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Volleyball Prepares for WAC Road Trip
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Volleyball
October 12, 1998
Utah at Fresno State
Oct. 16 * North Gym * Fresno, Calif. * 7:00 p.m.
Utah at San Jose State
Oct. 17 * Events Center * San Jose, Calif. * 7:00 p.m.
Utah Probable Starters
Overall Record: 11-5 WAC Record: 1-2
No. Name Yr. Pos.
10 Stacie Greenwalt Jr. MB
16 Sara Shakula Sr. OH
12 Kalani Tonga So. OH
2 Graciela Torres Jr. S
14 Brooke Barton So. OH
3 McKelle Stilson Fr. MB
or
8 Lucie Turkov So. DS
THIS WEEK: Utah (11-5, 1-2 WAC) makes its first Western Athletic Conference road trip of the season, taking on two of the top four teams in the Pacific Division. The fifth-place Utes play at fourth-place Fresno State (14-2, 3-1 WAC) on Friday at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) and first-place San Jose State (14-3, 3-0 WAC) on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. (PDT).
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The Utes are 11-5 overall and in fifth place in the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division with a 1-2 record. Last week, the Utes lost to No. 10 Hawaii 15-10, 15-11, 7-15, 15-4 on Friday and defeated San Diego State 15-3, 16-14, 15-5 on Saturday. Utah was tied for 37th in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll released on Oct. 6. Sophomore outside hitter Kalani Tonga leads the team in kills (4.05) and digs (2.86). Junior middle blocker Stacie Greenwalt is second in blocks (1.16), first in hitting efficiency (.321) and second in kills (3.29). Freshman middle blocker McKelle Stilson is first in blocking (1.24). Junior setter Graciela Torres is averaging 12.93 assists and the second-most aces (0.40). Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Barton leads the team in aces (0.53).
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE: The Bulldogs are 14-2 overall and in fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division with a 3-1 record. Last week, FSU went on the road to defeat New Mexico 7-15, 15-6, 18-16, 15-10 on Friday and UTEP 8-15, 15-9, 10-15, 15-8, 15-10 on Saturday. Fresno States only two losses of the season came to San Jose State and UNLV after winning its first 12 matches. The Bulldogs were tied with Utah for 37th in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll released on Oct. 6.
Shanus Bennett leads the WAC in kills (4.74) and digs (3.40). Akkelien Altena is 13th in the conference in both kills (3.62) and digs (2.81). Diann Aufdermaur is ninth in the WAC in assists (11.39). Head coach Lindy Vivas has a 157-92 record in eight years at Fresno State and a 229-152 mark in 12 years as a head coach.
SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE: The Spartans are 14-3 overall and tied for first place in the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division with a 3-0 record. Last week, SJSU won three matches on the road. On Wednesday, San Jose State defeated St. Marys 15-5, 15-11, 15-2. The Spartans also swept two WAC matches, overpowering UTEP 15-6, 15-11, 16-14 on Friday and New Mexico 15-5, 15-2, 13-15, 15-10 on Saturday. Darcy Walker ranks fifth in the WAC in kills (4.29) and second in digs (3.40). Joslynn Gallop is ninth in the league in kills (3.75) and 10th in blocks (1.21). Melissa Meyers is 10th in the conference in kills (3.65) and 13th in blocks (1.19). Michelle Sarkess ranks second in the WAC in assists (13.83). Head coach Craig Choate has a 94-79 record in six seasons at San Jose State and a 123-144 career mark in nine years.
SERIES SHORTS: Utah trails Fresno State in the all-time series 6-3. The two teams haven't met since the 1995 season, when the Utes lost in three games on Oct. 5 in Fresno, Calif., and won in four games on Nov. 10 in Salt Lake City.
The Utes and San Jose State split their first two matches. The last meeting on Sept. 2, 1988 in Salt Lake City resulted in a three-game sweep for the Utes.
NEXT WEEK: Utah returns home to complete the first half of its Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division schedule. The Utes host New Mexico on Friday (Oct. 23) and UTEP on Saturday (Oct. 24). Both matches begin at 7:00 p.m. at Crimson Court.
LAST WEEK: Utah split two Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division matches at home, losing to No. 10 Hawai'i on Friday and defeating San Diego State on Saturday.
