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Saturday, November 3
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7:00 PM
University of Utah
3
at
1
New Mexico
Utes Earn Hard-Fought 3-1 Win Over New Mexico
11/3/2007 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 3, 2007
ALBUQUERQUE - The Utah volleyball team closed out its week with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 3.
The match was a true team effort, as several players stepped up to play well for Utah. Kathryn Haynie tallied 19 kills on .317 hitting with six blocks. Lori Baird recorded 17 kills, seven blocks and three aces, hitting a team-best .441. Chelsey Sandberg led the team with 11 blocks. Keisha Fisher recorded 47 assists and Connie Dangerfield had 20 digs on the night.
"We won it in the end when the game was close, we just weren't going to be denied tonight," head coach Beth Launiere said. "The team just really wanted it. Last night we played hard but didn't execute as well. What stood out tonight was that we made plays at critical times. Every time New Mexico went on a run, we had people step up and make plays.
"We had a lot of players who had big games. Lori (Baird) was unstoppable. They didn't have an answer for her tonight. Chelsey (Sandberg) came up with some huge blocks in game three. This was really a team win because so many people stepped up at different times and made plays when we needed it."
The Utes (11-13, 7-6 MWC) held a slim lead through most of game one, but New Mexico (15-10, 6-7 MWC) rallied to tie several times. With the game tied 27-27, the Utes got two blocks while a Baird kill gave Utah a 30-28 win.
A strong Lobo start hurt Utah in game two, as the Utes went down by as many as 10 points, 19-9. Although Utah would rally to come within a point, 25-24, New Mexico finished strong to win the second game, 30-25 and tie the match at 1-1.
Game three saw Utah take the early run and pull away for the 30-24 victory. Up 7-5, the Utes scored the next six points to pull ahead, 13-5, and remain in control for the remainder of the contest. Three different Utah players had kills in the drive (Haynie, Fisher and Sandberg) while Baird recorded one of her three aces on the evening.
The Utes carried the momentum from game three into game four, quickly taking an 8-2 lead before pulling away to win, 30-24. Karolina Bartkowiak and Baird each tallied five kills in the fourth game.
Lisa Meeter led New Mexico with 26 kills and two aces. Jeanne Fairchild was also in double figures in kills, with 18. Kelsi Phillips tallied 17 digs while Jade Michaelsen tallied 45 assists.
The Utes return to the court on Friday, Nov. 9, against in-state rival BYU. The match counts for three points in the Deseret First Duel, a rivalry series between the two schools. The Cougars defeated Utah, 3-2, earlier this season.
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