Even though the U volleyball team didn’t exactly get its season started the way it would’ve liked to, just getting it started was significant for the Utes.
The Utes fell to No. 5 UCLA 3-0 (30-23, 30-21, 30-27) on Friday to open up the AVCA Showcase in Omaha, Neb. A day later they dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision to Tennessee.
Though a win in either of its two matches would have gotten Utah’s confidence started off on the right foot, the Utes have now established a baseline of where they need to get to in order to make another run at a Mountain West Conference championship.
The Utes started off the showcase against the team that dumped them from the NCAA tournament last season. The final score was the same, but the Utes will have the opportunity to gain more from their most recent loss to UCLA compared to the loss that ended their season in 2006. Last year, basically all the Utes could take from the loss to the Bruins was a chip on their shoulders and a steady resolve to return the favor the next time the two teams met. This year, three players — including Lori Baird, Kathryn (Kat) Haynie and freshman setter Kiesha Fisher have drastically seen their roles on the team increase, which makes the experience gained against a top-tier team such as UCLA almost immeasurable.
“I think we’ll learn a lot from this competition, and that’s going to be important for us,” said head coach Beth Launiere. “We’ve got some young players and we’ve just got to put it together. I was proud of how we competed tonight.”
The lesson the Utes learned as a team against UCLA can be summed up in one word: finish.
“I wouldn’t say it’s disappointing,” said senior Connie Dangerfield. “It’s the fact that we had it and we didn’t finish. It was a really good experience to open up against a team like that.”
The Utes came out tough against UCLA, but were overpowered in the early going. The Utes trailed 10-6 early, but worked themselves back into the match and actually trailed UCLA at 20-19 at one point. UCLA then scored six straight points to run away with game one. In the second game, UCLA used an 8-1 scoring string to break a 10-10, then pulled away from the Utes for good after the Utes closed the score to 22-19 in game two.
After a break to the locker room, the Utes came out with a resolve not to let the Bruins sweep them for the second time in as many games. The Utes matched the Bruins point-for-point until they managed to separate themselves by a score of 27-23 late in the game.
With the Utes needing to only score three points before UCLA scored seven, the Utes looked to be in control of game three. Instead, the U volleyball team learned not to look ahead.
UCLA scored the final seven points of the match to win the third game 30-27.
“I’d rather have a game like that than have a game against someone we were just going to sweep over and not learn anything from,” Dangerfield said.
Despite the loss, the Utes got some promising performances-some from familiar faces, and some from new ones.
Haynie tallied 11 kills, Whitney Webb and Kate Robison combined for 17 kills and 20 digs of their own, Dangerfield had 21 digs at libero and Fisher — who made her first start at setter for the Utes — put together a 34-assist, 17-dig performance in her debut.
In the second match of the showcase, the Utes looked to put their loss to the Bruins behind them with a win over Tennessee. The Lady Vols had different ideas.
After getting worked over by No. 1 Nebraska 3-0, Tennessee also wanted to rebound after failing to eclipse the 20-point mark in any of the three games against Nebraska.
The Utes came out on fire and won the first game 30-10. Tennesse then won the second game 30-25 to square the match at one game apiece. The Utes and Lady Vols then both claimed a 30-23 victory in games three and four to set up the fifth and final game of the match.
Tennessee and Utah continued the up-and-down tempo of the match in the fifth game as Utah would climb to a small lead before Tennessee was able to add small leads of its own. The Utes battled to a 15-14 lead and needed just one point to put the game and the match in their favor, but Tennessee fought back to square the game at 16-16.
The Utes handed Tennessee the victory after two late-attacking errors gave Tennessee an 18-16 victory for the game and a 3-2 win in the match. Webb finished with a career-high 21 kills in the loss, and Haynie tied her career high with 20.
“We learned some things from this match,” Launiere said. “We made big plays then we didn’t make plays. I was pleased with so many of the things we did tonight. It’s good to be in these positions so we can learn from them.”
Besides the experience, the one victory the Utes took away from the weekend in Nebraska was the honors bestowed upon Dangerfield. She took home all-tournament honors with her 43 combined digs in two matches of work.
“That was really cool,” Dangerfield said. “I definitely didn’t expect that when they called my name.”