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Sarah Hibbert is sixth in the MWC with 2.96 kills per set this season.
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Sept. 21, 2009
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Deseret First Duel Match Notes 
Launiere Looks for 400th Career Win in Deseret First Duel: The University of Utah volleyball team will look to give head coach Beth Launiere her 400th career victory in Friday's Deseret First Duel match against BYU. First serve from Crimson Court is set for 7 p.m.
The Utes are 8-5 overall this season and 2-0 after the first weekend of Mountain West Conference action with home wins over Air Force and San Diego State. After losing their last four non-conference matches, the Cougars are off to a 2-0 start in MWC play as well and are 6-6 overall. This matchup will feature strength against strength as Utah is the MWC's leader (.252) in hitting, while BYU leads the conference in blocking (2.70/set).
The match will be streamed live on utahutes.com and Dan Clayton will have the play-by-play call of the action. Fans can tune in by clicking the `Watch' link that appears on the right side of the volleyball schedule page. Live stats for Saturday's match will be provided by Gametracker and also available on utahutes.com. Also, please be sure to follow Utah Volleyball on Twitter at http://twitter.com/utahvolleyball and the Utah Volleyball Blog at http://utahvolleyball.blogspot.com.
Launiere Nears 400 Victories: As the fifth coach in school history, Launiere has compiled a 399-217 (.648) mark in her 20th season at Utah, the only school in which she has been head coach. After taking over in 1990, the three-time AVCA West Region and MWC Coach of the Year has 63 percent of the program's all-time victories.
Happy Anniversary!: The Utah volleyball team will host its 35th Anniversary Reunion on Friday and Saturday with festivities kicking off during Friday's match at Crimson Court. Former Ute players from the program's first 35 years will be honored throughout the match. The weekend will continue Saturday at Wasatch Beach as former players, coaches and staff will socialize and play sand volleyball. A tailgate before the 5:30 p.m. football game against Louisville at Rice-Eccles Stadium will conclude the celebration.
Deseret First Duel: Friday night's matchup between Utah and BYU will mark the first contest of the 2009-10 Deseret First Duel rivalry series.
The rivalry series includes competition in the 12 sports the two universities compete in head-to-head during regular-season play. The Deseret First Duel will use a system that awards points to the winner of each head-to-head competition. A team trophy will be awarded to the individual winner of each sport. Points won by the individual sports will count toward each school's overall total. A granite traveling trophy will be awarded to the overall series champion each year. Fans can follow the series at http://utahutes.cstv.com/ot/duel-home.html.
Last Time Out: Utah swept San Diego State, 3-0 (28-26, 25-19, 25-15), for its 16th consecutive MWC victory Saturday at Crimson Court. As a team, the Utes outhit the Aztecs .233 to .140, marking the fifth time this season Utah has limited its opponents to a hitting percentage below .150. The Utes are now 5-0 in those matches. The Utes also served a season-high-tying eight aces.
Lights. Camera. Action!: The CBS College Sports telecast of last Saturday's match against San Diego State will premiere Tuesday at 5 p.m. MT.
Cozy Crimson Court: The Utes are 6-1 at home this season and had won 13 consecutive matches within the friendly confines of Crimson Court before dropping a four-set match to No. 12 Oregon last Tuesday. The Utes are 18-2 at home since 2008 with their only other defeat coming in a five-set loss to then-No. 15 Purdue on Sept. 13, 2008 at the Utah Classic.
Streaking Through the MWC: After dropping its first two MWC matches last season at then-No. 15 Colorado State (Sept. 18) and at Wyoming (Sept. 20), Utah scorched through the rest of its conference slate with 14 straight victories over conference foes. The Utes began 2009 conference play with a 3-1 win over Air Force on Thursday and sweep of San Diego State last Saturday to run their conference win streak to 16 matches. Utah's last conference loss came at Wyoming on Sept. 18, 2008.
