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The University of Utah Athletics
Volleyball Travels To BYU
11/8/1999 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 8, 1999
Nov. 12 " Smith Fieldhouse " Provo, Utah " 7:00 p.m.
COMING UP:
Utah will be back in action at home on Fri., Nov. 19 when they take on Mountain West Conference opponent Colorado State at 7:00 p.m. The Utes host the Cowgirls of Wyoming on Sat., Nov. 20 at 7:00 p.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH:
Utah's overall record is currently 19-6, 9-2 in the MWC. Utah won both of its matches last week. On Thurs., Nov. 4, the Utes defeated UNLV in four games, (13-15, 15-8, 15-8, 15-4). Utah shut down San Diego State on Sat., Nov. 6 in four games, (8-15, 15-6, 15-9, 15-0). Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against BYU are: Graciela Torres-Lopez (Sr., S), McKelle Stilson (So., MB), Lenka Urbanov? (So., OH), Alisa Geddes (So., OH), Brooke Barton (Jr., OH), Adrianne Bradley (So., OH), or Lucie Turkov? (Jr., DS). Utah's all-time assists leader Graciela Torres-Lopez has added 1038 assists thus far to her career total of 4,744. The Utes add four transfers and four true freshmen to this year's roster.
AFTER THIS:
On Nov. 24-28, Utah will travel to Provo, Utah to compete in the first-ever Mountain West Conference women's volleyball tournament.
UNLV MATCH RECAP:
Utah continued on its winning ways as they defeated UNLV, 3-1 (13-15, 15-8, 15-8, 15-4), Thurs., Nov. 4 in Las Vegas, N.V. UNLV fell to 9-11 overall, 1-8 in conference play.
Sophomore transfer Alisa Geddes posted 18 kills for a .324 hitting percentage and led the team with 12 digs. Middle blocker McKelle Stilson posted 12 kills for a .346 hitting percentage. Senior setter Graciela Torres-Lopez totaled 46 assists. As a team, the Utes hit .289 in the match.
UNLV was led by Jeanette Graves who had 13 kills for a .214 hitting percentage and 10 digs. Teammate Angie Sylvas also added 13 kills, while Danielle Gerlach posted 11 kills and 11 digs. Justine Kamelamela posted 40 assists and led the Rebels with 13 digs. UNLV hit .117 in the match.
San Diego State MATCH RECAP:
Utah continued on its four match win streak as they rolled past San Diego State 3-1, (8-15, 15-6, 15-9, 15-0), Sat., Nov. 6 in San Diego, Calif. In game four, the Utes shut out the Aztecs, scoring 15 unanswered points to win the game and the match. Utah improves to 19-6 overall, 9-2 in the MWC. San Diego State falls to 10-14 overall, 3-7 in conference play.
Middle blocker McKelle Stilson led the Utes with 15 kills for a .313 hitting percentage and six total blocks. Sophomore transfer Alisa Geddes posted 13 kills for a .344 hitting percentage and nine digs. Brooke Barton led Utah with 12 digs, while freshman Brenda Beal posted eight total blocks. Senior setter Graciela Torres-Lopez totaled 38 assists. As a team, the Utes hit .308 in the match.
San Diego State was led by Amy Hallquist who posted 13 kills. Teammate Lisa Bostian led the Aztecs with 10 digs and added 10 assists. Melissa Dickson led San Diego State with 27 assists. San Diego State hit .115 in the match.
