Riding a 12-match MWC win streak since last losing to Wyoming in Laramie, Utah swept the Cowboys in three straight games Thursday night on Crimson Court and ran their winning streak to 13. Utah won 25-16, 25-20 and 25-17. The Utes record stands at 13-2 in the MWC and Colorado State comes to town on Saturday to settle the conference championship.
Utah overpowered a scrappy Wyoming team with a balanced attack that featured Lori Baird slamming nine kills and Cinthia Silva eight. Baird was named MVP for the match and she sized up the team's overall play.
"Our passing was amazing," she said, "and our blocking was stronger than it has been."
Coach Beth Launiere backed up Baird saying, "We worked on blocking all week. The things we worked on we did really well."
Silva played her best game of the season and Launiere acknowledged that the team worked with her during the week also.
How did the Utes ever lose in Laramie? Launiere said Laramie is a hard place to play and she didn't mention that the match came right after a tough loss with Colorado State. She also gave credit to the 'Pokes playing well up there, and that the difference was "night and day."
Baird came up big at the end of both the second and third games. She slammed down winners in both games and also posted five blocks for the match. Her hitting percentage of .571 tied Chelsea Sandberg for top honors on the team.
At the beginning of the third game, Launiere called a quick time out.
"We weren't playing to the whistle," she said, and we just needed to settle down."
The match with the Rams is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday. Baird said, "We're fired up to meet them again."
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