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Women's Volleyball Weekly Release
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Volleyball
October 5, 1998
THIS WEEK:
Utah (10-4, 0-1 WAC) concludes a three-match home stand with two Western Athletic Conference contests. The Utes host No. 10 Hawai'i (11-1, 3-0 WAC) on Friday and San Diego State (3-12, 1-3 WAC) on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7:00 p.m. at Crimson Court.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH:
The Utes are 10-4 overall and in seventh place in the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division with an 0-1 record. Last week, the Utes defeated Utah State 15-9, 9-15, 15-7, 11-15, 15-10 on Tuesday and lost their league opener to No. 5 Brigham Young 15-4, 15-10, 15-1 on Friday. Utah was tied for 33rd in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll released on Sept. 28.
Sophomore outside hitter Kalani Tonga leads the team in kills (3.94) and digs (2.90). Junior middle blocker Stacie Greenwalt is first in blocks (1.20), first in hitting efficiency (.337) and second in kills (3.35). Freshman middle blocker McKelle Stilson is second in blocking (1.13). Junior setter Graciela Torres is averaging 12.92 assists and the second-most aces (0.43). Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Barton leads the team in aces (0.55).
Utah vs. Hawai'i (#10)
Oct. 9 - Crimson Court - Salt Lake City - 7:00 p.m.
Utah vs. San Diego State
Oct. 10 - Crimson Court - Salt Lake City - 7:00 p.m.
Utah Probable Starters
Overall Record: 10-4
WAC Record: 0-1
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
SCOUTING HAWAI'I:
The Rainbow Wahine, ranked 10th in the USA Today/AVCA Poll released on Sept. 28, are 11-1 overall and in first place in the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division with a 3-0 record. Hawai'i is coming off two wins at home, defeating at UTEP 15-8, 15-4, 15-2 last Friday and New Mexico 15-7, 15-9, 15-7 on Sunday.
Junior Heather Bown leads the WAC in kills (4.64) and hitting efficiency (.462), and is second in blocking (1.94). She was ranked first in the NCAA in blocking, third in hitting efficiency and 19th in kills as of Sept. 27. Freshman Heather Lima is second on the team in kills per game (3.31) and ranks 16th in the league in hitting efficiency (.314). Senior setter Nikki Hubbert is third in the WAC and seventh in the nation in assists (13.83). Head coach Dave Shoji has a 660-133-1 career record in his 24th season at Hawai'i.
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE:
The Aztecs are 3-12 overall and in sixth place in the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division with a 1-3 record. Last week, San Diego State split home matches with UTEP and New Mexico, losing to the Miners 15-11, 15-12, 6-15, 8-15, 15-13 on Wednesday and defeating the Lobos 3-15, 15-13, 15-13, 15-8 on Thursday.
Sophomore Andrea Arroyo leads the team in kills (3.30) and is averaging 2.48 digs per game. Junior Nicole Curtis is leading the team in blocks (1.02), as well as averaging 2.67 kills. Senior setter Lisa Bostian ranks eighth in the WAC in assists per game (11.67). Mark Warner has a 70-39 career record in his fourth season as the SDSU women's volleyball head coach. He has been a part of the men's or women's volleyball coaching staff at SDSU for the past 16 years.
SERIES SHORTS:
Utah has lost all four if its previous meetings with Hawai'i. The two teams met last year in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Nov. 25, with UH winning 8-15, 15-10, 13-15, 15-12, 15-8.
The Utes trail San Diego State in the all-time series 13-2. The two teams have not met since the 1995 season, when the Aztecs swept the Utes on Oct. 6 in San Diego and won in five games on Nov. 11 in Salt Lake City.
NEXT WEEK:
Utah plays two Western Athletic Conference matches on the road. The Utes play at Fresno State on Friday at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) and San Jose State on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. (PDT).
LAST WEEK:
Utah lost to fifth-ranked Brigham Young on Friday night 15-3, 15-10, 15-1 in front of a season-best crowd of 1,257 at Crimson Court. It was the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams. Sophomore outside hitter Kalani Tonga paced Utah with 10 kills and four digs. Sara Shakula posted seven kills and three digs. Junior setter Graciela Torres had 29 assists, five digs and four blocks. The Cougars outhit the Utes .282 to .056 and had the edge at the net 14 to six.
Utah kept it close early in game one, trailing 6-3 before BYU scored the next nine points to win 15-3. The Cougars outhit Utah .448 to .069 in the opening frame. The Utes charged out in game two, leading at one juncture 7-3. The Utes last led at 9-8 before BYU put the game away with another impressive spurt, scoring seven of the last eight points. With the momentum carrying over, Brigham Young scored 11 unanswered points to open game three, winning 15-1.
It may have taken five games, but the Utah volleyball team persevered to pick up its 10th win of the season on Tuesday night, defeating Utah State 15-9, 9-15, 15-7, 11-15, 15-10 at the Dee Glen Smith Center in Logan, Utah. Tonga led the Utes with 18 kills, a .317 hitting percentage, nine digs and four blocks. Stacie Greenwalt had 14 kills with a .321 hitting percentage and eight blocks. Shakula posted 13 kills and eight digs. Torres had 49 assists and 10 digs.
HEAD COACH BETH LAUNIERE:
In her ninth season, Beth Launiere is the winningest coach in Utah volleyball history. Launiere has a 147-122 (.546) overall record and a 46-63 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 BYU match - "I was disappointed with the way we played in game three. For the most part, we did good things. Normally, our serve-pass has been good. They just covered the court so well defensively and just beat us. Good teams, like BYU, have strengths which we can't take away. However, we still competed. We're a good team, and we will match up well with a lot of WAC teams."
On the Utah State match - "Their record doesn't indicate how good of a team they are. It was a tough match, and I was pleased with the way we pulled it out. We played very well in game five and didn't make any errors. That was a good road win for us."
On this week - "It doesn't get any easier for us. The WAC matches we have this week are extremely important to us, especially since we are playing at home. We need to get at least one if not two wins this week, and that won't be easy. Hawai'i is doing very well this year, but I'm hopeful we can match up well with them. Based upon last year's match with them in the WAC Tournament, I think we can." "San Diego State has played a tough schedule-the fourth toughest in the country. So, despite their record, they are a very good team."
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 (1,141) and third in service aces (110) at the U. She needs 112 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 38 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 10 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 2,956. 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 400 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 NUMBERS:
As of Sept. 21, Utah ranked 25th in the nation in attendance, averaging 570 fans in its first two home matches of the season. As of Sept. 27, Graciela Torres ranked 17th in the NCAA in assists (13.51) and Brooke Barton was 18th in services aces (0.62). As a team, the Utes were 11th in kills (17.40) and 20th in assists (15.28).
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 meeting with BYU, the Utes lost in three games on Oct. 2 at Crimson Court.
WAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS:
TEAMHitting Efficiency 11th (.200) Kills 6th (16.75) Assists 6th (14.55) Blocking 7th (2.61) Aces 3rd (1.81) Digs 6th (15.75)
INDIVIDUALS
Hitting Efficiency Stacie Greenwalt 8th (.337)
Kills Kalani Tonga 7th (3.94)
Assists Graciela Torres 4th (12.92)
Blocking Stacie Greenwalt 9th (1.20) McKelle Stilson 17th (1.11)
Aces Brooke Barton 1st (0.55) Graciela Torres 7th (0.43)
Digs Kalani Tonga 9th (2.90)
UTAH AGAINST TOP 25 TEAMS:
Utah is 1-3 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 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.
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