SCOUTING BYU:
The 10th ranked BYU women's volleyball team continued its seven-match win streak with a win over MWC opponent UNLV, 3-0, (16-14, 15-12, 15-6) on Sat., Nov. 6. BYU is currently 21-3 overall, 10-1 in Mountain West Conference play. The Cougars' only losses this season have been to No. 6 Stanford on Sept. 25, No. 11 Colorado State on Oct. 22 and in the season opener to Michigan. BYU owns wins over Top 25 members Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. Sophomore middle blocker Nina Puikkonen leads the team in kills, averaging 4.28 kills per game and in blocks, averaging 1.80 blocks per game. Puikkonen currently averages 2.04 digs per game. Last season, Puikkonen totaled 340 kills for a .341 hitting percentage and 146 total blocks, averaging 2.17 blocks per game. Also in 1998, Puikkonen was selected to the All-District VII team and led the nation in blocking. Senior outside hitter Mari Carpenter averages 3.94 kills per game. In 1998, Carpenter posted 329 kills for a .345 hitting percentage. Senior setter Anna-Lena Smith averages 13.16 assists per game and 1.83 digs per game. In 1998, Smith totaled 1,502 assists, averaging 13.06 assists per game. Smith was a 2nd-team AVCA All-American selection in 1998. Caroline Bower leads the Cougars in digs, averaging 3.22 digs per game. BYU returns four starters from last year's team that went 31-4 overall and 13-1 in the WAC Pacific Division. Head Coach Elaine Michaelis begins her 38th season at BYU. Michaelis has compiled an 813-204-5 career record.
SERIES SHORTS:
BYU leads the all-time series with Utah, 49-6. Utah's last meeting with BYU on Oct. 15, 1999 the Utes lost to the Cougars in three games (7-15, 4-15, 12-15) at Crimson Court.
THE NEW MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE:
Utah and seven other schools broke away from the WAC to form the new Mountain West Conference. Joining the Utes in the nation's newest conference are: Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV and Wyoming. The Utes opened their conference schedule on October 1st 1999.
HEAD COACH BETH LAUNIERE:
In her tenth season, Beth Launiere has not only resurrected the Ute volleyball program and turned it into a consistent winner, she has also guided Utah to unprecedented success on the national level.
Under Launiere's leadership, Utah made its first-ever appearance in 1999 and advanced to the second round. It is the crowning achievement of Launiere's tenure at Utah, in which she has posted a 177-134 (.569) career record.
The winningest coach in school history, Launiere has overseen a significant transformation since her arrival in 1990. In the last five years alone, Launiere has guided the Utes to four 20-win seasons and five upper division finishes in the Western Athletic Conference.
QUOTING LAUNIERE:
On the UNLV match-"I was pleased with our effort after we turned it around in the second game because we started out a little bit slow in the first game. Jen Snow-Richards came into game two and did a really nice job for us and Alisa Geddes had a great match. It seems like there are always different people that are coming up with really big matches. I think we're playing now with confidence and that's a sign of a good team when you can display that."
On the San Diego State match-"We're playing with a lot of confidence and as a team right now. Different people are stepping up and having some big matches. Brenda Beal came up big in game four and absolutely shut them down. Things are clicking for us and those were two big wins on the road and it's always tough to win in this conference. I"m really pleased with this team right now." On the upcoming BYU match- "We definitely have to play better than we did last time in order to beat them. I think we're playing good ball right now, so we"ll go down there and take our shot at them."
MWC PRE-SEASON POLL:
In a survey of the Mountain West Conference coaches before the season, Utah, which received votes in the preseason national poll, was picked to finish third. Brigham Young was the unanimous favorite in the poll, with Colorado State projected to be the MWC runner-up. BYU entered the season ranked No. 7 in the nation, while Colorado State climbed into the preseason national poll at No. 24.
STILSON LEADS UTAH:
Sophomore middle blocker McKelle Stilson leads Utah's offense and plays a key role in the defense as well. In 21 out of 25 matches, Stilson has posted double figures in kills. Stilson currently leads Utah with 342 total kills. She averages 3.68 kills per game and currently posts a .311 hitting percentage. Stilson is also a threat to any opponent's offense. She has racked up 16 block solos and 105 blocks assists, for 121 total blocks to date. Stilson leads the team, averaging 1.30 blocks per game. Earlier this season, Stilson posted a career-high 25 kills for a .435 hitting percentage and eight total blocks vs. California. Stilson has posted 20-plus kills in four matches this season. On Oct. 5, she was named the Mountain West Conference's Volleyball Athlete of the Week.
