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Volleyball
vs Iowa State
Saturday, September 21
Salt Lake City, Utah--Crimson Court
7:00 PM MDT
University of Utah
3
vs
1
Illinois
No. 10 Utah Volleyball Team Defeats Illinois 3-1
9/21/2002 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 21, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY - The No. 10 University of Utah women's volleyball team reached double digits in wins when they handed the University of Illinois its third loss of the season tonight at Crimson Court. After dropping game one 25-30, Utah won three straight (30-27, 30-21, 30-23). It was the 23rd consecutive home victory for the Utes, who recorded 23.5 blocks on the match.
In game one, the Fighting Illini led throughout, starting out with a 4-1 lead and building it to as many as six. Utah tried to come back at the end of the game, but fell short, losing 30-25. The Utes hit just .025 on the game and had six service errors. However, junior Kim Turner dominated the net, finishing with five blocks on the game.
Utah tied game two at one before taking the lead for good. The Utes led by as many as five and although Illinois cut it to one twice (24-23 and 27-26), the Fighting Illini couldn't catch Utah. Senior Sylva Strzinkova notched five kills on the game, while sophomore Lyndsey Phillips had two solo blocks.
Game three was four times early on, but the Utes pulled away for good midway through the game, leading by as many as ten. Utah out-blocked Illinois 6-1 and out-hit them .200 to -.028. Senior Brenda Beal had four kills and three blocks on the game.
In the fourth and final game, Utah was down 6-2, but came back to tie it at 12. After a tie at 17, the Utes pulled away, scoring four straight points before sealing it 30-23. Turner notched five kills in game four alone.
"We have to get more consistent," Head Coach Beth Launiere said. "We came out really flat in game one - I didn't feel like they beat us. The difference between the first game and the rest of the match was execution.
"This weekend was huge for us," she continued. "We fought back both nights. As a result, we developed a lot of trust and grew as a team. We are playing as a team now."
Turner finished the match with a triple-double - 11 kills, 11 blocks and 11 digs - to lead Utah. "Kim is playing so well all the way around," Launiere said.
Strzinkov? had a double-double (14 kills, 10 digs), her fifth of the season. Turner led all blockers with 11, while Phillips finished with nine and Beal with eight. Junior Jackie Morrill finished with a match-high 16 digs. Sophomore setters Kelsie Kartchner and Tracy Neumeier finished with 26 and 20 assists, respectively. Kartchner also had three service aces.
UP NEXT:
The Utes host Olymp Praha, a team from the Czech Republic, for an exhibition match next Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 7:00 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, Utah take on UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. On Sunday, Sept. 29, the Utes play at San Diego State at 1:00 p.m.
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Urban Meyer
Wednesday, September 17
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Utah Volleyball's Kamryn Gibadlo - ESPN+ Feature
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Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Ron McBride
Wednesday, September 03