Sept. 29, 2008

Weber State/TCU/New Mexico Match Notes

SALT LAKE CIIY - The University of Utah volleyball team (8-4, 1-2 MWC) travels for a trio of road matches this week, starting against Weber State Tuesday at 7 p.m., in Ogden, Utah. The Utes continue Mountain West Conference play at TCU on Thursday at 6 p.m., in Fort Worth, Texas. Utah ends its three-match road swing at New Mexico Saturday. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

Last Week

Utah earned its first conference win of the season with a victory over Air Force in its Mountain West Conference home opener (25-9, 25-17, 25-13) Thursday at Crimson Court.

Senior middle blocker Emillie Toone (American Fork, Utah) turned in a match-high six kills on only eight attempts for a match-best .750 hitting percentage (minimum eight attempts).

As a team, the Utes outhit the Falcons .403 to -.050 and outblocked the Falcons, 11-4 for the match. Lori Baird (Murray, Utah) came up with a match-high five blocks, while Kathryn Haynie (North Salt Lake City, Utah) totaled a match-high four digs. Utah never trailed in the match and took the first five points of the first set en route to a 25-9 win, its largest single-set victory of the season.

Scouting Weber State

The Wildcats are 9-6 with a 1-2 record against Big Sky Conference competition. Three different Wildcat attackers average at least 2.70 kills per set. Chelsea Bair is the team leader with 3.31 kills per set though the first 15 matches. The Utes hold a 44-19 edge in the all-time series against the Wildcats and is 108-53 against current Big Sky schools.

Scouting TCU

TCU won the first 10 matches of this season, but has split its last six. The Horned Frogs are 13-3 and 2-1 in the Mountain West Conference, posting wins over San Diego State and New Mexico and a loss at UNLV. Lauren Otto leads the way for the Horned Frogs on the attack with 3.31 kills per set with a .190 hitting percentage. Defensively, Katelyn Blackwood is averaging 4.02 digs per game, while Kourtney Edwards is the team's leading blocker with 1.18 blocks per set. The Utes own an 8-2 all-time mark against the Horned Frogs.

Scouting New Mexico

New Mexico is 12-2 this season and 2-1 in conference play. It's been an up-and-down season for the Lobos, as they started 9-0, then lost two straight (at No. 2 Nebraska and at TCU), before reeling off four straight wins. The Lobos' attack is led by 4.50 kills per set from Jeanne Fairchild, while Anna Lehne averages 1.21 blocks per set to lead the Lobo block. Utah has a 40-27 edge in the all-time series.

Haynie Nears 1,000-kill Club

Haynie has 981 career kills, and is just 19 kills shy of becoming the 11th member of Utah's 1,000-kill club. She leads the Ute attack this season with 2.93 kills per set, which stands eighth in the Mountain West Conference. She is tied for the conference lead in service aces per set (0.33) and ranks ninth with 3.58 points per set.

Two Of A Kind

Haynie and Baird could become the first set of Ute teammates to have more than 1,000 career kills at the same time in school history.

Baird joined the 1,000-kill club Sept. 18, 2008, at No. 15 Colorado State. She is currently 10th on the school's all-time kills list with 1,011, just 45 short of passing Sheila Cottrell-Sorenson (1,055 career kills) for ninth on Utah's career kills list.

Efficient Toone

Toone is the most efficient attacker in the Mountain West Conference this season (minimum three attack attempts per set), hitting for a .390 percentage (92 kills on just 195 attempts with only 16 errors). Fellow middle blocker Karolina Bartkowiak (Aurora, Ill.) sits in eighth place on the list with a .326 (68-26-129) clip.

Toone has not only been effective on the attack, but also at the net, moving into sole possession of second place on the school's career total block and block assist lists. The American Fork, Utah native has 537 career total blocks, and is 123 shy of tying Kim Turner (670 from 2000 to 2003) for the Utah record. Toone moved past McKelle Stilson (449 from 1998-2001) on the school's block assist list with 498 in her career. She is tied for the team lead with 49 this season (1.26 blocks per set), and needs 92 more to become Utah's all-time leader. Toone is currently fifth among MWC players in blocking, with 1.26 blocks per set. Baird is just .02 blocks per set ahead in third place among MWC players with 55 total blocks in 43 sets this season for a 1.28 block-per-set average.

Patroling The Back Row

Libero Keisha Fisher (Ririe, Idaho) has taken charge of the Utah back row this season, averaging a team-high 2.88 digs per set. Fisher has four double-digit-dig performances, including a career high 33 at No. 15 Colorado State.

Setting The Table

Sophomore setter Stephanie Shardlow (Saugus, Calif.) ranks fifth in the Mountain West Conference with 9.47 assists per set. Freshman Abby Simmons (Phoenix, Ariz.) has added 4.96 assists per set in 10 appearances this year, including starts against Florida Gulf Coast and Air Force.

Redshirt Impact

Redshirt freshmen Jennifer Lanting (Corcoran, Calif.) and Danielle Killpack (Idaho Falls, Idaho) reached career highs in kills during Thursday's 3-0 win over Air Force at Crimson Court. Lanting had three kills on four swings for a .750 hitting percentage, while Killpack came through with the first kill of her career in her second appearance as a Ute.

Approaching The Century Mark

Utah is just one win from its 100th home win at Crimson Court since 2000. The Utes have posted a 99-16 record for a .861 winning percentage at home in that time frame.

It's All In How You Start

In all eight of the Utes' victories this season they have won the first set. Consequently, Utah is 0-4 when it doesn't come up with a first-set victory.

Utah Receiving Votes

The Utes received 14 votes in the latest 2008 CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I Coaches Top-25 Poll. Two other MWC teams were recognized, as Colorado State moved up to 12th and BYU improved to 21st.