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5:00 PM
Volleyball
at Nebraska
Friday, September 17
Phoenix, Ariz.
5:00 PM
University of Utah
1
vs
3
Pacific
Pacific Defeats Utah Volleyball, 3-1
9/17/2010 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2010
TEMPE, Ariz. - Sophomore setter McKenzie Odale turned in her second career double-double but the University of Utah volleyball team was defeated by Pacific, 3-1 (25-17, 24-26, 18-25, 20-25), Friday in the first match of the Arizona State Sheraton Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.
"This was a hard-fought match," Utah head coach Beth Launiere. "I was really pleased with our effort. Our players are getting better and working hard. We have been improving in every match and we have to keep getting better and better."
Utah (4-6) outhit Pacific in the match, .236 to .203, and also gained a significant 14-5 advantage in blocks. Fourteen blocks for the Utes was a season-high mark, led by a season-high-tying seven blocks from junior middle blocker Danielle Killpack.
"I was really pleased with how well we blocked tonight," Launiere said. "We have been working on it a lot in practice and I told the team that it was just a matter of time before it paid off."
Odale's second career double-double included 21 assists and a match-high 15 digs. Her first career double-double came in the season's opening match against UC Davis, where she turned in 18 assists and 11 digs.
Senior setter Stephanie Neeley dished out 15 assists and tied for match-high honors with a career-high four service aces.
Libero Keisha Fisher had 11 digs in the back row to extend her double-digit-dig match streak to 12 straight and now owns 69 such performances in her career.
Brooke McAlister and Karolina Bartkowiak led the Ute attack, both registering 11 kills apiece. Bartkowiak needed 24 swings for a .250 hitting percentage and she also played well at the net defensively, providing six blocks. McAlister compiled a .241 percentage with 11 kills on 29 attempts and also had five blocks at the net for the Ute defense.
Morgan Odale tallied nine kills complemented by seven digs and three blocks. Erin Redd totaled seven kills on 15 swings with only one error for a .400 clip. Redd also chipped in three blocks.
The Utes never trailed in the opening set and started quickly by taking seven of the first eight points of the match and maintained that seven-point edge at 17-10. Utah extended its lead to eight points at 24-16 before going on to a 25-17 victory to start the match. Utah limited Pacific to a .086 mark on the attack and outblocked the Tigers, 6.5 to 2. Bartkowiak posted a team-high three kills in the set while McAlister and Jennifer Lanting both had two kills apiece.
The second set was a back and forth affair that featured 10 ties. The set was tied at five points apiece before Pacific was able to take a 12-9 edge but Utah came back with a 5-0 run to take its first lead of the set, 14-12. Unfortunately, Utah fell behind 24-22 but came back to tie the set for the 10th time. Yet the Utes couldn't pull out the victory and fell to Pacific, 26-24. The Utes outhit the Tigers, .206 to .143 in the set but were unable to grab the 2-0 lead. Morgan Odale hit four kills in the set.
Utah put together five consecutive points in the middle of the third set to cut Pacific's lead to a point at 14-13. Unfortunately, the Tigers came back with five unanswered points of their own to take an 18-13 advantage and eventually would gain a 25-18 third-set victory. Pacific outhit the Utah in the frame, .300 to .167, but the Utes did hold a 3-0 advantage in blocks over the Tigers.
The Tigers jumped out early in the fourth set by quickly taking a 6-0 advantage but Utah fought back to within one point at 8-7 and would eventually tie the set for the first time at nine points apiece. The Utes would get back to within one point at 18-17 before tying the set up again at 20. Unfortunately, Pacific finished off the set and the match by taking five of the final seven points en route to a 25-22 victory.
Seven of Utah's 10 matches this season have been four-set affairs with the Utes compiling a 3-4 record in such contests.
Pacific (7-2) had three attackers in double-digits for kills, led by a match-high 18 kills by Samantha Misa and 13 kills apiece from Gabby Cowden and Svenja Engelhardt. Tiger setter Hannah Clancy had 48 assists while Natalie Robinson popped up a team-high 11 digs. Megan Birch led the Tigers with four blocks.
The Utes conclude the Arizona State Sheraton Tournament with a pair of matches tomorrow against No. 21 Michigan at 10 a.m. PT and host Arizona State at 7 p.m. PT.
Players Mentioned
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