Kalani Tonga had a match-high 23 kills, but her team fell short as the Utes lost to the Rainbow Wahine 15-10, 15-11, 7-15, 15-4. Tonga hit .280 for the match and had eight digs. Stacie Greenwalt and Sara Shakula both posted double-figure kills with 12 and 10, respectively, and had four blocks. Brooke Barton and Megan Lovell each had a match-high 12 digs. Graciela Torres posted a match-high 55 assists for the Utes. Utah was outhit for the match .222 to .182. The Rainbow Wahine had a 13-7 edge in blocking on the night. McKelle Stilson had 10 kills and a record-setting night at the net to lead Utah to its first WAC win of the season over San Diego State. The Utes swept the Aztecs 15-3, 16-14, 15-5. Stilson, with 11 block assists, tied the school three-game match record for total blocks and broke the record for block assists. She also hit .318 for the evening. Tonga had a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs to go with a .417 hitting percentage. Greenwalt posted eight kills with a .333 hitting percentage. Barton and Lovell both had 10 digs. Torres had a match-high 36 assists.
The only game Utah was seriously challenged in was the second. After falling behind 7-2, the Utes fought back to score eight unanswered points to pull ahead 10-7. The Aztecs came back to take a 13-12 lead. Jen Snow then put down a kill to put the Utes ahead 15-14 and combined with Stilson for a block on the right side of the net at game point.
HEAD COACH BETH LAUNIERE: In her ninth season, Beth Launiere is the winningest coach in Utah volleyball history. Launiere has a 148-123 (.546) overall record and a 47-64 mark in Western Athletic Conference play.
Launiere was named the Utes' head coach in 1990, and has since overseen a significant transformation in the Ute volleyball program. The season prior to Launiere's appointment, the Utes compiled a meager 1-32 record. Four years later, Launiere guided Utah to a 25-win season, its most successful campaign ever.
The Grand Rapids, Mich., native has led the Utes to three 20-win seasons and four upper-division finishes in the Western Athletic Conference during the last five years. Last year, Launiere's Utes posted its all-time best overall winning percentage in school history (.710) by going 22-9, as well as the best winning percentage in WAC play (.643) with a 9-5 mark to place fourth in the WAC Mountain Division. It was Utah's second-consecutive 20-win season and third-consecutive upper division conference finish.
QUOTING LAUNIERE:
On the Hawai'i match - "We just played two of the best teams in the conference in BYU and Hawai'i, and I felt very good about our effort on Friday night. We emphasized all week that we needed to improve our mental toughness. We did that. I thought that we played with them for about 80 percent of the match. We just had some lapses where we gave up long strings of points and let two games slip away, and you can't do that against good teams. That was the best match Kalani (Tonga) has played this season."
On the San Diego State match - "It just felt really good to get the win. It was the first time in about three weeks where we were able to get some easy points. We finally faced a team that made some errors to help us out a little bit. Graciela (Torres) did a great job of carrying out the game plan, once again, by setting up our middle blockers. Both Stacie Greenwalt and McKelle Stilson had huge matches for us."
On this week - "This is a huge road trip for us. We're going to be fighting it out with San Jose State and Fresno State for third and fourth place, and the teams that finish in the upper division will be the ones which get some wins on the road. Fresno State is very talented. They won their first 12 matches before San Jose State upset them a few weeks back. Both of those will be huge matches for us."
SHAKULA MOVING UP THE CAREER CHARTS: Senior outside hitter Sara Shakula has an excellent chance to finish high in several career statistical categories. The Draper, Utah, native already ranks third in career kills (1,154) and third in service aces (111) at the U. She needs 99 more kills to move ahead of Sharman Grant (1,252) and into second place. The top mark is owned by Brenda Barton-Whicker (1,565). Barton-Whicker also owns the top aces mark with 161. Shakula needs just 37 more aces to take over second place, currently held by Grant's 147.
Shakula is also moving up the Western Athletic Conference statistical career charts. She needs just nine more aces to take over 10th place from Alicia Bergmann (119), who played for New Mexico from 1990-93.
TORRES THIRD IN CAREER ASSISTS: Setter Graciela Torres is in third place in career assists at Utah with 3,047. Torres moved ahead of Katie Gesto, who recorded 2,309 assists from 1984-86, on Sept. 1 with 67 assists against Idaho State. She now needs 309 assists to take over second place, currently held by Katie Tagge's 3,355, which is still within reach this season. In just her first season at the U., Torres recorded 1,206 assists to place her fifth on both the the single-season and career charts. She recorded 1,091 assists in 1997, the sixth-most in a single-season at Utah.
TONGA MAKES HER MARK: Sophomore Kalani Tonga, the 1997 Western Athletic Conference Mountain Division Freshman of the Year and a member of the Volleyball Magazine/Asics All-Freshman Team, splashed onto the scene last season. Tonga ranked seventh in the WAC in blocks (1.22) and sixth in hitting percentage (.327) as a middle blocker. She also set the Utah single-season record for hitting percentage.
This season, Tonga ranks seventh in the WAC in kills (3.92) and third in digs (2.90).
