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No. 23 Utah Volleyball Hosts Deseret Duel versus BYU
11/10/2008 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 10, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - The No. 23 University of Utah volleyball team (19-5, 11-2 MWC) puts its 11-match Mountain West Conference win streak on the line in the second Deseret First Duel match of the season against BYU Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Crimson Court. Heading into Friday's match, the Utes are tied with No. 16 Colorado State atop the MWC standings.
Last Week
The Utes got their 10th and 11th MWC consecutive wins with a 3-0 victory (25-13, 25-17, 25-23) at San Diego State and a four-set win (25-27, 25-17, 25-22, 25-19) at UNLV.
Karolina Bartkowiak (Aurora, Ill.) registered 11 kills on only 14 attempts for a .714 hitting percentage in a 3-0 sweep Thursday at San Diego State. In Utah's first match with a national ranking, Bartkowiak tied for the team high with 11 kills and finished two kills shy of tying her season high while nearly matching her career-high hitting percentage. Lori Baird (Murray, Utah) registered a career-high seven service aces in the match. Kathryn Haynie (North Salt Lake City, Utah) notched the 18th double-double of her career, her sixth this season, in a four-set win at UNLV Saturday. The Utes outhit the Rebels .274 to .162 in the match and hit better than .210 in each of the final three sets.
Scouting BYU
BYU is 12-11 overall and has a 5-8 MWC record, good for sixth place in the league. The Cougars have split their last six matches since the last meeting between the schools on Oct. 17. BYU is holding its opponents to a .180 hitting percentage this year, which stands fourth in the conference (Utah is third at .164). The Cougars rank third in the league in blocks, outblocking their foes, 2.62 to 2.04. Rachel Dyer leads BYU and ranks seventh among MWC players in hitting percentage (minimum 100 attempts) at .315. Dyer, a senior middle blocker from Encinitas, Calif., is second on the team in blocks (1.00/set) and aces (0.26/set). Ashton Hosford leads the way with 1.08 blocks per set, which stands fourth in the MWC. Melissa Lake has a team-high 162 digs for a 3.60 dig-per-set average and settter Kiana Rogers averages 10 assists per set.
BYU Series History
The Utes trail the all-time series with BYU, 56-22, with Utah winning five of the last seven matchups. A sweep at the hands of the Cougars during the 2007 season interrupted a four-match win streak in the rivalry Utah enjoyed from Nov. 4, 2005 to Oct. 24, 2006.
Last Meeting
In Utah's 3-0 win in Provo on Oct. 17, Baird turned in 16 blocks for a conference single-match season-high that ranks second all-time in MWC history. The Utes outblocked the Cougars 19.5 to 6 in the match, and also set a new school record with 37 block assists in a three-set match. Baird also set the school record for total blocks in a three-set match by an individual, a mark previously held by Kim Turner (2000-2003).
Utes' Eleven
The Utes are looking for their 12th consecutive conference win. During Utah's current 11-match MWC win streak, the Utes have outblocked their opponents 3.78 to 1.85 and held the opposition to a .125 hitting percentage while converting at a .288 clip on the attack. Baird averaging 3.43 kills and 1.76 blocks per set while hitting .394 on the attack during the run. The Utes had seven sweeps and four 3-1 wins during this stretch that started Sept. 20, the program's longest such streak since a 19-0 stretch from Nov. 24, 2005 to Sept. 13, 2007.
Block Leaders
The Utes are second in the country in blocking and currently average 3.04 blocks per set. Baird is 11th in the nation and currently leads the conference with 1.44 blocks per set. She is also fourth in the MWC in kills per set with 3.18. Emillie Toone (American Fork, Utah) is third in the MWC with 1.39 blocks per set and is 16th in the last edition of the national rankings. Toone is second in school history with 599 career total blocks. She ranks third with 547 block assists and is tied with two others with 52 career solo blocks. Baird follows closely in third place in school history with 596 career total blocks and 550 block assists. Toone is 71 total blocks behind Turner, who is Utah's all-time leader with 670 total blocks, and is 42 block assists shy of tying Turner's mark of 589 career block assists. Baird needs 74 more total blocks and 49 block assists to catch Turner.
Blasting A Toone
Toone leads the MWC and was ninth in the country in last week's national statistics with a .415 hitting percentage. She is third on the team with 194 kills this season and has committed only 34 errors on 386 swings.
Two Of A Kind
Haynie and Baird are the first set of Ute teammates to have more than 1,000 career kills at the same time in school history. Baird became the 10th member of Utah's 1,000-kill club at then-No. 15 Colorado State. Haynie joined the club as the 11th member on Oct. 9
Red October (and November)
Baird and Toone have claimed five MWC Player of the Week awards in six weeks from Oct. 6 to Nov. 10. Baird won the award twice in the first three weeks of October and again on Nov. 10. Toone was named MWC Co-Player of the Week on Oct. 13 and Nov. 3, which were the first honors for the fifth-year senior in her career.
It's All In How You Start
In 16 of their 19 victories this season, Utah has won the first set. After an 0-4 start when dropping the opening set, Utah has earned victories in three of the last four of these situations.
20-Win Plateau
A victory tonight would give head coach Beth Launiere the 13th 20-win season of her career.
Deseret First Duel
Friday night's matchup between Utah and BYU will mark the third contest of the 2008-09 Deseret First Duel rivalry series. The Utes currently trail the Cougars, 6-3. The rivalry series includes competition in the 12 sports the two universities compete in head-to-head during regular-season play. The Deseret First Duel will use a system that awards points to the winner of each head-to-head competition. A team trophy will be awarded to the individual winner of each sport. Points won by the individual sports will count toward each school's overall total. A granite traveling trophy will be awarded to the overall series champion each year. Fans can follow the series at http://utahutes.cstv.com/ot/duel-home.html.
Utes Love The Limelight
The Utes are 3-0 on television this season and have not lost a set in those three matches.
Haynie Recognized
Haynie was ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII First-team selection for the second time in her career.
Players Mentioned
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