Utah Volleyball Notes

Nov. 1, 2004

Complete Release and Updated Stats in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

What's on Tap?
The No. 17-ranked (USA Today/CSTV coaches poll) University of Utah women's volleyball team (18-3, 10-0 Mountain West) will put its three-match winning streak on the line when it hits the road for the final conference road matches for the season. The Utes will battle at San Diego State on Friday, Nov. 5, and UNLV on Saturday, Nov. 6. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. PST.

Scouting the Opposition:
San Diego State (3-20, 3-7 Mountain West) has dropped three straight matches after winning back-to-back outings against New Mexico and Air Force. Last weekend, the Aztecs fell to both No. 9 Colorado State and Wyoming by the same score of 3-0. Kara Moriarty leads the offense with 3.45 kills per game while Lindsey Mahan leads SDSU with a .263 hitting percentage. Kristen Castillo hands out a team-best 10.08 assists per game. Aime Cordeiro leads the way with 3.67 digs per game and Ashley Bowker it tops with 1.37 blocks.

UNLV (12-8, 6-4 Mountain West) extended its winning streak to four matches last week before dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 9 Colorado State on the road. The Rebels topped Wyoming, 3-1, a day before falling to the Rams. UNLV begins weekend action against BYU on Friday, Nov. 5, opening a four-match homestand. Mariana Pencheva leads the attack for the Rebels, hitting .279, while Maria Aladjova's 3.84 kills is tops on the team and second in the conference. The attack centers around Nicki King who owns an 11.76 assist-per-game average. Defensively, Jada Walker is the MWC leader in digs (4.49 per game) while Lauren Miramontes leads UNLV in blocks (0.88).

Series Records:
Utah will be paying San Diego State and UNLV return visits after the two conference rivals ventured to Crimson Court earlier this year.

The Utes swept SDSU, 3-0, when the two met on Oct. 9. Lyndsey Henderson's 14 kills and seven blocks led the way as Utah picked up the win on scores of 33-31, 30-24 and 30-21. The all-time series stands in favor the Aztecs, 14-16, but Utah has won five straight. The last SDSU win in the series came on Sept. 29, 2003. The Aztecs picked up the five-game home victory.

The Utes snagged a 3-1 win over the Rebels when they met on Oct. 8. Game scores were 30-18, 24-30, 30-18 and 30-26. Henderson racked up an astounding 23.0 points on 14 kills, 13 blocks (one solo) and two aces. The series favors Utah, which has won 15 of the 16 meetings.

Quoting Head Coach Beth Launiere:
On San Diego State and UNLV: "These two matches this weekend are critical for us. We have to focus on these two matches and not look past them. All road trips in the conference are tough, especially this one. San Diego State always plays us tough and UNLV is tied for third in the conference. It is a very good team."

On New Mexico and Air Force: "After the first game against New Mexico, I was very happy with how well our team played last weekend. We were focused and relaxed but we were still intense. And, our level of intensity didn't drop when our subs came in which says a lot about the depth on this team. I think there were a lot of positive signs from last weekend."

Last Week:
Utah won both of its matches last weekend, topping New Mexico, 3-1, and Air Force, 3-0, on Crimson Court.

The Utes got off to a slow start, dropping game one, 32-34. However, Utah roared back to hit .414 (15 kills, three errors, 29 attempts) in game two as it cruised to victory in the final three games. Danielle Leichliter and Lyndsey Henderson led the way with 15 kills each while Kelsie Kartchner tallied 28 assists. Amie Toone had a match-best seven blocks and Connie Dangerfield led all Utes with 15 digs.

Utah continued its winning ways with a 3-0 win over Air Force. The Utes hit a blistering .583 (16-2-24) in game one and hit .382 for the match en route to the three-game victory. The Ute defense never let AFA hit better than .037 in a game, holding the Falcons to a .022 hitting percentage for the match. Shelly Sommerfeldt's eight kills paced the home team with Tracy Neumeier handing out a match-high 22 assists. Dangerfield racked up 16 digs and Henderson tallied eight blocks.

Weekly Stats:
National Rankings: As of 10/24, Lyndsey Henderson is sixth in blocks per game (1.76) while the team ranks 10th (3.33). Note: NCAA stats are updated every Tuesday.

Mountain West Individual Stats: Lyndsey Henderson is first in blocks per game (1.78), third in both kills (3.65) and in hitting percentage (.363), and eighth in aces (0.30); Connie Dangerfield is second in digs (4.24); Amie Toone is fifth in blocks (1.36) and 20th in hitting percentage (.238); Danielle Leichliter is seventh in service aces per game (0.30); Tracy Neumeier is eighth in both assists (6.41) and 12th in digs (2.29); Kelsie Kartchner is ninth in assists (6.16); Shelly Sommerfeldt is 14th in kills (3.07).

Mountain West Team Stats: Utah is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.136) and blocks (3.35); second in digs (14.76) and service aces (1.72); it is fourth in hitting (.242); fifth in kills (15.10) and assists (13.63).

