Standings take shape as final weekend of play approaches
The Mountain West Conference saw a lot of action this weekend.
While the standings haven’t changed, plenty of hard-fought matches
have occurred. Here’s a look at the volleyball standings around the
Mountain West.
CSU (21-4, 12-0)
The Rams remain atop the Mountain West Conference with an
unblemished record. Fifteenth-ranked CSU takes a break from
conference play to take on the University of Denver in Denver.
DU (16-12 overall, 7-6 in the Sun Belt Conference) clinched a
spot in the SBC Tournament by beating Louisiana-Lafayette Sunday
afternoon (30-24, 30-18, 30-20).
“For us this was an important win,” head coach Beth Kuwata
said.
They hope to bring that same domination into play against the
Rams.
Senior Andrea Baron, who tallied a match-high 12 points against
ULL, leads the Pioneers, along with fellow senior Olympia Hughes.
The Rams and the Pioneers take to the court tonight at 7 p.m. in
Hamilton Gym.
Wyoming (14-14, 3-9)
The Cowgirls continue to struggle both with conference and
non-conference games. This weekend Wyoming saw both CSU and Boise
State but couldn’t find the winning stroke for either game. After
battling CSU in a four-game match, the Cowgirls went to Idaho and
fell to the Broncos in four (24-30, 30-25, 29-31, 16-30).
Wyoming closes the regular season this weekend at home. The team
will take on the Lobos of New Mexico on Friday and Air Force on
Saturday. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
SDSU (17-11, 7-5)
The Aztecs boast a four-game winning streak after their victory
over New Mexico this weekend. (30-26, 30-22, 30-23) They hit .248
over the three games while holding the host Lobos to a .100
percentage. SDSU was also dominant at the net, compiling 12 team
blocks to five for New Mexico.
The win allowed them to clinch at least the number four seed in
the MWC. SDSU can finish as high as third in the final standings if
it wins its final two matches at home vs. Utah (Friday) and Brigham
Young (Saturday).
Air Force (13-13, 3-9)
Kristin Hamlett had a stellar night Friday for the Falcons. She
tallied 13 kills for her team, but the Falcons still couldn’t get a
win, losing in three games (30-20, 30-20, 30-27) to UNLV.
The Falcons close the regular season on the road visiting No. 15
Colorado State on Friday and Wyoming Saturday.
UNLV (10-14, 4-8)
It had been a long time coming, but the Rebels finally got a win
with a sweep of Air Force. The win snapped a nine-game losing
streak. Leiana Oswald led the Rebels with 14 kills and a .379
hitting percentage. She also tallied five digs and a pair of
blocks.
UNLV’s celebration could be short-lived as they have two tough
opponents this weekend. The team will play at home on Friday and
Saturday, taking on BYU and Utah. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.
New Mexico (4-22, 1-11)
Senior Anna Reines has been the bright spot for New Mexico this
season. In her last home match she collected 13 kills, hit .269,
had three digs, two blocks and a service ace for her team, but it
wasn’t enough. SDSU was too much for the Lobos as they fell in
three (30-26, 30-22, 30-23) on Saturday.
The Lobos are fighting for their second conference win this
weekend against Wyoming on Friday and CSU on Saturday.
Utah (16-7, 10-2)
The Utes defeated instate rival BYU in front of its biggest home
crowd of the season (30-19, 23-30, 30-23, 30-24), giving Utah its
seventh consecutive victory over the Cougars.
“This was such a hard-fought, completely even-played match by
both teams,” Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. The Utes hit for
.241 on the match and held the Cougars to .180.
Senior All-America candidate Kim Turner finished with 22 kills
with just three errors for a .543 hitting percentage. She also
added 13 digs, four blocks and an ace.
Utah closes the regular-season next Friday and Saturday, at San
Diego State and UNLV. Both matches start at 7 p.m.
BYU 18-7, 8-4
In an intense environment the Cougars couldn’t handle the
pressure against rival Utah. They lost in four games 30-19, 23-30,
30-24, 30-27, to the Utes.
“We made a lot of errors tonight and we made them at critical
times.” BYU coach Karen Lamb said.
Junior April Varner led BYU with 16 kills, and senior libero
Uila Crabbe became the sixth Cougar to record 1,000 career
digs.
The Cougars have to put the loss behind them when they visit
UNLV Friday and San Diego State Saturday.
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