|
|
Kathryn Haynie led Utah with 17 kills on the night.
|
Sept. 9, 2007
SALT LAKE CITY - For the third time this season, the Utah women's volleyball team played hard against a top-10 team, as the Utes dropped a 3-1 (30-28, 28-30, 30-18, 26-30) contest to No. 6 Florida on Sunday, Sept. 9.
The match was filmed by CSTV, and will be aired on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m. MT. The game will also re-air on the mtn. on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 8 p.m. MT.
Kathryn Haynie was among three Utah players in double digits in kills, tallying 17. Whitney Webb had a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, while Kate Robison tallied 20 kills. Connie Dangerfield led the Utes with 19 digs. Karolina Bartkowiak had a team-best seven blocks on the afternoon.
"A big goal of ours was to stay emotionally in control and mentally confident and not give up runs of points," head coach Beth Launiere said. "Except for a period in the beginning of game three, we did an exceptional job of that tonight. We passed the ball much better; that was our best passing match this season. What I really liked is that (Florida) didn't have big runs of points. That was the biggest thing for us, and I feel like we're maturing as a team in that respect."
In the first game, neither team was able to gain an advantage of more than five points at any one time. Although Utah held a slim lead early, Florida came back to tie it, 18-18. Florida attempted to pull away in the later points before the Utes rallied to come within a point of Florida at match point, 29-28, off a kill by Haynie. Florida's Kelsey Bowers ended the match with a kill on the next point. Webb led Utah in game one with five kills.
Game two saw a total of 18 ties throughout the match, as the teams matched each other point for point down the stretch. The Utes claimed the upper hand in the final two points, with a kill from Haynie and an attack error by the Gators Marcie Hampton giving Utah a 30-28 win, tying the match at 1-1.
|
|
 |
With the fourth game tied 26-26, Florida scored the next four points to take the match, 30-26. Kisya Killingsworth had a kill to start the drive while Angie McGinnis ended the match with a service ace.
Other leaders for Utah included Keisha Fisher, with 46 assists and 11 digs. Lori Baird had eight kills and six blocks.
For Florida, Amber McCray had a team-high 18 kills, while Elyse Cusack tallied 23 digs and three service aces. Bowers made 10 blocks and McGinnis had 57 assists.
The Utes begin Mountain West Conference action this weekend, traveling on Thursday, Sept. 13, to San Diego State, and taking on UNLV on Saturday, Sept. 15.
