This past summer, the Utah women’s volleyball team lost an important member of its squad.
It wasn’t a player or member of the coaching staff, but rather the mother of head coach Beth Launiere, Sally, who lost her battle with cancer in mid-July.
In a tribute to Sally, the team members have dedicated their season to her and wear red strings on their shoes in every match they play.
“It was very emotional when the captains announced what they were doing at our first match,” Launiere said. “It meant a lot to me.”
Sally Launiere was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Mich., where she and her husband Robert went on to raise their son and six daughters.
Sally had become an integral part of the U volleyball program in the 19 years since Launiere took over as head coach, as she traveled to Utah from Michigan for the BYU match every year for the past 15 years. Her obituary even quoted her as being “the Utah volleyball team’s biggest fan.”
“I would take her into the locker room and (have her) meet the team,” Launiere said. “She really got to know the players and would often keep in touch with old players.”
Sally could be described as a “hard-core” Utah volleyball fan.
In addition to coming to Utah once a year, she would watch any televised games and most recently watched every Utah game via Webcast or game tracker.
“If there was a game on TV, she would be yelling and screaming at midnight or one in the morning because of the time difference.” Launiere said. “She was 78, but she figured out how to watch all our games on the Internet.”
It was the day after the Utes lost in the Mountain West conference championship game last year that Launiere got the call telling her that her mom’s cancer was back.
As the cancer progressed, Launiere flew back and forth between Utah and Michigan eight times between May and July, causing her to miss part of spring training and camps.
“They knew how hard it was for me,” Launiere said of her team. “It was amazing how much work they did on their own.”
Three weeks before Utah was scheduled to begin practice, Sally passed away. It was then that the Utes decided to dedicate their season to her.
“(Sally) came to a lot of matches and we knew her well,” Lori Baird said. “We wanted to pay tribute to her and help Beth with the hard time she was going through.”
Although the upperclassmen had more time to get to know Sally and develop a relationship with her, it was clear early on to the younger U volleyball players that she had a big impact on the team.
“This summer when she wasn’t doing so well, I kept hearing what a great lady she was,” freshman Sarah Hibbert said. “It really makes me wish I had gotten the chance to know her.”
The same response was echoed by the rest of the team8212;Sally was loved and respected by the Utah players.
“I only knew her for one year, but I could see how much of an impact she had made on this program,” Stephanie Shardlow said. “She was a great lady and I would’ve liked to know her better.”
Despite the struggles the Utah team went through, Launiere’s loss made them want to play even harder in the preseason.
“It was something we talked about a lot,” Chelsey Sandberg said. “Beth had a lot on her mind and we wanted her to have less stress.”
Even though Sally is gone, she is still very much a part of the program.
“One of the last things she said was, “Beat BYU,'” Baird said. “She was a hard-core Utah volleyball fan and she is still a part of what happens here.”
Lucas IsleyThe girls on the Utah volleyball team are wearing red strings on their shoes this season in remembrance of Coach Beth Launiere’s mother who was one of the Utes biggest fans.
Tyler CobbUtah?s head coach Beth Launiere?s mother Sally passed away shortly before team practices started this season. It was then that the Utes decided to dedicate this season to hear.