Upcoming Event: Volleyball at #16 TCU on November 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
5:30 PM
Volleyball
at #16 TCU
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Volleyball Prepares for Crucial MWC Road Trip
11/2/2009 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 2, 2009
The University of Utah volleyball team will play a pair of crucial Mountain West Conference road matches this week. The Utes play against New Mexico on Thursday at 7 p.m., then will face TCU Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
Live stats can be accessed by clicking the `Gametracker' link in the `Next Event' box on the right side of the women's volleyball schedule pages at both schools' respective web sites, golobos.com and gofrogs.com.
Utah has won nine of its last 11 matches and is 15-7 overall. The Utes stand third in the MWC with an 8-2 conference record and are tied with TCU in the loss column. New Mexico is 16-8 overall and 7-5 in the MWC. TCU is on a six-match win streak and is 21-5 overall and 10-2 in the MWC. The Horned Frogs host BYU Thursday at 7 p.m. CT.
Follow Utah Volleyball on Twitter at http://twitter.com/utahvolleyball and watch highlights from the Utes' historic five-set victory Sept. 25 over BYU at Crimson Court on the Utah Volleyball Blog at http://utahvolleyball.blogspot.com.
Last Time Out: Utah earned a 3-0 win (25-16, 25-19, 26-24) against UNLV Saturday at Crimson Court. The Utes outhit the Rebels, .203 to .053, and held an 8-3 advantage in team blocks. Utah has now won 18 of its last 19 conference matches at Crimson Court.
Comeback Kids: The Utes have needed to stage some dramatic comebacks to claim their last two victories.
In the third set of Saturday's match against UNLV, the Rebels took the first five points and got out to a 7-1 advantage and eventually inched out to a seven-point lead at 18-11. The Utes were facing a 22-17 deficit before ending the match with a furious 9-2 rally to clinch the match with a 26-24 third-set win.
Utah was down 2-0 on Oct. 23 at BYU when the third set tied at 20 points apiece. BYU scored three of the next four points to assume a 23-21 advantage, but Utah then scored four unanswered points to seize a 25-23 win.
The Utes managed to hold off a Cougar rally in the fourth set to get the win and improve to 5-0 in five-set match this season and earned their first victory in 2009 after dropping the first set.
Scouting the Lobos: New Mexico defeated Air Force and San Diego State last weekend and has won five of its last seven matches. Taylor Hadfield is eighth in the MWC, averaging a team-high 2.79 kills per set to go along with 0.66 digs and 0.59 blocks per set.
New Mexico Series History: The all-time series between the Utes and the Lobos stands at 42-28 in favor of Utah. The Utes have taken seven of the last eight meetings and have not lost in Albuquerque, N.M., since Sept. 24, 2005.
Last Time Against New Mexico: Senior outside hitter Cinthia Silva (San Paulo, Brazil) came up with her ninth career double-double with 12 digs and 11 kills but Utah dropped a 3-1 match (12-25, 19-25, 25-23, 21-25) to New Mexico Oct. 10 at Crimson Court.
Utah had its 19-match MWC win streak snapped and dropped to 21-3 at Crimson Court since 2008. The Utes had won 17 straight MWC contests in their home facility.
Scouting the Horned Frogs: TCU has won its last six matches and 16 of its last 18, suffering losses at Colorado State on Sept. 26 and at Utah on Oct. 8. Kourtney Edwards leads the way for the Horned Frog attack with 3.30 kills per set, a mark that ranks fourth in the MWC. She also leads the MWC with a .398 hitting percentage to go with 1.07 blocks per set. Katelyn Blackwood leads the MWC with 4.24 digs per set.
TCU Series History: The Utes are 11-2 all-time against the Horned Frogs and have won the last four matches, including a season sweep in 2008.
Last Time Against TCU: Five different Utes reached double-figures in kills and five more hit double-digits in digs as Utah tied the school record with its 19th consecutive MWC victory in a 3-1 decision (30-32, 27-25, 27-25, 25-18) over TCU Oct. 8 at Crimson Court. The Utes had 97 digs in four sets, which is just three shy of the school record in four-set matches.
The Utes outhit the Horned Frogs .198 to .134 in the match and earned a 9-8 advantage in blocking. Three Utes had double-double performances.
`Barto' Brings It: Junior opposite hitter Karolina Bartkowiak (Aurora, Ill.) recorded her ninth double-double of the season as Utah put together an impressive performance Saturday against UNLV.
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, and fifth in a row. Bartkowiak saved her best for last with five kills and three blocks in the third and decisive set.
Last time against TCU, Bartkowiak turned in 14 kills and a career-high 23 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Silva registered another double-double with 17 digs and 12 kills.
Bartkowiak is seventh in the MWC with 3.00 kills per set and is 10th in the league with a .286 hitting percentage. She also has 2.49 digs, 0.78 blocks, and 0.16 service aces per set.
Dani Dominates at the Net: Danielle Killpack (Idaho Falls, Idaho) has led the Utes in blocks seven times this season and owns a team-high average of 1.15 blocks per set to rank third in the MWC statistical rankings.
Killpack recently came up with a career-high 11 blocks at Wyoming on Oct. 15. She also chipped in five blocks in an Oct. 6 win over Weber State after coming up with what was then a career-high nine blocks to lead Utah against BYU on Sept. 25.
Killpack has also made an impact for the Utes on the attack. In the Oct. 8 match against TCU, she connected for a career-high 10 kills for her first career double-digit output of her career Oct. 8 against TCU. She also accumulated a match-high .716 hitting percentage, the highest mark of her career, by not committing an error on 14 attempts to go with a team-high five blocks.
