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5:00 PM
Volleyball
at Nebraska
Saturday, November 22
Salt Lake City, Utah
1:00 PM
University of Utah
3
vs
1
Colorado State
No. 22 Utah Volleyball Wins Mountain West Conference Championship
11/22/2008 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 22, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - Lori Baird had a team-high 13 kills to lead the No. 22 Utah volleyball team to its third Mountain West Conference championship in school history with a 3-1 win against No. 15 Colorado State (25-18, 27-25, 25-18, 25-23) Saturday at Crimson Court.
Utah (22-5, 14-2 MWC) won its last 14 conference matches of the season and has won 15 of its last 16 matches overall.
Utah finished the regular season 12-1 at home, including an 8-0 mark against conference foes. The Utes are now 4-5 this season when dropping the first set of a match, and have now claimed victories in four of the last five such situations. The win was also Utah's first victory against a nationally-ranked opponent.
Utah head coach Beth Launiere has now won three MWC regular-season titles in her career to go along with a trio of MWC Tournament championships.
Utah's seniors came through with impressive performances on Senior Day at Crimson Court. Baird converted 13 kills on 25 swings for a .440 hitting percentage to go along with a match-high-tying six blocks and four digs. Kathryn Haynie was second on the team with 11 kills and also had a team-high 14 digs for her 19th career double-double, which was her seventh this season. Emillie Toone came up with nine kills and a team-high-tying five blocks.
"This is a great group of senior players we have had this year," Launiere said. "They have worked hard consistently all year and have provided a great deal of leadership. This group has been a steady, consistent force on our team for the last couple of years."
Stephanie Shardlow set up the Utes with 23 assists and also collected 12 digs, her second-highest total of the season. The Saugus, Calif., native now has 11 career double-double performances. Freshman Abby Simmons distributed 20 assists and came up with a career-high 10 digs for her first career double-double. Libero Keisha Fisher registered 11 digs, her fifth straight double-figure-dig match and 17th this season. Redshirt freshman Jennifer Lanting entered the match in the second set and registered two digs, one kill and one block in the match.
The Utes have won the MWC regular-season title three times in the first 10 seasons of the conference's history, in addition to their two tournament titles.
After suffering a first-set defeat, the second set of the match proved to be the critical juncture of the contest. Down 23-20 in the second set, the Utes turned the tables on the Rams with a 4-1 run to tie the second set at 24 points apiece. After dropping the next point, Utah responded with a set-finishing three-point run to pull out a 27-25 second-set win. The Utes outhit the Rams .256 to .170 and the teams both turned in four team blocks apiece. Baird led the way with six kills on 11 swings for a .545 hitting percentage.
"The second set was pivotal," Launiere said. "Every time we play Colorado State, it's going to be a battle. I just told our team that if we kept playing hard, things would start to go our way. When we came back from being down late in the second half that really gave our entire team the confidence that we could take the match."
The 10-point mark proved to be a turning point once again in the third set. Utah raced out to a 13-10 lead with three unanswered points and maintained their three-point spread at 21-18, then scored the last four points to close the set and earn a 25-18 win. A trio of Utes, Bird, Haynie and Silva, each three kills apiece, while hitting .242 on the attack and holding the Rams to a .000 mark.
The fourth set was tied at 15 when Utah used a 6-2 run to edge out a 21-17 lead. CSU responded with a 5-1 run to tie the match at 22 points apiece, but the Utes finished strong once again by scoring three of the next four points for a 25-23 fourth-set win. Haynie saved her best for last with four kills on six attempts and a .500 hitting percentage, while Karolina Bartkowiak had three blocks in the finale as well and finished with five for the match.
In the first-set loss, Utah was outhit .265 to .152 and outblocked 4 to 1.5 by Colorado State. The Rams held a slight 13-12 edge before going on a 9-1 run to take control of the set at 21-13 and cruising to a 25-18 first-set win. Toone was perfect with five kills on five attempts for a 1.000 hitting percentage, while Haynie chipped in a pair of kill to go along with seven digs by Shardlow.
"After the first-set loss we just needed to stay the course," Launiere said. "I knew we were doing the things we needed to do and knew things were turning our way when our statistics started to improve during the second set."
Colorado State (22-5, 14-2 MWC) was led by a match-high 17 kills from Danielle Minch. Mekana Barnes tied for match-high honors with six blocks, while Ashley Fornstrom was credited with 43 assists.
With the conference championship, Utah is assured of its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 11 seasons.
Utah concludes its regular season with a pair of non-conference road matches at the 30th annual Pacific Community Bankers Classic in Stockton, Calif. The Utes face Nevada next Friday, Nov. 28, at 6 p.m. MT. The tournament's consolation match will be played next Saturday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. MT, followed by the championship match at 8 p.m. MT.
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