Players of the Week
A Utah volleyball player has been named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the past three weeks.
Senior middle-blockers, Emillie Toone and Lori Baird, continued the trend and have both been recognized.
“That’s what happens when you win,” said head coach Beth Launiere. “When you win, good things happen and individual awards come and they deserve it.”
Toone was named as co-player of the week last week after leading the Utes to back-to-back wins against UNLV and San Diego State University.
Toone had 19 kills and 15 blocks in the two matches, as she scored 24 points for the Utes.
Toone is leading the MWC with a .422 hitting percentage and placed No. 4 with 1.35 blocks per set.
“It was shocking to me because I have a team full of amazing athletes and the team deserves credit for the award,” Toone said.
Baird was chosen as co-player of the week this week after she set a new school record for blocking and led Utah to a sweep over BYU.
This is the second time in three weeks that Baird has earned the award.
Baird blocked a school record and career-high 16 balls against the Cougars on Friday. Baird’s 16 blocks placed her No. 3 in blocks in a single match in the MWC.
Baird is currently leading the MWC in blocks with 1.53 per set. She is ranked No. 3 in points scored per set with 4.03 and is No. 8 in kills per set with 3.03.
Putting up a wall
The Utah volleyball team has put up a wall in the past four weeks8212;a wall at the net that is. The Utes have gone from sub-par blocking to being one of the top-blocking teams in the nation in just seven games.
Utah has blocked 96 balls in the last seven games, averaging four blocks per set.
“That’s how we’ve been winning the last seven games,” Launiere said. “It’s important to keep opponents’ hitting percentage down and usually, if you block balls that happens.”
Utah has taken over as the No. 1 blocking team in the MWC with a season average of 3.12 blocks per set and is tied for first in the nation.
The Utah block is led by Baird, Toone and Chelsey Sandberg who all average more than one block per set.
“Switching to a 6-2 has made us huge on the block,” Toone said.
Baird and Toone are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in total career blocks in Utah history. Both need fewer than a hundred blocks to beat the current school record held by Kim Turner with 670 blocks in her four-year career.
Freshman playing big
Many Utah freshmen have seen playing time this season and are becoming an important part of the team dynamic.
Abby Simmons has been seeing regular playing time since the beginning of the season, as she has shared the setter’s position with Stephanie Shardlow.
Simmons is averaging 5.09 assists per set and has dished 224 assists so far this season.
Outside hitter Sarah Hibbert, is a new-comer to the Utah lineup8212;having seen playing time in only half of the games thus far this season.
Hibbert has started the last two matches for the Utes and has become a crucial part of the Utes’ attack, getting nine of her 15 kills this season in the last two games.
“We weren’t getting the numbers we needed at that position,” Launiere said. “Sarah has been playing well.”
Defensive specialist Corinne Crump is another freshman who has seen a lot of action in the past couple of weeks as she often subs in to play back-row for the outside hitters.
“Outside hitters have a lot of responsibility and can get mentally-fatigued,” Launiere said. “Our defensive specialists are good enough to go in when we need them to.”
Tyler CobbLori Baird set a new blocking record for the Utes during their win over BYU last week. Baird is also leading in blocks in the MWC.