When Beth Launiere sensed that her team lacked confidence after the string of tough losses the Utes experienced during their pre-conference schedule, she didn’t go reaching for a shipment of Eric Blumenthal self-help books. She didn’t reach for the number of the nearest sports psychologist, either.
Instead, the head coach of the U volleyball team prescribed the best medicine she could think of: a win over a good team in a tight match. The Utes followed the “doctor’s” orders fastidiously, and came out with a big win in a hotly contested match against MWC-powerhouse Colorado State to give their immune systems — and their psyches — a much-needed boost.
“I think that was the biggest thing,” Launiere said. “It showed that we could win close games, and we actually came from behind in all of them. We just were not going to lose that match, we weren’t going to be denied.”
But the win against Colorado State would have meant nothing if the Utes didn’t use it as a stepping stone to thrust themselves to another level, which is something the volleyball team addressed directly after their first conference win.
“The No. 1 thing we talked about in the locker room is that we’ve got to use (the win) to propel us,” Launiere said.
Initial results indicate the Utes have done just that.
Against Weber State — which nearly shocked top-25 BYU a week earlier — the Utes put together their best offensive numbers of the season and swept a team for the first time in 2007 — something the Utes did a total of 20 times last year.
“I think we’ve finally really settled into our lineup and we’re starting to execute,” Launiere said. “I feel good about it.”
Another thing Launiere feels good about is the play of outside hitter Kat Haynie.
The junior leads the team in hitting percentage (.336) and has also accumulated 17 aces on the season, which Haynie credits to her team as a whole.
“I think it’s just our team,” Haynie said. “Everyone’s doing their job so it just opens up different things. Other teams worry about so many things that little things open up.”
Being the gracious person that she is, she also credits her teammates as the ones that have made her transition from the backline to the frontline and from spot-starting duty to a full-time starter so easy.
“I really think it’s everyone else,” Haynie said.
“Yeah, it’s a different roll, but it’s still volleyball,” Haynie said. “It’s still pass, set, hit. I’m still an outside hitter.”
The Utes (4-7, 1-2) will be heading out on their second two-game conference road trip in as many weeks. First up for the Utes will be Air Force (7-9, 0-3) on Friday night starting at 7 p.m.
Directly following the game the Utes will travel to Laramie, Wyo., to take on the Cowboys (6-5, 1-2) for a Saturday tilt that also begins at 7 p.m.
Despite Wyoming and Air Force being two of the least formidable opponents the Utes will face in conference play, the Utes aren’t taking anyone lightly in their attempt to build steam in the MWC.
“I still think we don’t have any luxury of taking anyone lightly,” Launiere said. “We have to come out totally prepared all the time.”
Their opponents’ records aren’t the only thing the Utes will be paying little attention to this weekend.
Although Connie Dangerfield is on the cusp of setting the all-time record for digs in a Ute uniform — something Dangerfield can feasibly do this weekend — the U libero is hardly batting an eyelash.
“It’s exciting, but it’s definitely not in the forefront of my mind right now,” Dangerfield said. “Worry about the team getting a third win in a row and then a fourth, then coming back home and going against a top-25 team.”
Dangerfield acknowledged that at the end of the season, she’ll look back and admire the fact that she was able to break Brenda Barton-Whicker’s 10-year record of 1,313 digs, but for now all she cares about is helping her team improve and win games.
“I will look back and say, ‘Wow, that’s awesome,'” Dangerfield said. “And I couldn’t have accomplished that without all my teammates and stuff.”