Oct. 20, 2008

Air Force/#7 Oregon Match Notes

SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah volleyball team (14-4, 6-2 MWC) heads to Colorado Springs, Colo., to face the Air Force Academy Saturday at 7 p.m. The Utes are one game behind Colorado State for the Mountain West Conference lead after the first half of the league slate.

The Utes play their final non-conference match of the regular season against seventh-ranked Oregon at 7 p.m., next Monday, Oct. 27, in Eugene, Ore.

Last Week

Utah extended its season-long win streak to seven matches with a 3-0 win (25-23, 25-21, 25-17) over BYU last Friday in Provo. The Utes have now won five of their last seven meetings with the Cougars, dating back to Nov. 4, 2005. Utah outblocked BYU 19.5 to 6 and outhit the Cougars .287 to .108 for the match. With the win, Utah earned its first three points in this year's Deseret First Duel Rivalry Series and cut the BYU lead to 6-3.

Scouting Air Force

Air Force is 5-16 overall and 0-8 halfway through MWC play. Air Force returns to Cadet Gym fresh off a four-match road trip that started well with a 3-0 win at Chicago State to break a six-match losing skid. Air Force ended its road trip with three consecutive defeats, including losses at conference foes TCU and New Mexico.

Jasamine Pettie and Nichole Stilwell have been the leading Falcon attackers. Pettie leads the team with 2.40 kills per set, while Stilwell aver ages 2.14. Air Force is being outblocked 2.20-1.45 with Michell Harrington leading the way for the Falcons at 0.85 blocks per set.

Common Opponents

The Utes and Falcons share seven common opponents this season. Air Force has yet to win a match, while Utah enjoys a 5-2 mark with its only blemishes coming with back-to-back defeats at then-No. 15 Colorado State and at Wyoming.

Series History

The Utes have never lost in 21 meetings with the Falcons, including an 11-0 mark in Cadet Gym. Utah downed Air Force, 3-0, in the last meeting at Crimson Court, Sept. 25. Senior middle blocker Emillie Toone (American Fork, Utah) turned in a match-high-tying six kills on only eight attempts for a match-best .750 hitting percentage (minimum eight attempts). She also totaled four blocks.

Scouting #7 Oregon

The Ducks are 15-4 this season and 4-3 in Pacific-10 Conference action. Oregon is 8-0 this season at McArthur Court and are led by Gorana Maricic, who averages a team-leading 4.23 kills per set to go along with 1.56 digs per set, which ranks fourth on the squad. The Duck block is averaging 2.70 blocks per set, compared to just 1.93 for their opponents.

Common Opponents

Both Utah and Oregon own 3-0 records against shared opponents this season. Interestingly enough, both schools beat New Mexico State, 3-1, and Utah Valley, 3-0. The Utes swept UNLV, 3-0 on Oct. 9, while the Ducks needed four sets to defeat the Rebels in Eugene, Ore.

Series History

Utah owns a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series with Oregon, although the schools have not met in 12 years. Utah took a 3-0 win in the 1996 season opener at the Utah Classic. The Utes are 25-66 all-time against Pac-10 schools.

Blistering Baird

Lori Baird (Murray, Utah) has been impressive during the Utes' current seven-match win streak, being named the MWC's Player of the Week twice this month alone.

Baird registered a Utah single-match school record 16 block assists as well as a team-high 11 kills in the Utes' 3-0 win over BYU Friday in a Deseret First Duel match in Provo. Baird's 16 blocks is a conference single-match season-high and ranks second all-time in MWC history. She is the conference's individual leader and ranks sixth in the nation at 1.53 blocks per set. Baird is also eighth in the MWC in kills per set with a 3.03 average this season, which stands as a team high. Baird is second in school history in two major blocking categories, total blocks (572) and block assists (526).

Lucky Number 7

During Utah's season-long seven-match win streak, the Utes have outblocked their opponents 3.94 to 1.88 and held the opposition to a .119 hitting percentage while converting at a .271 clip on the attack. Baird has 3.21 kills and 2.00 blocks per set while hitting .358 on the attack. The Utes have four sweeps and a trio of 3-1 wins during this stretch.

Two Of A Kind

Kathryn Haynie (North Salt Lake City, Utah) and Baird are the first set of Ute teammates to have more than 1,000 career kills at the same time in school history.

Baird became the 10th member of Utah's 1,000-kill club Sept. 18, 2008, at then-No. 15 Colorado State. Haynie joined the club as the 11th member during an Oct. 9 against UNLV.

Ute Blockade

The Utes moved up to second in the country with 3.13 blocks per set after outblocking BYU 19.5 to 6 last Friday. The Utes set a new school record for a three-set match with 37 block assists and now lead the MWC with 3.12 blocks per set. In addition to Baird's MWC-leading 1.53 blocks per set, Toone has been effective at the net as well. Toone is currently fourth among MWC players and 16th in the country in blocking, with 1.35 blocks per set. She currently occupies third place on both the school's career total blocks and block assist lists with 567 total blocks and 516 block assists in her career.

Model Of Efficiency

Toone has been the most efficient attacker in the MWC this season. Toone ranks 11th in the nation after raising her hitting percentage to .422 after the BYU match. Toone is third on the team with 143 kills, but has committed only 24 attack errors on 282 swings.

Hibbert Heats Up

Friday's match at BYU saw freshman Sarah Hibbert (Anchorage, Alaska) register four new career highs with 10 digs, five kills, and two blocks to go along with a .222 hitting percentage against the Courgars. Hibbert is averaging 0.94 kills per set with 1.62 digs per set in 16 sets, appearing in nine matches this season

It's All In How You Start

In 12 of their 14 victories this season, the Utes have won the first set. Consequently, Utah is 2-4 when it doesn't win the first set.

Utah Picked Second In MWC

Utah accumulated 95 points and was picked to finish second in the 2008 MWC Preseason Coaches Poll.