Losing to Hawaii has been a trend for the University of Utah volleyball team in the past few years. However, the past years had the Rainbow Wahine defeating the Utes in the NCAAs. This year, Utah was looking for revenge in the Bankers Classic.
Utah did not lay down in front of the 10th-ranked Rainbows after Hawaii defeated the Utes in the first game of the match. After fighting in five tough games, Utah could not pull out the match and fell to Hawaii 30-24, 19-30, 30-27, 23-30, 15-7. The loss ended the Utes’ four-match winning streak.
The Utes then played in the consolation match against Fairfield. Utah would not go out of the tournament with two losses, and pulled out the win in another five-game match, 30-27, 30-28, 20 30, 20-30, 15-13.
Utah played well against Hawaii, though UH’s Kim Willoughby put up the numbers to give the Rainbow Wahine the edge in the match. She was not as efficient as usual, however, she got the job done. Willoughby recorded a match-high 30 kills and had an attack percentage of .259.
Maja Justin was the secondary option for Hawaii and contributed 12 kills in the win. As a team, Hawaii hit for a percentage of .178.
Utah matched up well at the net, with many players getting involved in the attack. Alisa Geddes played well on both sides of the net, with 11 kills and 20 digs.
Adrianne Bradley-Drake equaled Geddes with 11 kills and added 11 digs in an all-around effort. Kim Turner had team-high 14 kills, while Sylva Strzinkov added 12 kills and 6 digs.
The Utes did not dominate the block as they had in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, however. The battle of the net was nearly even, with Utah recording 15 total team blocks and Hawaii 13.
The same things that plagued the Utes against Hawaii carried over into the consolation match against Fairfield until Game 5.
“Our blocking game did it for us once again. We had one total team block at the end of Game 4 and 20 in Game 5 alone. That was what made the difference tonight. It was a total team effort, and I am very happy with the win,” said Ute coach Beth Launiere.
Utah outblocked Fairfield 21-8. Turner led the Utes defensively with 10 blocks and also contributed offensively with 12 kills.
Geddes’ all-around play also carried over into the consolation game, as she notched 11 kills and added 12 digs.
Meanwhile, frosh setter Tracy Neumeier has not seen that much playing time since the emergence of Jackie Morrill, but she played a significant role in the win, as she added 25 assists.
“I was really proud of the way our players came back and pulled out the win,” Launiere said.
The win marked the end of the regular season for Utah, as the NCAA selection show will take place today and will draw the picture the Utes will have to cut through in order to make it to the Sweet 16.
Utah could host the first two rounds of the tournament because of its conference championship and tough play against ranked opponents throughout the year.