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Saturday, September 12
Santa Clara, Calif.
7:00 PM
University of Utah
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at
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Santa Clara
Utah Volleyball Comes Up Short At Santa Clara
9/12/2009 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Karolina Bartkowiak posted 11 kills, two blocks and two digs but the University of Utah volleyball team suffered a three-set defeat at Santa Clara (20-25, 21-25, 17-25) Saturday in the final match of the Santa Clara Invitational at the Leavey Center.
Utah (6-4) was outhit by the Broncos in the match, .315 to .173, and could not avoid its second consecutive defeat at the tournament.
Bartkowiak earned All-Santa Clara Invitational Tournament team recognition after going for 11 kills on 26 swings with four errors for a .269 hitting percentage against the host Broncos.
Cinthia Silva and Sarah Hibbert had seven kills apiece, while Chelsey Sandberg added five kills. Junior setter Stephanie Neeley distributed 21 assists and Abby Simmons handed out 12 during the match.
Defensively, libero Keisha Fisher posted a team-high 10 digs and Silva added seven digs. Team blocks were even at four apiece as Sandberg came up with a match-high-tying three blocks to lead the Utes.
Redshirt freshman Miranda Bradshaw had one kill and one block in her first career start.
There were six ties early in the first set before the Utes went on a 4-0 run to cease a 10-7 advantage and force the Broncos to call a timeout. SCU fought back with a 6-1 stretch to reclaim the lead at 13-11. There were four more ties before an 8-1 Bronco rally gave them a 23-16 edge. Three consecutive Silva kills brought the Utes within four points but could not help the Utes avoid a 25-20 loss in the first set. Utah was outhit .205 to .132 in the set while both teams had two blocks apiece. The Utes were led by four kills from Silva while Bartkowiak posted a team-high two blocks.
There were 11 ties in a closely-contested second set as the two teams traded points until the score was tied at six points apiece. It was then where the Broncos spurted ahead by scoring three consecutive points to take a 9-6 lead. Utah took six of the next nine points to tie at 12 and eventually led the set, 19-17. Unfortunately, Santa Clara closed the set on an 8-2 run to claim a 25-21 second-set win. Santa Clara hit .324 in the second set, compared to a .222 mark for the Utes. Bartkowiak led the way for the Ute attack with five kills on 10 swings and one error for a .400 hitting mark.
After falling behind 5-2 at the beginning of the third set, the Utes put together a 3-1 run to tie the action at 6-6. There were five more ties but the Broncos managed to jump out to what was their largest lead of the set at 21-15 en route to a 25-17 match-clinching win. Bartkowiak added three more kills in the set but the Utes were outhit by a .438 to .167 margin in the set.
Santa Clara (5-3) got a match-high 13 kills from Krista Kelley while Katherine Douglas claimed match-high honors with 11 digs to go along with her nine kills. Lindsy Davigeadono added 10 kills for the Broncos.
The Utes return to Crimson Court on Tuesday to host No. 12 Oregon. First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT.
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