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UNLV
No. 9 Volleyball Advances to MWC Tourney Final
11/24/2006 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 24, 2006
LAS VEGAS - The No. 9-ranked and No. 1-seeded University of Utah volleyball team (27-2) swept yet another opponent as it advanced to the title match of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The Utes puched their ticket to the championship bout and face the No. 3-seeded Colorado State Rams. First serve is set for tomorrow 8 p.m. (PST).
It will be the fourth time Utah and CSU meet for the title. Utah won the 2001 match-up with the Rams winning in 2003 and 2004.
Game scores tonight were 30-14, 30-25 and 30-27. UNLV falls to 20-10. With the win, Utah extends its winning streak to 25 straight matches.
"I'm excited for the championship match tomorrow," said head coach Beth Launiere. "We had a great match with them in Fort Collins just last week. The Rams are a competitive team. They have a lot offensive weapons and play solid defense.
"Our focus has gotten better in the last week, and with good reason. This tournament is great preparation for the NCAA tournament."
Utah hit .344 in cruising to the three-game lead. All of Utah's attackers hit well over .300 for the match. Lori Baird was the most efficient hitter, netting eight kills on .533 (8-0-15) hitting. Airial Salvo led the way with 16 kills (hitting .366 , 16-1-41) and Kathryn Lovell with 13 kills (on .310 hitting, 13-4-29).
Sydney Anderson ran the attack in dishing out 47 assists. She guided an offense that hit well over .300, this the 12th time this season. She also helped out on defense, chalking up five digs in the match.
Utah held the Rebels to just .162 hitting. It hit a match-best .286 (21-7-49) in the final game, bottoming out at -.051 (8-10-39) in the first frame. Utah held the 13-4 edge in team blocks, led by Emillie Toone's six blocks. Lori Baird and Whitney Webb both had five blocks each.
Connie Dangerfield led all Utes with 18 digs from the back row.
Leading the host school was Brittani Lumsden (12 kills), Melody Nua (21 assists), Lauren Miramontes (four blocks) and the conference's Libero of the Year, Jada Walker (15 digs).
Game one saw Utah jump out to a big 7-2 cushion, out-hitting the Rebels .500 to -.375 during that span. Utah doubled its five-point lead by extending it to 21-11. The Utes owned an 11-point favor at 25-14 and ended the match with a five-point run that gave them the 16-point win.
UNLV rallied to play a closer game in the second frame. Utah had to battle through six ties, never pushing its lead beyond a four-point cushion for much of the game. The last such lead came at 21-17. The host team had the four-point deficit down to one, 24-23, but Utah finished the game with a 6-2 run for the five-point win.
An early 4-0 run allowed Utah to build a six-point lead, 10-4. It held on to the six-point lead until 13-7. UNLV chiseled away at it, cutting it down to three numerous times and coming within two at 29-27. After Launiere called timeout to rally the troops, a bomb from Salvo ended the game and the match.
Players Mentioned
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