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12:00 PM
Volleyball
vs Saint Mary's
Saturday, October 31
Salt Lake City, Utah
1:00 PM
University of Utah
3
vs
0
UNLV
Utah Volleyball Sweeps UNLV
10/31/2009 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 31, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY - Junior opposite hitter Karolina Bartkowiak recorded her ninth double-double of the season as the University of Utah volleyball team earned a 3-0 win (25-16, 25-19, 26-24) against UNLV Saturday at Crimson Court.
Utah (15-7, 8-2 MWC) outhit the Rebels, .203 to .053, and held an 8-3 advantage in team blocks.
"This was a good match for us," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "We had a lot of energy. We came together as a team and were pretty focused the entire match. It was nice for us to come back and win that third set. We had some lulls there, but that was pretty much the only tough stretch we had during the match."
Bartkowiak hit for 12 kills on 24 swings with only two errors for a .417 hitting percentage. She reached double-digits in kills for the 15th time this season and 29th of her career. Her double-figure-dig match was her 12th this season, and 12th of her career. She reached that feat in Utah's last five matches. The Aurora, Ill., native also had three blocks.
Cinthia Silva recorded 10 kills, her 11th double-figure-kill performance in 2009, and also had two digs. Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Hibbert had seven kills and a block, while Chelsey Sandberg pitched in six kills to go with four digs and four blocks.
From the back row, junior libero Keisha Fisher had 14 digs for her 16th straight double-figure-dig match. She now has now reached that mark in 21 of 22 matches this season and 54 times in her career. The Ririe, Idaho native also tripled her previous career high with a new personal best of six service aces.
"I know [Bartkowiak] had a great match this afternoon," Launiere said. "But Keisha played great defense for us and had good energy. That was really a key factor for us in the match."
Sophomore setter Abby Simmons dished out 20 assists and also provided five digs. Junior Stephanie Neeley doled out 12 assists and also chipped in five digs.
Utah raced out to a 5-0 lead to start the first set, including two kills by Silva, and managed to extend it largest lead to eight points on a pair of occasions at 15-7 and 16-8. UNLV pushed back with a 4-1 to close within five points (19-14) but could not prevent three straight Utah points that pushed its cushion back to eight points for the third time in the set at 22-14. The Utes took three of the last five points to win the opening set, 25-16. Utah improved to 8-1 this season after winning the first set of a match.
The Utes held the lead the entire set and outhit the Rebels, .303 to .061, and also earned a 3-0 edge in team blocks. Silva collected four kills while Sandberg had three kills on six swings without an error for a .500 hitting percentage. Hibbert also contributed five kills. Five different Utah players had one block apiece in the opening set.
The second set was even at two points apiece before Utah scored three unanswered points and took a 5-2 lead. The Utes extended their lead to eight points thanks to a 6-1 run to take a 14-6 advantage, but the Rebels came back with a 9-3 stretch to get back within two points, 17-15. Utah closed the set by taking eight of the last 12 points to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 second-set victory.
Utah still managed to outhit UNLV, .077 to .030, for the set but was outblocked, 3-0. Bartkowiak came up with five kills on eight swings for a .625 hitting percentage and also chipped in three digs. Utah is now a perfect 7-0 when taking the first two sets of a match in 2009.
The Rebels took the first five points of the third set and got out to a 7-1 advantage and eventually inched out to a seven-point lead at 18-11. The Utes were still facing a 22-17 deficit later in the set, but ended the match with a furious 9-2 rally to clinch the match with a 26-24 third-set win.
Bartkowiak saved her best for last with five kills, three blocks and a dig in the set, while Silva came up with four kills.
Five of the Utes' 15 wins this season have been of the 3-0 fashion.
UNLV (6-14, 4-8 MWC) was led by nine kills, nine digs and one block by Kelsey Keeler. Kela Lau Hee posted a team-high 12 digs.
The Utes continue MWC play next week as they travel to Albuquerque, N.M., to face the Lobos Thursday at 7 p.m.
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