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Baird And Toone Earn AVCA West Region Honors
12/10/2008 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Dec. 10, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - Utah seniors Lori Baird and Emillie Toone were selected to the All-West Region team, it was announced Wednesday by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
"[Baird and Toone] deserve this award so much," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "They have consistently been our go-to players all season and they have brought our team to the level of success we have enjoyed this season. We have built our team around them and they have made a huge impact on our season."
After earning honorable mention recognition the past two seasons, Baird emerged as the 2008 Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year. This season, Baird became the 10th member of Utah's 1,000-kill club and now ranks seventh in school history with 1,231 career kills. The Murray, Utah, native finished the regular season second in the MWC and is currently 13th in the country with 1.42 blocks per set. She is second in school history with 583 career block assists and tied for second with Toone at 630 career blocks. Baird leads the team and was third in the MWC with 3.09 kills per set. She led or tied for the team lead in kills in 15 matches and in blocks 14 times. Baird has posted seven career double-doubles, three this season, including a school-record 16 block assists to go along with 11 digs in a 3-0 win at BYU on Oct. 17.
"[Baird] has been a clutch performer for us all season," Launiere said. "We have been setting up her up on the attack a lot all year and she has come through every time."
Toone earned the second All-West region honor of her career, earning honorable mention recognition in 2006. The most efficient attacker in school history, Toone leads the MWC and is 10th in the nation with a .399 hitting percentage. The American Fork, Utah, native is on pace to break Utah's career hitting efficiency record at .346 (843-219-1801). She already holds the school's single-season hitting percentage record with a .369 mark in 2006. On the block, Toone is tied with Baird for second in school history in total blocks (630) and is third in block assists (578). Toone ranks third in the conference and 19th nationally with 1.36 blocks per set this season, while leading or tying for the team lead in blocking during 12 matches this season. Toone also tied or led Utah in kills six times during 2008.
"[Toone] is such a presence at the net," Launiere said. "She really forces opponents to create a new strategy on the attack."
No. 12 seed Utah faces No. 5 seed Washington in an NCAA Sweet 16 match at 8 p.m. PT Friday in Seattle, Wash. Friday's match can be viewed via webcast., while Gametracker will provide live stats. Links to both can be found under the `Events' tab on utahutes.com.
ESPNU will provide live coverage of the Seattle Regional Final match at 8:30 p.m. PT Saturday, featuring the winners of Friday's Michigan/Nebraska and Utah/Washington matches.
Players Mentioned
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