The Utah volleyball team will put its unblemished record on the line when it takes the drive down I-15 to Orem and competes against three other undefeated teams in the Utah Valley Tournament this weekend.
The No. 17 Utes open the tournament against host Utah Valley University in a battle of unbeatens Friday at 7 p.m. Much like the Utes, the Wolverines have started the 2009 campaign hot.
Utah Valley beat Weber State, Gonzaga and Utah State to sweep the Weber State Invitational in its opening weekend.
To have success against UVU, Utah will have to deal with Kaylie Broadbent. The junior outside hitter led the team with 3.55 kills per set in 2008. Utah Valley has won consecutive Division-I Independent championships, but takes the court this year as a member of the Great West Conference. The Wolverines are a unanimous favorite to win the conference after receiving all seven first-place votes in the preseason Coaches Poll.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Hibbert said the Utes will try to continue doing what has made them successful so far this season.
“We’re going to focus on ourselves and try to play with a lot of energy,” Hibbert said. “We want to keep doing what we have been doing.”
Saturday morning, Utah will square off against Washington State at 10 a.m. The Cougars successfully opened the season by winning their own tournament, the Nike Cougar Invite Championship. They defeated Portland, UC Davis and Montana State.
Leading the Cougars are four-year starters Jackie Albright (outside hitter) and Kelly Hyder (libero). Albright led the team in hitting and finished second in digs a year ago, and Hyder holds the school record for career digs and digs in a season. In 2008, the Cougars finished 10-19, while only posting three conference victories during coach Andrew Palileo’s first season with Washington State. In the preseason Coache’s Poll, the Cougars were tabbed to finish in last place.
To wrap up the Utah Valley Tournament, Utah will face Big-12 opponent Missouri. Like Washington State and Utah Valley, Missouri has yet to suffer a loss in 2009. It also won its opening tournament8212;the Tiger Invitational8212;by beating Texas, Ole’ Miss and BYU. Thus far, Rosa Medrano has stood out for the Tigers. The junior middle blocker is averaging 4.3 kills and 2.8 digs per set.
Defensively, Missouri looks to Caitlyn Vann, as the junior libero has collected a team-leading 39 digs. Last season, the Tigers finished 13-17, and they have been picked to finish No. 8 this season in the preseason Coaches’ Poll.
U head coach Beth Launiere said she expects a tough weekend.
“Utah Valley is a good team,” she said. “They beat us last spring. They’ve put together a nice team. Missouri is out of the Big-12 and Washington State is out of the Pac-10 (so they will be tough).”
Following the Utah Valley Tournament, the Utes will take on Utah State in Logan next Tuesday before heading to California to compete in the Santa Clara Tournament, where they will play Santa Clara and Arizona in their final tournament of the season.