The Utah women’s volleyball team will look to have the Evergreen State seeing red this weekend as it heads up to Spokane to compete in the Gonzaga Invitational.
The non-conference tournament will provide the Utes with an opportunity to improve upon their 3-1 record this season as the team will face programs from Montana, Wyoming and Gonzaga throughout the weekend.
The team’s most recent outing was a 3-1 victory over Utah State in which the Utes had to overcome a shaky start to power past the Aggies. Looking ahead to this weekend, setter Kendall Cygan says that the team has worked out those initial jitters and should not face the same problem this weekend.
“Honestly, I think it was just the environment we were in. With the younger girls that we have, they’d never really been in that pressure-filled environment,” said Cygan. “It was actually our first away game and so with the crowd there at Utah State, it definitely slowed us up a little bit, but once we got back together it changed the whole course of the match.”
The Invitational is an important milestone in the Utes’ season, as it marks the beginning of a seven-game stretch of non-conference matches that extends into a tournament next weekend in Kentucky and ends with this year’s highly-anticipated battle against BYU on Sept. 17.
Although some of the other teams in the Gonzaga tournament may not be of the same caliber as the Pac-12 opponents Utah will face in the coming weeks, all three will provide unique challenges for the Utes and the whole weekend will be an important test for a team that has yet to play a game outside of the state. Utah middle Alyssa Koenig, who posted a career-high nine kills in Tuesday’s match against USU, said that the team had been greatly anticipating this weekend’s invitational.
“We are really excited to be on the road. It’s a great opportunity for us to prepare ourselves for the Pac-12, and keep getting better and growing as a team,” said Koenig.
Here is a breakdown of this weekend’s tournament:
FRIDAY:
The Utes’ first action in the tournament will come in Friday’s match against Montana (2-1) at 7 p.m. MST. The Grizzlies had an unimpressive 6-23 record last season, but have opened their season with a promising couple of wins against Air Force and Northwestern. The series between the two teams is tied at eight games apiece, and despite the whopping 22 years separating their last matchup, the Utes have a very recent connection to the Grizzlies. At the helm for Montana will be Brian Doyon, who spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach at the U.
SATURDAY:
On the second day of the tournament, the Utes will start the day against an undefeated Wyoming squad, with first serve coming at 1 p.m. MST. The Cowgirls are off to a hot start this year after sweeping No. 14 Ohio State in their season opener. This game will feature a classic battle between offense and defense, as Utah’s high-powered front led by outside hitters Adora Anae and Eliza Katoa will be tested by a Cowgirl roster bolstered by Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week Allison Waldvogel and the Mountain West’s leading blocker Reed Copeland. The Utes haven’t played Wyoming since they were conference foes in 2010 and currently lead the all-time series 28-10.
Utah will wrap up their trip to Washington in an 8 p.m. MST showdown against tournament host Gonzaga (2-1). In a preseason poll, the Bulldogs were picked to finish fourth in the WCC, and the veteran team returned every starter on last season’s squad that went 17-10. After being swept at the hands of No. 10 Washington, the Zags have since won games against Portland State and Boise State in which their front line played very well. Gonzaga tallied ten team blocks in both wins and are led by offense by outside hitter Savannah Blinn, who has racked up at least twelve kills in each of her last 20 matches. The Utes are 5-1 all-time against Gonzaga.
Koenig said that the Utes hadn’t been scouting any of their tournament opponents in particular yet, but that the team would take no matches for granted and would try its best to win and gain experience as a team before jumping into Pac-12 competition.
“I think every game is important, it doesn’t really matter the team, right now especially,” said Koenig. “We just want to go in and do our best and get better every single game.”
Cygan believes that this weekend will be a battle for the Utes, but that the team is eager for the chance to play some road games and strengthen the team’s resolve.
“I think it’s just going to be about the challenges that what we’re going to face on our side because when it comes to the other team, we can handle it and adjust to them,” Cygan said. “I think the biggest challenge is going to be making sure we come together as a team, especially on the road.”
Ute fans wishing to follow the team throughout this weekend’s tournament should head to www.GoZags.com for live stats and video streaming.
@tylerfcrum