NATIONAL ATTENDANCE: As of Oct. 5, Utah ranked 23rd in the nation in attendance, averaging 810 fans in its first four matches of the season. Five other WAC schools are ranked among the national leaders in attendance as well, including Brigham Young at 19th (972), Colorado State at 22nd (827), Utah at 23rd (810), Rice at 27th (723) and New Mexico at 29th (708).
POWER RANKINGS: This season, the American Volleyball Coaches Association has teamed up with sports rating guru, Jeff Sagarin to produce a Women's Division I Volleyball Power Rating. As of Oct. 3, the WAC had six teams that were ranked among the top 50 in the nation in RPI ratings, which tied for second most by any conference. The Big Ten had nine teams rank among the top 50 while the Big 12 also had six teams. Hawaii currently ranks ninth while Brigham Young is 13th, followed by Colorado State (28th), Utah (34th), Fresno State (35th) and Wyoming (42nd).
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Once again, Utah faces challenging opposition in 1998. Five teams on its schedule-two of which it will play twice-were invited to play in the 1997 NCAA Tournament. Washington State, which defeated Utah in four games on Sept. 4, made it to the regional semifinals. The Utes faced two more NCAA participants at the Michigan State Invitational, Sept. 18-19. The host Spartans, which defeated Utah in four games, advanced to the second round. Notre Dame, defeated by the Utes in three games, made it to the regional semifinals.
Utah faces two NCAA Tournament teams, twice each, during the Western Athletic Conference season. Hawai'i received and NCAA bid in 97, but lost in the first round. Brigham Young made it to the regional finals before losing to eventual national runner-up Penn State. In their first meetings with Hawai'i and BYU, the Utes lost in three games to the Cougars on Oct. 2 and in four games to the Rainbow Wahine on Oct. 9. Both matches took place at Crimson Court.
WAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS:
Team
Hitting Efficiency 11th (.201)
Kills 6th (16.76)
Assists 6th (14.50)
Blocking 6th (2.66)
Aces 4th (1.83)
Digs 6th (15.74)
Individuals
Hitting Efficiency - Stacie Greenwalt 13th (.321)
Kills Kalani - Tonga 7th (4.05)
Assists - Graciela Torres 4th (12.93)
Blocking - McKelle Stilson 8th (1.24), Stacie Greenwalt 16th (1.16)
Aces - Brooke Barton 1st (0.53), Graciela Torres 7th (0.40)
Digs - Kalani Tonga 10th (2.86)
UTAH AGAINST TOP 25 TEAMS: Utah is 1-4 against ranked teams this season. The Utes lost to No. 22 Washington State in five games on Sept. 4 in WSU's Les Schwab Cougar Challenge. The U. lost to No. 18 Michigan State in three games on Sept. 18 in the Spartan's MSU Invitational, then came back the next day in the tournament to defeat No. 23 Notre Dame in three games. Utah lost to No. 5 Brigham Young in three games on Oct. 2 and No. 10 Hawai'i on Oct. 9 at Crimson Court.
Louisville, which was not ranked when it lost to the Utes in four games on Sept. 5, has since moved into the USA Today/AVCA Poll and was most recently ranked 23rd.
WAC PRE-SEASON POLL: In a survey of the Western Athletic Conference coaches before the season, Utah was picked to place third in the Pacific Division. Utah, competing in the WAC's Pacific Division for the first time in its final season as a league member, garnered 88 points. Brigham Young was picked first, tallying 118 points and 13 first-place votes. Hawai'i claimed the remaining three first-place votes and 105 points to finish second. The Utes were followed by Fresno State in fourth place with 73 points, San Diego State (72), New Mexico (49), San Jose State (37) and UTEP (26).
In the Mountain Division, Colorado State earned 13 first-place votes and totaled 117 points to lead the way. Brigham Young was picked to win the WAC championship over Hawai'i, 13 votes to three.
WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO THE MGM GRAND: For the third straight season, the MGM Grand Garden Arena will play host to the WAC Volleyball Tournament. The championship will be contested, Nov. 24-28, in Las Vegas, with the 5,000-room MGM Grand Hotel serving as the tournament host. Twelve of the 16 WAC teams will compete in the tournament with the top two teams in each division receiving a first-round bye.
The remaining eight teams will play first-round matches on Nov. 24. The four first-round matches will feature Pacific Division #3 vs. Mountain Division #6 at 1:00 p.m.; Mountain Division #4 vs. Pacific Division #5 at 3:00 p.m.; Pacific Division #4 vs. Mountain Division #5 at 6:30 p.m.; and Mountain Division #3 vs. Pacific Division #6 at 8:30 p.m. (All times Pacific.). The quarterfinals will take place, Nov. 25, with the same match times as the first round. The semifinals are slated for Nov. 27, with matches scheduled for 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. The championship match is slated for 4:00 p.m., on Nov. 28. FOX Sports Net will televise the first semi-final match and the championship match live.
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