Nov. 22, 2002
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The 24th-ranked Utah volleyball team moved into the championship match of the Mountain West Conference Tournament by defeating San Diego Diego State, 3-0 (30-24, 30-19, 30-20) Friday afternoon at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. The loss dropped the Aztecs' season record to 21-12 while the Utes improved to 23-7 on the year.
The SDSU offense was stifled most of the day by the hitting and blocking of the Utes as the Aztecs finsihed with a hitting percentage of .051 on the afternoon. Apen McPartland was the lone Aztec in dobuel figures in kills as she recorded her fifith straight double double with 13 kills and 12 digs.
The Utes meanshilw got a dozen kills and nine blocks from Kim Turner as her tema hit .257 for the match. Utah was a force at the net all day, putting down 14 blocks compared to just for for San Diego State.
The difference in game one was the jump serving of Utah's Kelsie Kartchner. The teams traded points over the first portion of the contest, with Utah taking an 8-7 lead. At that point, Kartchner reeled off five straight points on her serve to up the Utes' advantage to 13-7. The teams played evenly the rest of the way as Utah went on to the six-point victory. Utah was led by Slyva Strzinkova's six kills while Aspen McPartland had five for SDSU.
In game two, Utah went ahead for good at 5-4 and increased that lead to five points at 12-7. The Aztecs could get no closer than three the rest of the way as the Utes gradually pulled away behind the hitting of Strzinkova and Kim Turner plus theblocking of Brenda Beal. SDSU hit just -.043 for the game as SDSU errors accounted for 13 Utah points.
After getting out to a quick 4-2 lead in the third game, SDSU saw Utah score sixnsecutive points to take a lead it would not relinquish. Currier and McPArtland led the Aztecs with four kills apiece, but it was enough to overcome the Ute attack.
San Diego State concludes its regular season on Tuesday (Nov. 25) when it travels north to face UC Riverside at 7:00 p.m. The Aztecs will then await word on a possible NCAA Tournament at-large bid with the selection announcement set to be made next Sunday (Dec. 1).