Utah Volleyball Outlasts Cowgirls, 3-1

Saturday, October 16

Laramie, Wyo.

7:00 PM

University of Utah

Wyoming*

10/16/2004 12:00 AM | Volleyball

Oct. 16, 2004

Box Score

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Wyoming gave it everything it had in the first three games but the University of Utah women's volleyball team stepped it up in the deciding game four to nab the 3-1 win here tonight.

The Utes win their 12th straight match, the longest such winning streak in program annals.

Game scores were 31-33, 30-28, 34-32, 30-17. The Utes are now 15-2 overall and remain a stainless 7-0 in Mountain West outings. Wyoming falls to 10-9 and 3-4.

"It was a hard-fought battle," remarked head coach Beth Launiere. "We showed a lot of composure and character out there tonight. We could have panicked but we didn't. We stayed together as a team in a tough situation.

"Wyoming is playing well. It came off a great win last night (over BYU) and we're on the road. It's times like these that people like Lyndsey (Henderson) and Shelly (Sommerfeldt), who have been there before, step up and lead the way."

The Utes hit a smooth .376 (71 kills, 18 errors on 141 attempts), with Lyndsey Henderson leading the way with 26 points. She racked up 20 kills on hitting .680 (20-3-25). She stymied the Wyoming offense with a match-best eight blocks. Shelly Sommerfeldt complimented Henderson with 20 kills of her own.

Tracy Neumeier and Kelsie Kartchner each dished out 30 assists while Connie Dangerfield's 14 digs tied for match-high honors.

Wyoming hit .234 (62-28-145), buoyed by a game-three performance of .486 (21-4-35). Rachel Smith tallied 17 kills in the losing effort while Jill Roslund collected 14 digs. Amy Doman led all player with 52 assists.

After a 1-1 tie at the break, Utah returned to hit .444 (38-8-68) in the final two frames. The Utes tightened the reigns in the decisive game four. Utah hit .500 in the final stanza while holding its rivals to a paltry .094 (12-9-32).

It's a quick turnaround for the Utes who host the Fighting Irish from Notre Dame on Tuesday, October 19. Match time at Crimson Court is set for 7 p.m.