Streak Busters: With a home win against Air Force last Thursday, the Utes snapped their first three-match losing streak in approximately one year. The previous time Utah lost three straight matches was when it suffered consecutive losses to then-No. 15 Purdue, then-No. 15 Colorado State and Wyoming Sept. 13-20, 2008. The Utes responded by going on a 19-2 season-ending tear, which included eight and 11-match win streaks, en route to an MWC title and a Sweet 16 appearance. Utah's last four-match losing streak was from Sept. 7 through Sept. 13, 2007. A stretch that included home losses to USC and Florida and conference road setbacks at San Diego State and UNLV.
The Essentials: When out-performing their opponents in fundamental areas of the game (hitting, blocking, and serving), the Utes have established an impressive record early this season. Utah is 8-0 when accumulating a higher hitting percentage, 7-0 when outblocking its opponents, and 4-0 when serving more aces than their opponents.
Bartkowiak Pulls in Honors: Karolina Bartkowiak (Aurora, Ill.), a 2008 All-MWC Team honoree and 2009 All-MWC Preseason Team selection, helped Utah to 2-0 record after the first weekend of conference action. Bartkowiak paced the Utes against San Diego State on Saturday by hitting a match-high 12 kills, came up with eight digs while also setting a new season-high mark with six blocks. Bartkowiak posted seven kills and six blocks in three sets of action in Utah's MWC opener on Thursday, a four-set home win over Air Force. She started the week with 13 kills on 31 swings with five errors for a .258 hitting percentage and also came up with seven digs for the Utes Tuesday against No. 12 Oregon.
Bartkowiak led the Utes during the week with 3.20 kills per set and was second with a .309 hitting percentage. She also finished third on the Ute squad in digs and blocks, providing 2.10 digs and 0.80 blocks per set. She ranks second this season on the Ute squad with 2.76 kills and boasts a .253 hitting percentage to help the Utes lead the MWC in that category.
Bartkowiak also earned All-Santa Clara Invitational Tournament team recognition after averaging a team-high 3.17 kills, 1.33 digs and was third on the squad with 0.50 blocks per set in a pair of matches against then-No. 25 Arizona and Santa Clara on Sept. 11-12.
Bartkowiak took the conference's first player of the week award on Aug. 31 after being named the 2009 Utah Classic MVP on Aug. 29. She posted a pair of double-doubles (the first of her career), including double-figure-kill performances in wins against Arizona State, UC Riverside and Cincinnati. Bartkowiak led Utah with 2.91 kills per set and committed just 10 errors on the attack on 66 swings for a .333 percentage.
Hyping Hibbert: Sarah Hibbert (Anchorage, Alaska) has emerged as Utah's leading attacker through the first 13 matches this season, leading the team and ranking sixth in the MWC with 2.96 kills per set. Hibbert has set a new career high in kills five times this season, most recently connecting for 21 kills Sept. 8 at Utah State. Hibbert has compiled seven double-digit-kill matches while leading or tying for the Ute team lead in kills six times.
Double-Dipping: Bartkowiak, Cinthia Silva (San Paulo, Brazil) and sophomore setter Abby Simmons (Phoenix, Ariz.) are the three Utes who have recorded the six double-double matches for Utah this season. Bartkowiak just missed the fourth double-double of her career and this season Saturday against San Diego State as she turned in 12 kills and eight digs. Both Bartkowiak and Silva recorded double-doubles against Missouri on Sept.5. Silva had 12 digs and 10 kills for her first double-double of the season while Bartkowiak's third double-double of the season came via an 11 kill, 11 dig performance against the Tigers. Simmons had a season-high 33 assists in a win at Utah State and also had a career-high 12 digs.
Splitting the Sets: As part of Utah's 6-2 system, junior Stephanie Neeley (Saugus, Calif.) and Simmons have shared opportunities at the setter position for the Utes this season. Simmons holds a 5.72 assist-per-set average, while Neeley is distributing 5.02 assists per set through this season's first 13 matches. Neeley is 102 assists short of tying Cheryl Tye (1983-85) for ninth place on the school's all-time list.
Leaders of Efficiency: The Utes are the league's leading hitters through their first 13 matches, hitting for a .252 mark, which is .027 ahead of second-place TCU. Chelsey Sandberg (West Jordan, Utah) ranks second in the MWC with a .386 hitting percentage this season, converting 100 kills on 207 attempts with only 20 errors. Utah ranks fourth with 12.45 kills per set, led by Hibbert's 2.96 kill-per-set mark that ranks sixth in the MWC. Bartkowiak follows in eighth among the league leaders with 2.76 kills per set.
