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5:00 PM
Volleyball
at Nebraska
Thursday, September 25
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:00 PM
University of Utah
3
vs
0
Air Force
Utah Volleyball Takes 3-0 Win Over Air Force
9/25/2008 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 25, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah volleyball team earned its first conference win with a victory over Air Force in its Mountain West Conference home opener (25-9, 25-17, 25-13) Thursday at Crimson Court.
"I was really proud of how our team stayed focused the entire match," head coach Beth Launiere said. "We kept executing our plays and adjusting our lineup and kept playing well. If we weren't that focused tonight, this match could have been different."
Senior middle blocker Emillie Toone turned in a match-high-tying six kills on only eight attempts for a match-best .750 hitting percentage (minimum eight attempts). Toone also played big along the net, totaling four blocks for the Utes.
As a team, the Utes outhit the Falcons .403 to -.050 and outblocked Air Force, 11-4 for the match. Lori Baird came up with a match-high five blocks, while Kathryn Haynie totaled a match-high four digs in addition to chipping in three blocks and a match-high three service aces.
"We've really been working hard on defense, lately," Launiere said. "We hadn't been consistent on the block, our last three losses exposed that, so I'm glad to see that we were able to get a rhythm going. We had a great combination of defense and hitting tonight."
Cinthia Silva needed eight attempts for six kills and also tied for second on the team with three digs. Chesley Sandberg totaled five kills on just seven swings for a .714 mark to go along with four kills, while Haynie and Karolina Bartkowiak had four kills apiece. Bartkowiak registered a .667 hitting percentage (4-0-6).
Both Jennifer Lanting and Danielle Killpack reached career highs in kills. Lanting had three kills on four swings for a .750 hitting percentage. Killpack came through with the first kill of her career in her second appearance of the season.
"All of these kids work so hard," Launiere said. "It's important for me to see that everyone has success when they step on the court. They all do so much for our team, so I'm happy to see everyone get rewarded."
Utah (8-4, 1-2 MWC) never trailed in the match and took the first five points of the first set en route to a 25-9 win, its largest single-set victory of the season.
The Utes took the first five points of the match and went on to take a 7-1 lead. The Utes' lead would grow to as many as 12 points, at 17-5. Utah hit .692 on the whole in the first set, all while holding Air Force to a -.118 mark. The Utes were led by Toone, who came out on fire with five kills on only six swings for a .833 hitting percentage and Bartkowiak, who totaled three kills four attempts on a .750 clip. The Utes' hot hitting helped them overcome three service errors in the set.
The second set saw four ties, but Utah scored 12 of the next 16 points to take a 21-13 lead, its largest up until that point in the set. The Utes expanded their lead to 24-14 before taking the set, 25-17.
The Utes took command of the third set with a pair of service aces that helped them assume a 4-0 lead. With the score 5-2, another 4-0 run put the match out of reach for Air Force, as Utah cruised to a 25-13 matching-clinching win.
Abby Simmons started at setter and had 17 assists, while chipping in three digs, while Stephanie Shardlow recorded 11 assists.
The Utes had six service aces, compared to zero for the Falcons, despite committing 12 service errors to Air Force's six.
Air Force (4-10, 0-3 MWC) was led by six kills from Jasamine Pettie and five from Katie Batchelder. Setter Jessica Hellmann coordinated the Falcon attack with nine assists and registered a team-high two blocks.
Utah travels to Ogden to face Weber State at 7 p.m., Tuesday.
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