Final Utah Volleyball Notes

Dec. 10, 2004

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Season Finale:
The Utes wrapped up their season with a 3-0 loss to Long Beach State in the first round of the NCAA tournament last weekend. Game scores were 19-30, 25-30 and 31-33. Utah, which made its seventh straight NCAA appearance, finishes the year with a 24-7 overall slate.

The Beach jumped out to a 2-0 lead by hitting better than .400 in each of the first two frames. While Utah rallied in game three, the Beach perservered. The Utes held a 29-25 lead in game three but couldn't finish it as LBSU got the extra-point win. Utah outblocked LBSU, 9-5, but LBSU held the edge in hitting .333 for the match. The Utes hit .200.

Shelly Sommerfeldt was one of the bright spots for Utah as she hit .405 for the match in racking up 16 kills. Tracy Neumeier led Utah with 22 assists while the defense was led by Connie Dangerfield's nine digs and Lyndsey Henderson's five total blocks.

Quoting Head Coach Beth Launiere:
On the 2004 seniors: "In retrospect, it really was an incredible year for us. This group of seniors didn't miss a beat after losing an All-American and one of the best liberos. They picked up the slack this year."

On the season: "There were a lot of big accomplishments this season and that shouldn't be overlooked. We won at Colorado State, beat UCLA, had the best conference record in school history and we won the regular season championship. As a whole, it was a great season.

"We try to bring a high level of volleyball to Salt Lake City and its community. To get a (home) win over UCLA, among other wins, it keeps the people coming back and helps us build a supportive fan base."

Final Stats:
National Rankings: through 12/5, Lyndsey Henderson is eighth in blocks per game (1.67) while the team ranks 11th (3.21). Note: NCAA stats are updated every Tuesday and won't be finalized until the completion of the NCAA tournament.

Mountain West Individual Stats: Lyndsey Henderson finished first in points (4.85), second in blocks per game (1.67), third in kills (3.59), fifth in hitting percentage (.322), and eighth in aces (0.28); Connie Dangerfield finished second in digs (4.17); Tracy Neumeier is third in aces (0.32) and eighth in assists (6.58); Amie Toone is sixth in blocks (1.22); Danielle Leichliter is 13th in service aces per game (0.24); Kelsie Kartchner is ninth in assists (6.17), 11th in aces (0.25) and 14th in digs (2.25); Shelly Sommerfeldt is 14th in kills (3.08).

Mountain West Team Stats: Utah is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.146) and service aces (1.69); second in blocks (3.21) and digs (15.00); fourth in hitting (.230), in kills (15.23) and assists (13.79).

Updating the Record Book:
Single Match Records - Lyndsey Henderson's 11 block assists against Wyoming (11/12) tied the three-game record while the team's 43 block assists against New Mexico (10/2) set the five-game standard.

Season Records - Connie Dangerfield set the single-season mark for digs. She collected 467 digs this season. Lyndsey Henderson also etched her name in the single-season annals. She ranks fifth in hitting .322 this season while both her 184 total blocks and 154 block assists check in at fourth. Her 29 solo blocks are 10th.

Career Records - Kelsie Kartchner ranks third in both assists and aces with 3,516 and 139, respectively. She is also fourth in matches played (128) and fifth in games played (444). Lyndsey Henderson is third in block assists (385), fifth in both hitting (.281) and in total blocks (443), seventh in block solos (58) and ninth in kills (955).

Henderson Named All-Region:
Lyndsey Henderson was named to the AVCA's West all-region team this week. Her 1.67 blocks per game ranked second in the conference and eighth nationally (as of Dec. 7). She averaged 3.59 kills per game and hit .322 for the season, checking in at third and fifth in the MWC, respectively. She also had a career-best 22 kills in the upset victory over then-No. 6 UCLA and hit a career-high .680 in bagging 20 kills versus Wyoming.

Conference Accolades:
Connie Dangerfield was named the Mountain West Conference's Libero of the Year while Lyndsey Henderson, Kelsie Kartchner and Shelly Sommerfeldt were tabbed all-conference. In addition to the all-conference honorees, Beth Launiere garnered MWC Coach of the Year accolades.

Dangerfield led all MWC spikers with a 4.28 digs-per-game average in conference play and was third on the team in aces (0.24). Henderson led all MWC players in kills (3.94) and points (5.33) and was second in blocks (1.92). She also hit .389, good enough for third. Kartchner averaged 6.00 assists, 2.36 kills, 1.98 digs and hit .248 in conference tilts. Kartchner won MWC Player of the Week for back-to-back doubles against San Diego State and UNLV and also had a triple-double (12k-17a-13d) against Wyoming. Sommerfeldt averaged 3.15 kills against MWC rivals and hit .228, averaging 1.21 digs per game. The outside hitter had double-digit kills in eight conference tilts this year, including a season-best 20 against Wyoming.

Launiere guided her team to its best start in conference play. Her spikers rattled off 13 straight MWC wins in finishing 13-1 in the Mountain West and winning the school's first-ever regular season championship. The 13 wins is also a school record for conference victories.

Watch Out, Milestone Ahead:
Beth Launiere wrapped up her 15th season at the helm of the Utah women's volleyball program just short of the next coaching milestone. She needs only one more victory for her 300th, having notched her 299th victory in the 3-0 win over Eastern Washington on Nov. 27. She is 299 -178 all time.

Utah's 2004 MWC Players Of The Week:

    Sept. 20   Connie Dangerfield    Oct. 18 Lyndsey Henderson    Nov. 8  Kelsie Kartchner

Upcoming Events

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Connie Dangerfield

Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus California Baptist on September 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM

Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Cal Poly on September 19, 2025 at 6:00 PM

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Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Arizona on October 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Arizona State on October 4, 2025 at 1:00 P.M.

Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus Houston on October 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Colorado on October 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Completed Event: Volleyball versus Drake on September 13, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Volleyball at #1 Nebraska on September 12, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 3

Completed Event: Volleyball versus UVU on September 9, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: Volleyball at Utah State on September 6, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Volleyball versus #10 Texas A&M on September 4, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 3

Completed Event: Volleyball versus Washington State on August 31, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Volleyball versus Lafayette College on August 30, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Volleyball versus #24 Dayton on August 29, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: Volleyball versus Marquette on December 6, 2024 , Loss , 2, to, 3