The Utah women’s volleyball team’s 0-2 start wasn’t the ideal way to begin conference play this season, but the losses gave the Utes the motivation to get to the top.
Despite dropping their first two Mountain West Conference matches, the Utes have steadily worked their way back to the top of the conference after two road wins against San Diego State and UNLV, capping off an 11-0 run in conference play during the last two months.
“It was really hard to start out with two losses, but it gave us more motivation to win along the way,” said middle blocker Lori Baird. “It almost helped us because it has given us a lot more drive.”
Utah sits in first place in the MWC with an 11-2 record, one match ahead of 10-2 Colorado State.
“We thought we could do it,” said head coach Beth Launiere. “We have just been doing a really good job of keeping our nose down and not looking up, just taking it one week at a time.”
With matches against BYU, Wyoming and Colorado State still on the horizon before the season wraps up, Utah knows that staying in the top spot and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament isn’t going to be easy.
“We have the biggest three matches left to play,” said middle blocker Emillie Toone. “We are just going to take it one game at a time. Right now, BYU is our focus.”
Although the Utes need no major improvements for the last two weeks of the season, they are working hard to better every aspect of their game.
“We’re always going to continue working on our skills,” Launiere said. “There is nothing major we are working on, just continuing to get better and staying focused.”
Not only did Utah move up in the MWC, but after winning both games last week, it moved up one spot in the national rankings, placing at No. 23.
“We haven’t really been aware of rankings all season, but it’s just a big accomplishment to be noticed like that,” said setter Abby Simmons. “All of the girls agree we deserved to be ranked.”
After leading the Utes in last week’s games with 31 kills, a .425 hitting percentage and 11 blocks, Baird was named MWC Player of the Week for the third time this season.
Baird, who has earned the honor every other week since Oct. 6, shared this week’s MWC honors with TCU middle blocker Kourtney Edwards.
“Every time I get it, I am amazed because I don’t think I necessarily deserve it,” Baird said. “Without great coaches and teammates and without us winning, I wouldn’t really be where I am, and I’m grateful for my team getting here.”
Baird continues to lead Utah, the No. 2 blocking team in the nation, with 1.44 blocks per set and is the first of three Utah players ranked in the top 50 blockers in the nation.
Baird is ranked at No. 11, while Toone sits at No. 16 and Chelsey Sandberg is ranked No. 40.
The Utes will look to extend its MWC winning streak to 12 as they face rivals BYU on Friday.
Thien SokLori Baird was named player of the week for the third time this season by the MWC. Baird and the utes hope to continue their winning streak in the MWC.