Nov. 3, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

SALT LAKE CITY - The 24th-ranked University of Utah volleyball team (17-5, 9-2 MWC) travels west for its final Mountain West Conference road matches this week. The Utes take on San Diego State in San Diego Thursday at 8 p.m. MT, then face UNLV in Las Vegas Saturday at 2 p.m. MT.

Last Week

The Utes earned their first national ranking of the season in the Bison/AVCA Coaches Poll after a three-match-in-eight-day stretch that saw Utah go 2-1, including a 2-0 mark in conference contests. In the first match, Lori Baird (Murray, Utah) totaled 15 kills, two service aces and two blocks but Utah had its eight-match win streak snapped at No. 7 Oregon (17-25, 26-24, 15-25, 22-25) in a non-conference loss Oct. 27 at McArthur Court. Senior outside hitter Kathryn Haynie (North Salt Lake City, Utah) registered 15 digs and 14 kills for her 17th career double-double performance and her fifth of the season. Haynie also served a pair of aces.

Baird notched a career-high 22 kills as Utah took a 3-1 victory against New Mexico last Thursday. The Utes outhit the Lobos .267 to .187 and maintained a 13-9 edge in blocking for the match. Baird notched her 13th double-digit kill match this season with 36 attack attempts for a .528 hitting percentage and only committed three errors.

Emillie Toone (American Fork, Utah) was the only player in the match who hit double figures in kills. Toone registered 13 kills for the third time this season on just 21 swings and zero attack errors with a match-high .619 hitting percentage (minimum five attack attempts). Toone also played a big role in the Utes' defensive system, coming up with a match-high eight block assists.

Scouting San Diego State

San Diego State enters the weekend 8-13 overall and is 5-6 in the MWC. The Aztecs are 3-5 at home this season in Peterson Gym and have rotated wins and losses in their last seven matches. Lauren Salisbury is the lone attacker averaging more than three kills per set. The sophomore from Southlake, Texas averages 3.05 kills per set to go along with a .357 hitting percentage. Salisbury holds a slight edge for the team lead in blocking with 241 total blocks for a 1.04 block-per-set average.

SDSU Series History

The Utes own a 20-18 edge in the all-time series with the Aztecs. In the last meeting, Utah took a 3-1 decision (21-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-15) Oct. 11 at Crimson Court. Utah outhit San Diego State .207 to .084 despite being at a .429 to .025 disadvantage in that department during the first set.Toone hit double-digits in kills for the fifth time this season and was just one block short of achieving her second double-double performance of the season, converting 11 kills on just 17 attack attempts with three errors for a .471 hitting percentage.

Scouting UNLV

UNLV is 13-11 overall and 6-5 in MWC play. Like the Utes, the Rebels feature a balanced attack with five attackers totaling more than 100 kills this season. Jessica Walters leads the way with 238 total kills for a 3.28 kill-per-set average. UNLV leads the MWC in digs with 15.85 per set. Camille Cunningham is the conference's individual leader with 5.07 digs per set.

UNLV Series History

Utah possesses a 25-3 advantage in the all-time series with UNLV. The Utes dropped two of three matches to the Rebels last season, but came up with a 3-0 sweep at Crimson Court on Oct. 9 in the first meeting this season.

Red October (and November)

The Utes have claimed four MWC Player of the Week awards in the last five weeks. Baird, Utah's leader during its eight-match win streak, won the award twice in the first three weeks of this month. Baird won the award for the first time this season on Oct. 6 after leading Utah to three consecutive road victories, including wins at TCU and New Mexico. Toone was named MWC Co-Player of the Week on Oct. 13 after leading Utah to two conference home wins against UNLV and San Diego State. She earned her third career conference player of the week honor on Oct. 20 after registering a Utah single-match school record 16 block assists as well as a team-high 11 kills in the Utes' 3-0 win at BYU on Oct. 17. Baird's 16 blocks is a conference single-match season-high and ranks second all-time in MWC history. Toone continued the trend into the new month by winning co-player of the week honors for the second time in the last four weeks on Nov. 3 after helping Utah to wins over New Mexico and TCU.

Perfect 10

The Utes are looking for their 10th consecutive conference win. During Utah's current nine-match MWC win streak, the Utes have outblocked their opponents 4.03 to 1.92 and held the opposition to a .114 hitting percentage while converting at a .282 clip on the attack. Baird averaged 3.37 kills and 1.90 blocks per set while hitting .362 on the attack. The Utes had six sweeps and a trio of 3-1 wins during this current stretch that started Sept. 20. The stretch is the program's longest conference win streak since a 19-0 stretch from Nov. 24, 2005 to Sept. 13, 2007, which included a perfect 16-0 mark in MWC play in 2006.

Two Of A Kind

Haynie 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 match against UNLV.

Utes On The Block

The Utes rank second in the country with 3.06 blocks per set. Baird is 10th in the nation and second in the conference with 1.46 blocks per set. She is fifth in the MWC in kills per set with a 3.13 kill-per-set average Toone currently ranks third in the MWC with 1.38 blocks per set and is 17th in the national rankings. Both Toone and Baird are tied for second in school history in total blocks at 588 apiece. Baird is also second in school history with 542 career blocks, while Toone is third with 536. Toone is tied with two others with 52 career solo blocks. The duo is 82 total blocks behind Kim Turner, who is Utah's all-time leader with 670 total blocks. Baird is 47 block assists shy of tying Turner's mark of 589 career block assists, while Toone needs 53 more. The Utes set a new school record for a three-set match with 37 block assists in a victory at BYU Oct. 17. Their 19.5 team blocks against the Cougars stands as a conference season high.

Model Of Efficiency

Toone leads the MWC and ranks ninth in the country with a . 415 hitting percentage. She is third on the team with 177 kills and has made only 31 errors on 352 swings.

It's All In How You Start

In 15 of their 17 victories this season, the Utes have won the first set. Consequently, Utah is 2-5 when dropping the opening set.