Torres-Lopez Approaching 5,000 Career Assists:
Utah's all-time assists leader Graciela Torres-Lopez is quickly approaching 5,000 career assists. Torres-Lopez needs just 172 assists and with three matches left and the Mountain West Conference Tournament to follow, she could very well hit the mark. The way Utah is playing this season posting a 19-6 overall record, 9-2 in the MWC, a second consecutive trip to the NCAAs could be within reach and that means more assists added to Torres-Lopez's career totals. Torres-Lopez totaled 1206 assists her freshman year in 1996. In 1997, she posted 1091 and in 1998 she racked up 1409. Torres-Lopez has added 1122 assists thus far to her career total of 4,828.
MWC STATISTICAL LEADERS:
Utah as a team leads the conference in digs, averaging 15.73 DPG. The Utes are currently second in blocks (2.77 BPG), third in kills (16.34 KPG) and in assists (14.35 APG). Utah is third with a .215 team hitting percentage and eighth in service aces (1.42 SAPG). Individually, Utah ranks among some of the best in the conference. Senior co-captain, Graciela Torres-Lopez is currently third in the MWC in assists, averaging 12.47 assists per game. Torres-Lopez ranks tenth in the conference with a .259 hitting percentage. Sophomore transfer, Alisa Geddes currently ranks third in the MWC in digs, averaging 3.17 digs per game. McKelle Stilson currently ranks fourth in the conference in blocks, averaging 1.30 blocks per game and seventh in kills, averaging 3.68 kills per game. Stilson is seventh in the conference with a .311 hitting percentage. Adrianne Bradley is fifth in digs, averaging 2.80 digs per game, while teammate Brooke Barton is tenth in digs, averaging 2.47 digs per game.
Player Notes:
In 16 out of 23 matches, sophomore transfer Alisa Geddes has recorded double figures in digs. She has posted 20-plus digs in two matches this season. In 18 out of 23 matches, Geddes has posted double figures in kills. Geddes posted a career-high 23 kills Oct. 20, 1999 vs. Notre Dame. Geddes posted a career-high 26 digs Oct. 23 at Colorado State. In 13 out of 24 matches, outside hitter Adrianne Bradley had totaled double figures in kills. In 11 out of 24 matches, Bradley has posted double figures in digs. Bradley recorded a career-high 19 kills and 19 digs Sept. 10 vs. Georgia. Freshman Brenda Beal posted a career-high 19 kills vs. California on Sept. 25. Beal posted a career-high .778 hitting percentage (7-0-9) on Sept. 11 vs. George Mason. Beal recorded a career-high eight total blocks Nov. 6 at San Diego State. Junior Brooke Barton recorded a career-high 14 kills and a career-high .478 hitting percentage, Oct. 8 vs. San Diego State. Senior setter Graciela Torres-Lopez has recorded three triple-doubles so far this season. On Sept. 7 vs. Weber State, Torres-Lopez posted 10 kills, 60 assists and 11 digs. On Sept. 17 vs. Pepperdine, Torres-Lopez totaled 12 kills, 60 assists and 16 digs. Torres-Lopez recorded 12 kills, 62 assists, and 10 digs on Oct., 20 vs. Notre Dame. In 10 out of 22 matches, Torres-Lopez has posted double figures in digs.
Tidbits:
All but one loss this season has been to top 25 teams beginning with No. 18 Northern Iowa on Sept. 1, No. 9 Pepperdine on Sept. 17, No. 2 Stanford on Sept. 24, No. 10 BYU on Oct. 15 and No. 11 Colorado State on Oct. 23. Utaht's only other loss so far this season came from Georgia, a non-ranked team, on Sept. 10 in five games (16-14, 11-15, 12-15, 15-7, 13-15). Utah ranks 29th in the nation in home match attendance. In 10 matches at home, the Utes have brought in 7,525 fans, an average of 752 fans per match. Seven of Utah's wins have come in three games. Ten of Utah's wins have come in four games, while two wins have come in five games. Three of Utah's losses have come in three games, while the remaining three losses have come in five games. Utah is 7-3 overall, 4-1 in the MWC at home games and 6-2 overall, 5-1 at away games. Utah is 10-4 in non-conference competition this season and is 6-1 overall at a neutral site.
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