are 16-10 at home, 4-7 away and 7-5 at a neutral site vs. the Aggies. * Utah is undefeated all-time vs. Air Force (9-0). In their last meeting on Oct. 5, the Utes won 3-0 at Crimson Court. Utah is 5-0 at home and 4-0 away against the Falcons. * The Utes lead the all-time series with New Mexico 29-26. The last time the two teams met, on Oct. 4 of this season, Utah won 3-1. The Utes are 14-9 at home, 11-14 away and 4-3 at a neutral site vs. the Lobos. SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION: Utah State - The Aggies (10-10) swept Idaho 30-27, 30-19, 30-25 on Saturday in their only match last week. Utah State is led by middle blocker Erin Cartwright, who averages 4.04 kills and 1.27 blocks per game. Junior Tereza Cernianska leads the team with a 2.52 digs per game average. The Aggies have losses this season against Arkansas, Cal Poly and Pacific, all teams the Utes have beat this season. The Aggies beat MWC opponent Brigham Young 3-2 on Oct. 8. Air Force - Air Force (8-15, 2-6) went 0-2 last week with losses to Denver (22-30, 24-30, 19-30) and New Mexico (23-30, 24-30, 27-30). The Falcons are led by Delvane Diaz, who averages 4.14 kills per game. Setter Kristin Huitt averages 11.53 assists per game, while Jaime Beatty averages a team-high 2.61 digs per game. New Mexico - The Lobos (7,14, 2-6) swept Air Force in their only match last week. Anna Reines leads New Mexico with a .236 hitting percentage and a 3.62 kills per game average. Setter Monica Meihack averages 10.52 assists per game and Blaire Burns leads the Lobos with a 3.16 digs per game average. QUOTING HEAD COACH BETH LAUNIERE: On the upcoming match against Utah State - "We need to win this match. They lost quite a bit from last year's NCAA Tournament team." On the upcoming matches at Air Force and New Mexico - "This road trip is our next big challenge. We have to prove that we can win on the road." MWC LEADERS: As a team, Utah leads the MWC in opponent hitting percentage (.147) and blocks per game (3.48), ranks second in assists per game (13.96) and third in kills per game (15.40). In conference matches, the Utes are tops in opponent hitting percentage, kills and blocks, and rank second in and assists. Individually, junior Kim Turner leads the conference in blocks per game (1.53), while sophomore Lyndsey Phillips is second (1.48) and senior Brenda Beal is sixth (1.25). Turner also ranks fifth in kills per game (3.78), 10th in service aces (0.32) and 15th in hitting percentage (.275). Sylva Strzinková ranks third in the league in kills per game (4.01), seventh in service aces (0.34) and 13th in digs per game (2.44). Jackie Morrill is seventh in digs per game with a 3.03 average, sophomore Kelsie Kartchner is sixth in service aces (0.38) and Phillips is 11th in hitting percentage (.288). In statistics for conference matches only, Strzinková is third in kills (4.09), ninth in service aces (0.34) and 11th in digs (2.38). Turner ranks fourth in kills (4.06), sixth in hitting percentage (.312), eighth in blocks (1.31) and tied for 12th in service aces (0.31). Phillips is third in blocks (1.50) and seventh in hitting percentage (.304), while Beal is ninth in blocks (1.29). Meanwhile, Morrill is sixth in digs (3.16) and Kartchner is fifth in assists (11.56) and tied for 12th in service aces (0.31). HOME SWEET HOME: After last weekend's sweeps of San Diego State and UNLV, the Utes have a 28-match home winning streak that dates back to the 2000 season. Utah, 11-0 at Crimson Court this season, went 15-0 at home last year and won its last two home matches of the 2000 season. The Utes' last loss at Crimson Court came on Oct. 27, 2000, when they fell to Colorado State 3-0. MILESTONE WATCH: Kim Turner ranks third all-time in block assists (364), just eight away from second place, and fifth in total blocks (411). With 295 kills on the season, she needs just 36 more to join the 1,000-kills club.
NEXT WEEK:
The Utes travel to Brigham Young on Friday, Nov. 8, for a 7:00 p.m. match against the Cougars.
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