Offensive Powerhouse?
The Utah volleyball team continues to flaunt its power on the front line as the season progresses. The team has a .248 kill percentage and sophomore middle blocker Karolina Bartkowiak leads the Mountain West Conference with a .508 kill percentage.
The Utes have strong hitters in every position on the court. With Kat Haynie playing outside hitter, and Lori Baird working the right side, the Ute trio of Emillie Toone, Chelsey Sandberg and Bartkowiak are a force in the middle.
“Teams can’t commit block on anyone of us, because we have so many options,” Haynie said.
Utah has out hit its a opponents in every game except one, the loss against No. 4 Texas.
In both the Florida Gulf Coast and New Mexico State matches, the Utes had four hitters with double-digit kills.
“That’s the nice thing about having so many weapons,” head coach Beth Launiere said,”We can go to anyone at anytime.”
Setter’s Battle
Sophomore Stephanie Shardlow and freshman Abby Simmons continue to duke it out for the starting setter position.
While Shardlow has seen five starts to Simmons’ one, the competition is still very much alive.
“We are still pushing each other, still fighting for it,” Shardlow said. “Everyday we both come into practice with all we have.”
Despite Shardlow’s year of experience, the offense runs smoothly regardless ofwhich setter is calling the shots.
“They are both similar,” Baird said. “They are both doing a great job running the offense, and the competition just makes everyone better.”
While Launiere plans to eventually settle on just one player for the position, she shows no indication of who that will be or when it will happen.
“I’ve got two setters and I need to use them,” she said.
Shardlow is currently leading the MWC in assists averaging 11.33 per game.
Starting off slow
The Utes hit the ground running when it came to offense, but they didn’t have the same luck with the defensive part of the game.
The Utes were out-blocked in each of their first two games against Santa Clara and Utah Valley. Defensively, things finally turned around for Utah last weekend at the New Mexico State Tournament as the they tallied 12 blocks in three of the four games played.
“Things started out a little shaky on defense, but last weekend we did a lot better at blocking,” Baird said. “We’ve still got a lot of things to improve on.”
Despite the struggles with blocking, Utah’s back-row defense has been consistent since the beginning of the season. The Utes have out-dug their opponents in four of their six games.
Keisha Fisher is at the center of that defensive, as she has emerged in her new position as the libero. Fisher, who was originally recruited to play libero, played setter out of necessity last season.
“This is my first time playing libero,” Fisher said. “It’s really fun but it’s a lot of work as well.”
Fisher leads the team in digs with 55 on the season.
Sets to 25
Collegiate volleyball has a new change this season. A new system of scoring has been put into effect. Instead of playing sets to 30, teams play three games to 25.
“Games go by a lot faster,” Haynie said. “You get used to the flow and having to really push at a certain point and that changes when you’re not playing to 30 anymore.”
The reason for the scoring change was to counteract what the NCAA saw as a “lack of intesity” in the middle of the sets.
With each point worth more than before, focus of the players and intensity of the sets increase, making the game more fun for fans to watch.
“It changes the mindset of the game,” Baird said. “It makes games a lot more intense.”
Lucas IsleyStephanie Shardlow signals to teammates during their game against UVU. Shardlow is still competing against fellow teammate Abby Simmons for the Setter position this season.