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Chelsey Sandberg had a career-high 11 kills Saturday against Washington State.
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Sept. 5, 2009
OREM, Utah - Senior middle blocker Chelsey Sandberg had a career high 11 kills but the 17th-ranked University of Utah volleyball team lost to Washington State, 3-0 (20-25, 15-25, 22-25), Saturday morning in the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational at the Shurian Family Activity Center.
Utah (4-2) hit .357 in the match and .441 in the third set but Washington State was able to hit .478 for the match, including a .529 mark in the second set.
Sandberg used 19 swings and committed three errors to connect on her 11 kills with a .421 hitting percentage for the match.
"We came out with a more disciplined effort this morning," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "We're doing good things but we have to play better defense. When you hit .357 you should win. But I'm pleased that we played with more discipline and a little bit more composure. We're learning and will keep improving after each match."
Cinthia Silva and Sarah Hibbert had nine kills each. Silva took 17 attack attempts and committed just three errors for a .353 clip. Karolina Bartkowiak followed with eight more kills and Jennifer Lanting added five.
Stephanie Neeley tied her season high for the second consecutive match with 22 assists, while Abby Simmons set up 19 Ute kills during the match.
Libero Keisha Fisher was credited with a team-high six digs while Lanting posted a team-best two blocks.
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The Utes hit .323 in the opener, but could not contain the Cougar attack as WSU hit .500. Hibbert came up with five of her nine kills in the set, needing nine attempts for a .444 hitting percentage.
There second set began tight as well as there were five ties before Washington State scored seven of the next nine points to assume a 13-8 lead. The Cougars' lead ballooned to as many as 10 points as they take a 25-15 second-set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. Sandberg connected for four kills during the set and also chipped in a pair of digs.
The Utes took their first lead of the match by jumping out to a 3-2 advantage early in the third set. Utah's lead grew to as many as three points when a Lanting kill gave them a 7-4 edge. WSU came back to tie the set 10 more times and with the score tied at 19, the Cougars emerged with a 25-22 match-clinching win by taking six of the last seven points.
Bartkowiak saved her best effort for the last set, hitting five of her eight kills in the set while Sandberg came up with kills on all four of her attack attempts. Redshirt freshman Miranda Bradshaw came up with a kill to give Utah a 14-13 lead during the set.
Utah committed eight service errors in the three sets compared to just one for Washington State.
Washington State (5-0) was led by a match-high 14 kills by Jackie Albright. Albright also added seven digs while Oceana Bush took match-high honors with 11 digs. Cassie Robbins was credited with a match-high three blocks.
The Utes conclude the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational against Missouri Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
