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Volleyball
vs California Baptist
Thursday, November 3
Salt Lake City
7:00 PM
University of Utah
2
vs
3
California
No. 7 Cal Takes Fifth-set Heartbreaker from Utah Volleyball
11/3/2011 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 3, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY - Five Utes hit double-digits in kills for the first time this season but the University of Utah volleyball team came up just short of No. 7 California, 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 18-25, 13-15), Thursday in a Pac-12 Conference match at Crimson Court.
In the fifth and decisive set, there were two ties (2-2) before Cal grabbed four straight points for a 6-2 edge. The Utes countered with a 6-1 run to take its first lead at 8-7. The set would be tied two more times (9-9) before Cal grabbed an 11-9 edge. Down 14-10, Utah strung together three straight points, but could not prevent a 15-13 loss. The Utes are now 1-2 in five-set decisions this season.
"It was an amazing effort and it was really great execution," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "Everyone played together as a team and there wasn't ever a time that we got down on ourselves. We were super confident the whole way through. In a five-set match, you're going to have some lulls. We lost a little bit of focus in set four, which showed up in our serving and passing, but our passers did a great job the entire match."
Utah (9-16, 4-12 Pac-12) held an 18.5 to 8.0 edge in team blocks over Cal, but the Utes were outhit by the Golden Bears, .182 to .200, in the match.
"This was exactly the same formula we used when we won at Oregon," Launiere said. "We don't have as many kills, we have less errors and we out block them. We were a couple swings, a couple points away from getting No. 7 Cal. It was a great mental and physical effort."
Five different Utah players hit double-figures in kills, including four different Utes tied for team-high honors with 11 kills.
"We had five people with double digits in kills for the first time this season," Launiere said. "I congratulated Abby [Simmons] for running the offense. She did a very nice job of distributing the sets with everybody getting opportunities."
Simmons dished out a career-high 43 assists to go with four digs and a pair of blocks.
Sophomore Chelsey Schofield turned in her sixth double-double of the season with a career-high 11 kills and 15 digs. She now has double-digit-kills in 10 matches this season and has had 10 or more digs 11 times.
Senior middle blocker Erin Redd tied for team-high honors with 11 kills and eight blocks. She needed 27 attempts and only committed five errors for a .222 hitting percentage.
Senior middle blocker Danielle Killpack had 10 kills, her second double-figure-kill match of the year. Killpack also turned in a team-high-tying eight blocks on seven block assists and a block solo.
Freshman outside hitter Shelby Dalton also set a career high with 11 kills on a team-high .226 hitting percentage during her second career double-digit-kill match. Dalton was second on the team with seven blocks.
Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Odale added 11 kills to go with nine digs. She has hit 10 or more kills in 11 contests this season and 33 times over her career.
The Utes took the opening three points of the first set and led by as many as five in the earl-going at 6-1. The Golden Bears pulled to within a point, 8-7, via a 6-1 run, and would tie the set for the first time at 10 points apiece. The frame would be tied once more before at 11-11 before Cal built a three-point edge at 14-11. Utah fought back by taking three of the next four points (15-14) and would come within a single point three more times (19-18). As part of their set-ending 10-3 run, the Utes were able to tie the set two more times (20-20) then an Odale ace and Dalton kill gave Utah the lead back at 22-20 before going on to a 25-22 first-set win. Utah was flawless on the attack with 16 kills on 0 errors in the set for a .533 as Killpack led the way with four kills without an error. Cal was able to hit for a .406 clip in the set, but Utah held a 3.0-0.0 advantage in team blocks. The first-set victory was Utah's first over a top-10 opponent was 6-2 this season after winning the first set of a match.
Cal took the first two points of the second set and would take a 4-1 lead. The Golden Bears would build their lead to six (15-9), but the Utes quickly cut their deficit to a point (18-17) with an 8-3 stretch. Unfortunately, Cal reeled off six straight scores to secure a 25-19 second-set win to even the match. The Utes outblocked the Golden Bears 5.5 to 1.0 in the set and Dalton posted three kills. Hitting percentages dropped in the second set as Utah was limited to a .057 mark on the attack, while Cal went for a .140 clip.
The third set was tied six times (6-6) before back-to-back points by the Utes gave them a slight 8-6 edge. Utah would work its lead to as many as four on multiple occasions, the last coming at 16-12. Unfortunately, Cal took the next three points as it cut its deficit to one point five times, the last coming at 20-19, before tying the frame at 20 points apiece. There would be three more ties, at 21, 22, and 23, before a pair of Odale kills clinched the set, 25-23. Dalton and Redd both had four kills apiece. The Utes hit .209 in the frame but held Cal to a .200 mark in the frame.
Utah jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the fourth set, but Cal put together four straight to points to claim its first lead at 5-3. The Golden Bears led by as many as three (9-6), but the Utes forced the second tie of the set at 10-10 and would take their first lead at 11-10. Cal tied the set for the third time at 12 all and action would be knotted once more (13-13) but would build a 19-15 advantage. Cal wouldn't relinquish its lead en route to a 25-18 fourth-set win. The Utes held the Golden Bears to a .028 mark on the attack, but could only muster a -.026 clip of its own. Utah held a 5.0 to 4.0 in team blocks.
Seventh-ranked California (22-4, 12-4 Pac-12) was led by 25 kills on 68 attempts by Tarah Murrey. Setter Elly Barrett had 58 assists, while Robin Rostratter had 18 digs.
"I really believe we can [play with anyone in the country]," Launiere said. "We have enough physicality and our passers are doing their job so that keeps us in matches before our blocking takes over and we are serving the ball well. We have the physicality and the ball control to play with anybody, but we still have to figure out how to get more kills."
The Utes conclude the weekend by hosting No. 3 Stanford Saturday at 2 p.m. Fans can watch the action live here.
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