It has been said you learn more from losses than you do from wins. The statement holds true for the Utah women’s volleyball team.
After losing to the No. 7 Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Ore., on Monday night and ending its eight-game win streak, the Utah team is much more aware of its weaknesses than before.
“We felt like we did some good things and that there is a lot of valuable things we can take from that match,” said head coach Beth Launiere.
Consistency in floor defense is just one of the areas the Utes know they need to work on.
“We were on a roller coaster with passing8212;it was really good, then really bad,” libero Keisha Fisher said. “We’ve got to be more steady with passing because when it’s on, everything is on, but when the passing isn’t good, everything else breaks down.”
After weeks of relying on a tough block to help win matches, Utah put up only three blocks in the four-set loss and learned what happens when a team hits over its block.
“We’ve got to be able to win matches other ways,” Launiere said. “Their style didn’t allow us to block a lot, which means we have to get more consistent with passing.”
Despite suffering their first loss in five weeks, the Utes aren’t dwelling on it.
With a Mountain West Conference game against New Mexico on Thursday and another road trip to take on San Diego State and UNLV next week, the focus is on getting prepared for those games.
“It’s always a challenge to play on the road,” Kathryn Haynie said. “This road trip will be tough, the energy on the road changes things.”
Getting ready to play teams for a second time this season makes preparation different for the Utes.
“It changes a lot, everything is about our side of the net and our execution,” Launiere said. “We’ve added a few things, but mostly we’ve been trying to get better at everything.”
Utah is ranked second in the MWC, but the Lobos are just one win away from taking over that spot, and TCU and UNLV aren’t far behind either.
“We just have to be better than what we were the first time around and play even harder,” Fisher said. “We have to play our game and not worry about what’s on the other side of the net.”
When it comes to staying at the top of the MWC, Utah’s upcoming schedule is in its favor.
Four of the six remaining conference games will be played at Crimson Court, where the Utes have only lost one match this season.
“We’ve got to be able to continue to win at home,” Launiere said. “Next week’s road trip will be huge for us. If we can win those games it’ll be a lot easier to control where we stand.”
Only the first place team in the MWC is guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament, but Launiere said it’s likely the top two or three teams will get in.
With that in mind, Utah is working hard to stay at the top of the conference and continue its MWC seven-game win streak.
“It’s so important for us to focus on what we can do and not get caught up in what other teams are doing,” Haynie said. “We just have to take it one match at a time and do what we can do to win.”
Tyler CobbKeisha Fisher noted that as passing breaks down other parts of the team break down. Utah?s loss to Oregon on Monday helped the team see weaknesses they hadn?t realized before.