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The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Volleyball: Adora Anae shines in Gold Medal performance with Team USA

Every summer, countless college students leave the country, flocking to the far reaches of the globe searching for adventure and a reprieve from domestic life. Hundreds of students from this very university have spent the summer abroad conducting research, pursuing career opportunities, working with charitable organizations or sightseeing. These travelers are probably proud of the education they received, professional networks developed, the humanitarian relief conferred or selection of the perfect Instagram filters for selfies with iconic landmarks.

But few of them can claim to have represented the U on as large a stage as volleyball player Adora Anae, who helped capture the gold medal for the USA Volleyball Women’s Junior National Team (WJNT) at the 2015 European Global Challenge in Croatia.

Her selection to the United States’ WJNT was preceded by a stellar rookie season for the sophomore from Hawaii. Her experience playing in the Pac-12 and her sweeping improvements to different aspects of her play were what Utah head coach Beth Launiere believed attracted interest from USA Volleyball.

“She’s a terminator on the left side. She’s a big kill-getter, and her passing is coming along,” Launiere said. “She’s becoming more of an all-around player, which you have to be to play internationally.”

Anae’s journey to the podium had humble beginnings and was riddled with uncertainty. In January, Anae was informed by Launiere that she had been invited to a tryout for the WJNT. One month later, Anae traveled to Colorado Springs for the tryout and was initially selected as an alternate. In May, a spot on the team opened up, and Anae became an official member of Team USA.

In another twist of fortune, the 2015 FIVB Women’s Junior World Championships, which were supposed to be held in Cypress, were postponed and moved to Puerto Rico, causing USA Volleyball to withdraw its entry into the competition and instead opt to compete in the European Global Challenge.

For Anae and the rest of the team, this meant they would not be meeting up in New Orleans for two weeks of training prior to international competition. Instead, they flew to Philadelphia for brief introductions before hopping on a flight bound for Milan. The team had only one week to train, during which they prepared for the European Global Challenge by supplementing their practices with scrimmages against teams from Israel, Slovenia and Italy.

The challenge of organizing a team of players from around the country and building the necessary relationships and team chemistry within the confines of one week would seem like a daunting task for the coaching staff. As it turned out, this foundation had already been laid, for even though Anae was a newcomer to the international volleyball scene, most of her teammates were veterans from the previous WJNT, and some had been competing together with USA Volleyball for the past six years.

“Everybody got the tempo down. The first day was tough for me, because I had to adjust to faster sets. It’s just a different system for USA Volleyball,” said Anae. “But as I got more practice time and more reps in the gym, I adjusted well and we all connected. We just got better every day, which is why we ended up winning the gold.”

The trip took Anae and the rest of team USA to Trieste, Italy; Maribor, Slovenia; and Pula, Croatia. Along the way, the team defeated national counterparts from Israel, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia before taking on a talented and determined Italian team in the championship match.

It was a tight match, and the Americans needed some late heroics to secure the win after being down in the fifth set. Anae excelled offensively and defensively in this final match, leading the team with 18 points.

While few things could have matched the thrill of victory and the pride of representing her country in international competition, Anae found that her time with the WJNT provided her with opportunities and experiences that were far more valuable than the gold medal around her neck.

“My favorite part was learning more about the game and being tested in many different ways and being able to get in the gym and get more reps with some of the best players in my age group,” Anae said. “That was pretty surreal for me.”

Anae feels that her exposure to USA Volleyball’s high-energy, fast tempo practices, in addition to getting feedback from some of the nation’s most elite players and coaches, had a tremendous impact on her playing ability.

“I have to say it’s been the best experience as far as volleyball for me in my career. I really learned a lot about passing, attacking, serving, blocking, all of that stuff,” Anae said. “But just being able to step in the gym with them and you’re being expected to perform at a high level all of the time. It just made me a better player physically, mentally and emotionally.”

Since returning to the U.S., Anae has gone back to strength and conditioning training with her fellow Utes. Although Anae missed some workouts with her Utah teammates during her travels, Launiere welcomed the opportunity to practice and get live reps as the volleyball season approaches.

“The value of playing high-level volleyball in the middle of the summer for three weeks is huge,” Launiere said.

Aside from the benefits her time with the WJNT had on her playing ability, Anae was able to familiarize herself with the coaches and make a name for herself within the USA Volleyball system, opening up the possibility of future appearances with the national team.

“We were constantly reminded that we were getting prepared for the national team … Some of these girls on the squad are going to be future Olympians,” Anae said. “I can’t say that I’m going to, but we’re all working toward it.”

Although Anae enjoyed her time spent getting acquainted with the professional culture of USA Volleyball and the frequent traveling and competing, it was not all work and no play. Some of her favorite parts of the trip happened off the court, including eating Italian food and sightseeing with her coaches and teammates.

Ute fans will be able to see for themselves the impact of Anae’s gold-medal experience with the WJNT as she and the rest of the Utah volleyball team kick off their season by hosting Idaho State on August 28.

[email protected]

@tylerfcrum

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