The Utes Can Dig It: The Ute defense posted 19 digs per set for a season-high mark in three-set matches (57) in Saturday's sweep of San Diego State which finished well above the 12.41 digs per set they were averaging entering the match. Junior libero Keisha Fisher (Ririe, Idaho) is sixth in the MWC with 3.46 digs per set and has led or tied for the team lead in digs in all but one match this season. In her second season at the libero position for Utah, the three-year starter has 45 career double-figure-dig performances. Fisher has hit the double-digit mark in her last seven matches.
Chelsey Comes Up Big: In addition to standing second in the MWC in hitting percentage, Sandberg leads the MWC with a 0.49 service ace per set average thanks to a total of 23 aces in 47 sets this season. Sandberg paces the Utes with a team-high 1.13 blocks per set that is fourth in the league
Utes in the Polls: Utah was last listed in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll on Sept. 7, receiving 75 votes. Utah also received votes in the Sept. 8 Volleyball Magazine poll. Before their match at Crimson Court against No. 12 Oregon, the Utes' only match against a ranked opponent was against current No. 21 Arizona last Friday. The Utes earned a 3-2 win over Cincinnati, which received five votes, on Aug. 29 in Salt Lake City before facing Santa Clara, which received four votes in the poll, last Saturday. The Utes have been ranked as high as 17th in the AVCA poll this season.
Utah Classic All-Tournament Team: As a reward for helping Utah go 3-0 at the season-opening Utah Classic with wins over Arizona State, UC Riverside and Cincinnati, Bartkowiak was named the Tournament MVP while Sandberg and Fisher were named to the all-tournament team.
Killpack on the Block: Danielle Killpack (Idaho Falls, Idaho) came up with career highs of six kills and eight blocks, which was a team high, in Utah's Sept. 8 win at Utah State. Killpack ranks second on the team with 1.00 blocks per set and has led the Utes in blocks three times this season. Killpack currently ranks eighth in the MWC with 1.05 blocks per set.
Scouting BYU: BYU enters Friday's match with a 6-6 overall record and is 2-0 in MWC play. The Cougars entered its league schedule on a four-match losing streak before defeating San Diego State and Air Force in the first weekend of conference action. BYU is the conference's leader in blocks so far this season with a 2.70 block-per-set average. Nicole Warner is tied in second place in blocks per set with a 1.25 mark. Reigning MWC Player of the Week Kayla Walker has the highest kills-per-set average at a 4.06 clip, highlighted by a conference single-match-high this season with 32 kills in a five-set match against the Aztecs on Friday. Setter Kiana Rogers is listed sixth among the conference leaders with 9.30 assists per set.
Utah is at a 56-23 disadvantage in the all-time series with BYU, but the Utes have taken 10 of the last 13 Deseret First Duel meetings.
Last Season Against BYU: In the last meeting, Bartkowiak tied her season high with 13 kills and also pitched in three digs and two blocks as Utah volleyball team completed a season-sweep of BYU with a five-set win at Crimson Court. Bartkowiak contributed her 13 kills on 21 swings with three attack errors for a match-high .438 hitting percentage.
In the first meeting of the season in Provo, Utah, All-American Lori Baird registered a school-record 16 block assists to lead the Utes to a 3-0 sweep. Baird needed 23 attempts and only committed four errors to attain 11 kills for a .304 mark. The Ute defense helped the squad outhit the Cougars .287 to .108.
Utes Picked to Win MWC: Utah was selected to repeat as MWC champions in the 2009 Preseason Coaches Poll. In addition, junior opposite hitter and co-captain Bartkowiak was named to the Preseason All-MWC Team.
Launiere for President: As of Jan. 1, 2009, Launiere has served as President of the AVCA. Launiere's impact on the sport goes well beyond the court. Since 2004 she has guided volleyball on the national stage as a member of the AVCA Board of Directors.
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