Coming into the season, University of Utah volleyball coach Beth Launiere was not expecting the type of success the team has had thus far, finishing its pre-MWC Tournament schedule at 19-5 overall, and placing second in the conference at 11-3.
“If you told me that we would only have five losses at the end of the season, I would be very surprised, and very happy,” Launiere said.
Although the Utes dropped their Friday match against San Diego State, they have finished the season well, as they won 11 of their last 12 matches, and now have the No. 2 seed going into the MWC Tournament Nov. 15 to 17.
“I am very proud of the way this team has played against nationally ranked opponents, especially at home,” Launiere said.
Throughout the season, Utah has come up with huge wins at Crimson Court, including tough victories against Colorado, Colorado State, BYU and Utah State. Not one team was able to conquer the Utes in their home arena.
The great season has been a product of the great individual play.
“I knew Sylva [Strzinkov] and Kim [Turner] were going to have to play well this season, but I did not think they would play this well, and they are one of the main reasons why we are where we are today,” Launiere said.
Turner is now third in the conference in blocks per game with 1.51, and fourth in the conference in hitting percentage at .346. She also won the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week award twice over the course of the season.
Strzinkov was similarly huge for the Utes, as she was second in the conference in digs per game with 3.07 and led the team in kills per game with 3.60. She also garnered the MWC Player of the Week award once .
When the season started, the largest question for the Utes was who would step in as the setter with senior Lucie Turkov departing, and only a pair of freshmen and a sophomore to take her place. But the question has been answered with the tandem of Jackie Morrill and Kelsie Kartchner.
“People don’t know how important Jackie is to our team and how instrumental she is to our wins, and Kelsie has also played very well this season,” Launiere said.
Although the team has had a good season, the Mountain West Conference Tournament is now the main objective for the Utes, and the team will need to improve in some areas in order to win the tournament .
“We must cut down on our service errors, and we have to work on our fundamentals, and we just have to play our style of volleyball,” Launiere said.
The first match for the Utes will be against New Mexico on Thursday at BYU’s Smith Field House.