Doubling Down: Bartkowiak, Silva, Stephanie Neeley (Saugus, Calif.), and Abby Simmons (Phoenix, Ariz.) have combined for 19 double-double performances this season and now own 35 career double-double performances.
Bartkowiak and Silva both have nine career double-doubles. Neeley has one this season and 12 for her career while Simmons owns five over her career and four this season.
Before Saturday's match against UNLV, Bartkowiak had a double-double Oct. 23 at BYU with 16 kills and 11 digs while Simmons also distributed 24 assists and had 14 digs.
Silva's last double-double came with 12 digs and 11 kills on Oct. 10 against New Mexico, while Neeley posted 28 assists and 12 digs at TCU on Oct. 8.
Sarah Hibbert (Anchorage, Alaska) has 11 double-digit-kill performance this season, including the Oct. 23 match at BYU with 10 kills to go along with six digs. Hibbert is also second the team with 2.63 kills per set.
Back to the Basics: Utah is 14-0 when accumulating a higher hitting percentage, 12-0 when outblocking its opponents, and 7-0 when serving more aces than their opponents.
Aces in the Hole: Junior libero Keisha Fisher (Ririe, Idaho) tripled her previous career high with six service aces Saturday against UNLV. Fisher now ranks 10th in the MWC with 0.23 aces per set. As a team, the Utes served a season-high nine aces Oct. 23 at BYU. Utah's previous season high was eight, a feat it matched three times this season.
Sandberg Shines: Senior Chelsey Sandberg (West Jordan, Utah) entered this season with one double-digit-kill performance in her career. She has five such performances this season alone.
In the last match against TCU on Oct. 8, Sandberg hit a career-high with 14 kills for the second consecutive match, the first coming against Weber State (10/6).
Sandberg is now third in the MWC with 0.33 aces per set thanks to a total of 27 aces in 83 sets this season and also stands sixth in the league with a .309 hitting percentage. She also ranks second on the Ute squad with a 0.94 blocks per set.
Dual Setters: As part of Utah's 6-2 system, Neeley and Simmons have shared opportunities at the setter position for the Utes this season. Simmons stands 10th in the MWC with a 5.70 assist-per-set average, while Neeley is distributing 5.12 assists per set.
Neeley now has 1,695 career assists and is three assists behind Cheryl Tye (1983-85) for ninth place on Utah's all-time career list.
Making the Most of their Chances: The Utes have been efficient on the attack this season, ranking fourth in the league in hitting percentage with a .221 mark that is 19 percentage points behind first-place CSU.
Utah ranks fifth in the conference with 12.63 kills per set, led by Bartkowiak's 3.00 kill-per-set mark that is seventh in the MWC.
Getting Defensive: After limiting UNLV to a season-best .053 hitting mark on Saturday, Utah has limited its opponents to a hitting percentage below .200 12 times this season. Not coincidentally, the Utes have come away with victories in all 12 of those contests.
Utah is currently ranked third in the MWC with 13.48 digs per set. Fisher leads the way for the Utes in the back row, coming up with 3.90 digs per set to rank fifth in the league. Fisher has reached double-figures in digs in 16 consecutive matches, 21 times this season, and 54 times in her career.
`C' For Versatility: Silva has put together double-doubles in two of the last six matches and is third on the team in kills (2.33 k/s) and digs (2.05 d/s) and ranks fifth in blocks (0.64 b/s). Silva led Utah in kills for the second straight match and third time this season, with 16 kills Oct. 15 at Wyoming. She turned in a team-high 12 digs Oct. 10 against New Mexico to become only the second Ute other than Fisher to lead the team in digs in 2009.
For Starters: Utah is 14-3 this season with a starting lineup of Killpack, Sandberg, Silva, Hibbert, Bartkowiak, Simmons, and Fisher.
Utes in the Polls: Utah's highest ranking in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll this season was No. 17 on Aug. 18. Utah was last listed in the poll on Sept. 7, receiving 75 votes and also received votes in the Sept. 8 Volleyball Magazine poll. The Utes are 0-2 against ranked teams this season, suffering losses to then-No. 12 Oregon at Crimson Court on Sept. 15 and to then-No. 25 Arizona on Sept. 11 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Launiere Reaches 400 Victories: An intense 3-2 win Sept. 25 over BYU in the first Deseret First Duel match of the season gave Beth Launiere her 400th career victory.
Launiere currently owns a 406-219 (.650) mark in her 20th season at Utah, the only school at which she has been head coach. The three-time AVCA West Region and MWC Coach of the Year has 64 percent of Utah's all-time victories.
Utes Picked to Win MWC: Utah was selected to repeat as MWC champions in the 2009 Preseason Coaches Poll. In addition, Bartkowiak was named to the Preseason All-MWC Team.
Launiere for President: Launiere has served as President of the AVCA since Jan. 1. Since 2004, she has guided volleyball on the national stage as a member of the AVCA Board of Directors.
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
L/S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballESPN+ Feature | Utah Volleyball's Devyn Weist
Thursday, November 06
Utah Volleyball's Ultimate Ute, Briar Rose - ESPN+ Feature
Monday, October 20
Utah Volleyball's Neea-Maria Joki - ESPN+ Feature
Friday, October 10
Utah Volleyball's Emrie Moea'i - ESPN+ Feature
Thursday, September 25