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The Utes play one more non-conference match at Utah State before opening conference play this weekend.
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Sept. 22, 2003
SALT LAKE CITY -
COMING UP:
The Utes (6-4) travel to Logan, Utah, for a 6 p.m. match at Utah State (7-4) on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH:
The Utes went 1-1 last week at home, falling to Nevada 1-3 (24-30, 30-24, 21-30, 30-32) on Friday before defeating Weber State 3-1 (30-15, 26-30, 30-23, 30-16) on Saturday. Senior All-America candidate Kim Turner and sophomore outside hitters Danielle Leichliter and Shelly Sommerfeldt led the Utes on the week. Turner averaged 3.75 kills, 2.25 digs and 1.75 blocks per game. Leichliter averaged 4.00 kills per game, while Sommerfeldt averaged 3.62.
On the season, the Utes are led by Turner, who averages 3.77 kills, 1.56 blocks and 2.38 digs per game. Sommerfeldt adds 3.67 kills per game, while senior libero Jackie Morrill averages a team-high 3.21 digs per game. Junior setter Kelsie Kartchner averages 10.64 assists per game.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:
Utah State
The Aggies (7-4) went 1-1 last week on the road to open their conference season. They defeated Cal State Northridge in four games (34-36, 31-29, 30-25, 30-27) before being swept by No. 20 Pacific (23-30, 28-30, 27-30).
Utah State is led this season by Zuzana Cernianska, who averages 5.33 kills per game. Erin Cartwright-Davis adds 4.54 kills and 1.33 blocks per game, while Taubi Neves averages a team-high 3.03 digs per game. Setter Andrea Delsigne averages 14.15 assists per game.
SERIES SHORTS:
* The Utes lead the all-time series with Utah State 38-22. The last time the two teams met, on Oct. 29, 2002, Utah won 3-0. The Utes are 17-10 at home, 4-7 away and 7-5 at a neutral site vs. the Aggies.
QUOTING HEAD COACH Beth Launiere:
On the match against the Aggies - "Utah State is a good team and they are playing good volleyball. They are a tough team, especially at home. We're going to have to play really well if we want to win."
USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Sept. 22, 2003Rank School Total 2003 Last
(1st-place Votes) Points Record Week
1 USC (65) 1,625 10-0 1
2 Hawai'i 1,547 11-1 2
3 Florida 1,508 11-1 3
4 Stanford 1,412 8-2 4
5 Georgia Tech 1,365 11-0 5
6 Pepperdine 1,281 10-2 7
7 Nebraska 1,218 10-1 8
8 UCLA 1,149 8-2 9
9 Kansas State 1,046 10-0 10
10 Northern Iowa 1,034 8-2 6
11 California 933 10-0 12
12 Penn State 908 11-1 11
13 Washington 858 11-0 14
14 Michigan State 763 8-2 15
15 UC Santa Barbara 723 5-4 13
16 Santa Clara 630 8-4 17
17 Notre Dame 506 8-2 18
18 Minnesota 432 7-5 22
19 Louisville 418 6-3 19
20 Pacific 391 7-2 20
21 San Diego 310 8-3 21
22 Arizona 281 6-6 16
23 Wisconsin 189 8-3 24
24 Loyola Marymount 160 11-2 25
25 Texas A&M 116 8-3 NR
Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: BYU 83, San Francisco 70, Missouri 50, Long Beach State 20, Southwest Missouri State 14, Colorado State 12, Florida A&M 12, Ohio 12, Northwestern 10, Cincinnati 9, Washington State 7, Ohio State 4, South Carolina 4, North Carolina 3.
MWC STANDINGS
(as of 9/22/03) Conference Overall
W L Pct. W L Pct.
BYU 0 0 .000 9 3 .750
Wyoming 0 0 .000 10 4 .714
Air Force 0 0 .000 9 4 .692
Colorado State 0 0 .000 9 4 .692
San Diego State 0 0 .000 8 5 .615
UTAH 0 0 .000 6 4 .600
UNLV 0 0 .000 6 5 .545
New Mexico 0 0 .000 3 9 .250
MWC LEADERS:
As a team, the Utes rank second in the MWC in blocks per game (3.00) and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.182).
Individually, Kim Turner ranks second in blocks per game (1.56), third in points (4.92) and sixth in kills per game (3.77). Sophomore Shelly Sommerfeldt is tied for seventh in kills per game (3.67) and tied for ninth in points per game (4.23). Junior Kelsie Kartchner is fourth in service aces (0.44), seventh in assists (10.64) and tied for ninth in hitting percentage (.288). Senior Jackie Morrill is fourth in digs per game (3.21), while sophomore Danielle Leichliter is sixth in services aces per game (0.42). Junior Lyndsey Henderson is eighth in blocks per game (1.13).
CLOSING IN:
Senior All-America candidate Kim Turner currently has 1,277 kills on her career, good for fourth place all-time in the Ute record book. She needs 289 more kills to move into first place (1,566).
Turner already ranks first in both total blocks (561) and block assists (499), sixth in block solos (62) and seventh in attempts (2,677).
Junior setter Kelsie Kartchner has moved into fourth place all-time in assists at Utah. She now has 2,426 on her career.
TURNER NAMED PRESEASON MWC PLAYER OF YEAR:
Senior Kim Turner, the reigning Co-MWC Player of the Year, was selected by the league's head coaches as the 2003 preseason MWC Player of the Year. Turner is the only two-time MWC Tournament MVP in league history.
Joining Turner on the preseason all-conference team was junior setter Kelsie Kartchner, who was named the Best Setter at last year's MWC Tournament.
SUNDAY NIGHT SPIKE:
Utah will face Colorado State on live television at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26, at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. The match is part of the College Sports Television (CSTV) and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Sunday Night Spike package.
TURNER MWC PLAYER OF WEEK FOR SEPT. 1-6
Kim Turner, a middle blocker from Chandler, Ariz., was named MWC Player of the Week for Sept. 1-6, marking her ninth career award. Turner was named MVP of the Utah Classic for the third straight year as she helped the Utes capture the championship. In a five-game win vs. Washington State, Turner posted a triple double (15 kills, 15 digs, 11 blocks) and set Classic five-game records with nine block assists and three aces. For the week, Turner hit .284 and averaged 3.55 kills, 2.82 digs and 1.82 blocks per game.
UP NEXT:
The Utes open conference play by hosting Wyoming and Colorado State this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26-27. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.
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