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University of Utah
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Nevada
No. 21 Utah Volleyball Takes Three-set Win Over Nevada
11/28/2008 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 28, 2008
STOCKTON, Calif. - Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year Lori Baird registered a team-high 11 kills to help the No. 21 University of Utah volleyball team defeat Nevada (25-16, 25-22, 25-19) in the first match of the 30th Annual Pacific Bankers Classic Friday at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
MWC champion Utah (23-5) matched its season-long win streak with its eighth consecutive victory and has now won 16 of its last 17 matches overall. The Utes improved to 3-1 in neutral-site contests this season and are 10-4 in all matches away from Crimson Court this year. Utah is now 8-3 in non-conference play in 2008.
"It was a good performance for our whole team tonight," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "It was a good challenge for us to play Nevada because they play at a different tempo with a different style. We played a solid match and I'm pleased with it."
The Utes outhit the Wolf Pack .303 to .044 for the match and held a 9-7 edge in blocks, including a 5-2 advantage in the category in the third and decisive set.
A pair of Utes tallied double-figures in kills for the match. Baird totaled 12 kills on 20 swings with just one attack error. Baird took match-high honors with a .550 hitting percentage and reached double-figures in kills for the 16th time this season. Baird has tied or led for the team lead in kills in 14 matches this season. The Murray, Utah native also had four blocks to tie for the team-high mark.
"[Baird] continued to play well, as she has all season," Launiere said. "Our setters did a good job of getting her the ball and I'm happy with how everyone executed tonight. It took us a while to get used to Portland's style but we adjusted well as the match went on."
Cinthia Silva registered 10 kills on 18 attempts with just a pair of attack errors for her eighth double-figure kill match of this season. The San Paulo, Brazil native also recorded a team-high nine digs.
After notching one kills on four swings for a -.250 hitting percentage in the first set, Emillie Toone came back to hit six more kills on seven swings without an error for an .857 mark in the final two sets. For the match, Toone came up with seven kills on 11 attempts for a .455 hitting percentage. The American Fork, Utah native also tied with Baird for the team lead with four blocks.
"Nevada runs a fast offense," Launiere said. "They gave us a lot of off-tempo hits and it was nice to see us improve against them as the match went on."
There were nine ties early in the first set, but when the set was tied at 10 apiece Utah scored five consecutive points to seize a 15-10 edge as well as control of the set. Baird came up with a set-high five kills on eight swings for a .625 hitting percentage. Three other Utes, Jennifer Lanting, Kathryn Haynie and Silva each recorded a pair of kills.
The Utes outhit the Wolf Pack .308 to -.032 and are now 18-0 after winning the first set of a match.
In the second set recap, the teams were tied at seven points apiece before the Utes took seven of the next nine points for a 14-9 advantage. Three kills in a row by Silva keyed the critical run for Utah. Nevada managed to reduce Utah's lead to two points at 19-17, but the Utes kept the advantage and earned a 25-22 second-set win. Utah outhit Nevada .324 to .136 for the set.
The third set was close, tied at nine, until Utah scored four consecutive points to take a 13-9 lead. The Utes led by at least four points for the remainder of the set en route to a 25-19 match-clinching win. The Utes managed a .276 to .000 edge in hitting for the third and final set.
Nevada (12-16) got a double-double performance from Allison Hernandez, who had 32 swings and .156 hitting percentage to go along with 10 digs in the match. Setter Sonnie Sei had a match-high five blocks to go along with 28 assists.
The Utes conclude their regular season tomorrow at 8 p.m. MT, in the Pacific Bankers Classic championship match against host Pacific.
Players Mentioned
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