Keep It On The "D-L":
Danielle Leichliter had an impressive showing in a rare appearance in the front row against New Mexico last weekend. The outside hitter racked up 17.0 points, buoyed by tying for team-high honors with 15 kills. She also had three blocks (one solo) and six digs in the winning effort. The 15 kills are a season-best for Leichliter, who hit .500 (15-2-26) for the match.

Miller's Time:
Natalie Miller came off the bench to post some impressive numbers against Air Force. The sophomore appeared in two games versus the Falcons and recorded six kills to rank among the team leaders for the night. She hit a swift .600 (6-0-10) and also had five digs, three block assists and three service aces. The six kills and three blocks tie a career best while the five digs and three aces set a new career mark for Miller.

Better Than Average:
After hitting .169 in the loss to Notre Dame (the third lowest for the season), the Ute offense has been on fire, collecting kills at a .311 clip. It has hit better than its season average of .242 in the last three matches (.277 versus BYU, .297 against New Mexico and .382 versus Air Force). Utah is hitting .242 for the season but sees its average improve to .259 in conference tilts.

There Seems To Be Some Blockage:
Amie Toone continues to frustrate opposing offenses. She has had seven matches this season with five or more blocks. Most recently, the sophomore outside hitter collected seven blocks against New Mexico. Toone tallied a career-high 11 blocks in the win over Colorado State earlier this season. She is one of two Utes to rank in the top five in the conference in blocks. She is fifth in the MWC with 1.36 blocks per game. Teammate Lyndsey Henderson sits on top of the pack with 1.78 per game.

An Ace Up Her Sleeve:
Middle blocker Lyndsey Henderson had 15 kills and four blocks against New Mexico. But, most impressive was the fact the she scored six aces in the match. The six aces are a career-best for Henderson and was one shy of Utah's four-game record. Samantha Dodd aced seven serves against San Diego in 1990.

Leading The Way:
Lyndsey Hendserson has been the team's top offensive threat, averaging a team-high 3.65 kills and leading all Utes with a .363 hitting percentage. But, in the last five matches, Henderson has been an offensive force. The Orem native is hitting .451 during that stretch and racking up the kills at a 4.19 per-game average.

Potent Notables:
Utah held steady in the USA Today/CSTV coaches poll. The Utes check in at No. 17 for the second week in a row. The Utes have been in the poll seven straight weeks. No. 14 is the highest ranking yet this season ... head coach Beth Launiere is seven wins shy of tallying 300 career victories ... Utah is 3-2 against teams mentioned in the USA Today/CSTV coaches poll, 2-0 against top-10 teams. It beat No. 6 UCLA (3-2) and No. 7 Colorado State (3-1). Two matches still remain against ranked teams (versus No. 9 Colorado State and No. 2 Hawaii) ... the Utes hit .382 against Air Force. That ranks second this season to the .383 average against Liberty ... Utah's defense held Air Force to a .022 hitting percentage, the lowest in conference play this season. Last weekend, opponents hit a paltry .064 versus the Utes ... the 11 aces against Air Force was a season high ... the Utes are 5-2 in extra-point affairs ... Utah is 9-3 in games settled by two points ... Utah is 7-1 in three-game matches, 9-1 in four-gamers and 2-1 in five-game affairs.

At The Helm:
Beth Launiere is in her 15th season as head coach of the Utah women's volleyball program. She owns a 293-174 all-time record. She has led her squad to NCAA Tournament appearances the last six seasons, including a "Sweet 16" showing in 2001. Following the "Sweet 16" showing, Launiere was named the 2001 Tachikara/AVCA Division I West Region Coach of the Year. Launiere's Utes have recorded nine 20-win seasons, and last year, Utah posted a school-record 12 conference victories. A native of Grand Rapids, Mich., Launiere graduated from Aquinas College and was an assistant at Ferris State and Illinois before taking over the Ute program in 1990.

On the Air:
Radio broadcasts and live video streaming of home volleyball games will be available on the Internet at the official athletics Web site, www.UtahUtes.com. In addition, the Nov. 13 home match against Colorado State will be televised on College Sports TV (CSTV). It will air on tape delay on Nov. 14 at 2:30 p.m. (MST). Check with your local cable or satellite provider for more information on CSTV.

Up Next:
The Utes wrap up regular season conference play when they host Wyoming on Friday, Nov. 12, and Colorado State on Saturday, Nov. 13. Both matches are at Crimson Court and will start at 7 p.m. The conference tournament will be Nov. 18-20 in Fort Collins, Colo.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Connie Dangerfield

Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus #13 Kansas on November 19, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus Arizona on November 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Volleyball at #23 BYU on November 26, 2025 at 6:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Texas Tech on November 29, 2025 at 12:00 P.M.

Completed Event: Volleyball versus #23 BYU on November 14, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 2

Completed Event: Volleyball at #23 Baylor on November 9, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 3

Completed Event: Volleyball at #16 TCU on November 7, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 3

Completed Event: Volleyball versus Central Florida on October 31, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Volleyball versus Kansas State on October 29, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 3

Completed Event: Volleyball at West Virginia on October 24, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 2

Completed Event: Volleyball at Cincinnati on October 22, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 3

Completed Event: Volleyball versus #7 Arizona State on October 18, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 3

Completed Event: Volleyball at #24 Colorado on October 15, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 3

The University of Utah Athletics