Conference update
After not losing a conference match in more than a year, the Utah volleyball team has now lost two of its past three conference games.
The team fell to New Mexico 3-1 two Saturdays ago to halt the Utes’ 19-match conference winning streak, which tied a school record set during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. The Utes returned to their winning ways with a five-set victory over Wyoming last week that gave Utah a chance to tie Colorado State in the conference standings with a win in Fort Collins.
However, the Utes were swept at the hands of the Rams on Saturday and now find themselves two games back in the Mountain West standings. With exactly half of the conference schedule now behind them, the Utes face an uphill battle if they are to win the conference and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Middle blocker Danielle Killpack said the Utes still control their conference fate.
“It still comes down to us,” she said. “We still have to play hard in the second half of the schedule. Obviously, we have to beat Colorado State when they come here.”
The road ahead
After compiling a 13-7 overall (6-2 in conference) record during the first 20 matches of the season, the Utes have officially hit the home stretch of their schedule with more than two-thirds of their slated matches in the rearview mirror. Utah will face each conference opponent a second time in addition to a nonconference match with Long Beach State to conclude the regular season.
Head coach Beth Launiere said her team still has to focus on a game-to-game basis.
“We have to worry about ourselves,” she said. “That’s what we’ve got to do.”
Next up for Utah is BYU, when the Utes take on their rivals in Provo on Friday.
Bartkowiak bringing in the bling
During Fall Break, it was announced that opposite hitter Karolina Bartkowiak had been named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the third time this season. She earned the honor after pacing Utah with 3.33 kills per set in three matches against Weber State, TCU and New Mexico. Bartkowiak also tied the team high with 1 block per set during those matches. Only TCU’s Kourtney Edwards has notched the award as many times as Bartkowiak this season.
The award-winning week was a continuation of what has been an impressive season for the preseason all-conference selection. She leads the Utes this season with 2.95 kills per set, which ranks seventh in the conference, and her 2.93 digs per set in Mountain West matches puts her 9th in the conference.
Can you dig it?
Libero Keisha Fisher is averaging 3.89 digs per set, which leads the team and is fifth overall in the Mountain West. Included in that is a 27-dig performance that ranks as the highest in the conference this year. Launiere said she believes much of Fisher’s success is from her athleticism.
“I think she’s just an athlete,” she said. “She’s what I like to call a ball athlete because she can be good at any sport. I think she’s got a good feel for the game.”
Tyler CobbKeisha Fisher leads the team in digs at 3.89 per set and holds the conference-high for total digs in a match this year at 27.