Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus Saint Mary's on September 20, 2025 at 12:00 PM
12:00 PM
Volleyball
vs Saint Mary's
Saturday, August 29
Salt Lake City, Utah
10:00 AM
University of Utah
3
vs
0
UC Riverside
No. 17 Utah Volleyball Defeats UC-Riverside in Three Sets
8/29/2009 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 29, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY - Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Hibbert set new career highs with 10 kills, a .381 hitting percentage, and four blocks as the No. 17 Ute volleyball team opened the second day of the Utah Classic with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) win over UC-Riverside Saturday at Crimson Court.
Utah earned its 11th consecutive home win as junior opposite hitter Karolina Bartkowiak joined Hibbert with double-figure kills, posting 10 kills on 20 attempts to go along with four digs and two blocks.
Hibbert took 21 swings and only committed two errors on the day.
Utah's setters helped the Ute attack outhit the Highlanders .284 to .216 as sophomore Abby Simmons dished out 20 assists, while junior Stephanie Neeley distributed 13.
Defensively for Utah (2-0), 10 of the 12 Utes who entered the match recorded digs. Keisha Fisher led the way, posting a team-high 11. Fisher was followed by Cinthia Silva's seven. Silva also hit for six kills to go along with four blocks.
After falling behind 4-1 early in the first set, the Utes went on a 4-1 run to tie the set at five points apiece. The set remained tied at 11 before Utah took control by scoring five consecutive points to take a 16-12 advantage. The Highlanders managed to take nine of the next 14 points to cut their deficit to one point at 22-21 and eventually got the set back to a 23-23 tie. Fortunately, Sandberg and Bartkowiak each came up with kills to give the Utes a 25-23 first-set victory.
Bartkowiak turned in five kills on 10 swings with just one error for a .400 hitting percentage in the opening set. Sandberg contributed three kills on four attempts for a .750 hitting percentage to go along with a pair of blocks.
The Utes grabbed a 13-7 lead halfway through the second set before extending its lead with a 7-1 run to cease a 20-8 edge. Despite a 5-1 UCR run, Utah held on for a five-point second-set win, 25-20.
Four different Ute tallied three kills apiece, including Sandberg, Bartkowiak, Silva and Hibbert to help Utah outhit UCR, .303 to .250. Silva needed only five attempts in the set to post a .600 mark, while Sandberg need just five swings. The Utes also gained a 3.5-2.0 edge in team blocks.
Utah fell behind 9-5 to start the third set but managed to stay close before managing to tie the set at 10 points apiece thanks to a 5-1 run. The set remained tied at 20 points apiece but the Utes closed strong with another 5-1 stretch to take the third set 25-21. Hibbert led the Utes with four kills in the set on seven swings for a .729 attack percentage and also posted two blocks. Five different Utes recorded blocks to help Utah outblock the Highlanders 3.5-0 in the final set of the match.
UC-Riverside (0-2) got a match-high 12 kills, five digs and four blocks from Sarah Reaves.
The Utes conclude Utah Classic action tonight at 7 p.m. against Cincinnati.
Players Mentioned
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