No. 9 Utes to face No. 17 Cougars

When they met a month ago, Utah's volleyball team won its 10th straight match on BYU's court, but it was discounted a bit because the Cougars were without two injured players, setter Amy Schlauder and outside hitter Erica Lott.

Ninth-ranked Utah (19-2 overall, 10-0 Mountain West Conference) still hasn't lost — it's on a 17-match win streak — and No. 17 BYU (19-2, 9-1) is healthy again and winning as usual — a seven-match win streak.

"It's on collision course for us to meet at this point," said Utah coach Beth Launiere about tonight's 7 p.m. rematch at Crimson Court.

"They are playing much better of late, and you can tell they're getting it going. We're expecting a battle. It's nice to have it here," Launiere said.

BYU coach Jason Watson, who got injured middle blocker Rachel Dyer back for Tuesday's victory over Weber State, now has all his weapons. "That makes us more confident," he said. "This match is big because there are implications on the Mountain West championship and the postseason."

Seedings as well as program pride are at stake.

"Boy," said Launiere, "the volleyball fans of the state of Utah have a great opportunity to see one of the best collegiate volleyball matches in the country."

The two teams own the MWC statistics, Utah leading with BYU second in team hitting percentage, assists and kills but Cougars the top two with a Ute third in individual hitting percentage and kills. Schlauder's first with Ute freshman setter Sydney Anderson third in assists. Ute Emillie Toone leads in blocks with Cougar Lindsy Hartsock second, Utes Lori Baird and Whitney Webb third and fourth and Lott sixth.

Utah is tops in opponent hitting percentage, second in digs and fourth in service aces, statistical advantages over the Cougs, who are in the lower half in those categories, leading Watson to say, "We have to be balanced offensively. They are one of the best blocking teams in the country."

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E-mail: lham@desnews.com

Jeff Call contributed to this story