Kate Robison leads Utah with 13 kills.
Nov. 17, 2007
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah volleyball team closed out the regular season with a 3-0 sweep of San Diego State, Saturday evening on Crimson Court.
Kate Robison led Utah with 13 kills and nine digs. Whitney Webb had 12 kills, including a team-high .588 hitting percentage. Lori Baird tallied 10 kills with five blocks and five aces. Connie Dangerfield recorded 18 digs while Stephanie Shardlow came away with 27 assists.
As a team, the Utes hit .393, their best percentage of the season.
Utah ends the regular season with a 13-14 record, 9-7 in Mountain West Conference play. The Utes will end the year tied for fourth in the conference and enter the MWC Tournament as the No. 5 seed.
"This win meant a lot to us," head coach Beth Launiere said. "We wanted it for the fans who have stuck with us all season.
"It has been our goal to play our best volleyball at the end of the year, and we are. We wanted to end the season with a win. We played with a lot of confidence tonight, some of which I think was left over from the UNLV match last night."
Utah won the first game easily, 30-13. Webb had seven kills on nine attempts in game one while Baird tallied two aces. Dangerfield recorded nine digs.
Holding a 19-16 lead in game two, Utah closed out the game on a 10-0 run to win 30-16. Robison tallied five kills and three digs in the second game, with Baird ripping another three aces.
Game three was a challenge for the Utes, as the team rallied from a four-point deficit early to keep the game close. Down 12-8, Utah went on a 6-2 drive to tie the game at 14-14. Dangerfield and Keisha Fisher each had an ace in the run while Robison recorded a kill and a block assist. From there, the two teams kept the game close until the end. Tied 25-25, Utah reeled off the next five straight points to take the 30-25 victory. Baird and Karolina Bartkowiak each had a kill and a block assist in the final push.
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San Diego State (12-15, 4-12) was led by Hannah Evans' nine kills and two aces. Kristen Castillo had 15 assists while Aime Cordeiro tallied 16 digs.
Before the game, Utah recognized its four seniors - Dangerfield, Webb, Robison and Hilary Taylor - in a pre-match ceremony.
The Utes return to the court at the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev., against No. 4 seed TCU on Thursday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. PT.
