It’s the little things that have been haunting the Utes this season. Whether it is a serve that hits the net, a block that sends the ball out of bounds or an attack that goes awry, these errors have proven costly for Utah in their big match-ups.
Four of Utah’s five losses came from ranked conference opponents.
“We know that we can beat these teams,” said senior Erin Redd-Brandon. “We just got to put together a solid match. Anytime you play a Top 25 team, you can’t make errors. The little slip-ups here and there will cost you points. You have to play good the whole game.”
Senior Morgan Odale says that it all comes down to more focus in practice to help prevent the little things from keeping the Utes from being consistent. To her it’s about mentality and repetition.
“I really think they go hand in hand,” Odale said. “I mean you can practice all you want but if the mental toughness isn’t there, you’re not really getting anywhere.”
Losing Lea Adolph
Junior libero Lea Adolph suffered a concussion after colliding with Odale in the third set of the Oregon State match. Adolph and Odale were attempting to dig an Oregon State attack when Odale’s hand connected with Adolph’s face and Adolph was taken out of the match.
“I was dropping back to get that ball and we kind of collided,” Odale said. “And I kind of punched her in the face.”
Adolph is one of Utah’s best defenders and is tied for a team-high 223 digs. She had a career-high 24 digs against Washington State. Adolph sat out of Utah’s loss to Oregon on Sunday and her return date is uncertain.
The responsibility in the mean time falls to freshman Tess Sutton. Sutton has appeared in 13 of 16 matches this season, with 31 sets and 35 digs.
“The hardest thing was trying not to let my team down,” Sutton said. “It’s going to take hard work and dedication, just wanting to do my best. To treat it like any other player and just go in and do my best.”
More milestones for Redd-Brandon
Redd-Brandon hit not one, but two milestones in her career over the weekend. She is etching her name among the best volleyball players in the school’s history.
At Oregon State, Redd-Brandon posted 10 blocks in a win over the Beavers and became the fourth player in school history to join the 500 block club at 501 career blocks. She ranks 16th in the nation with 1.39 blocks per set and has 110 on the season.
“It’s a really cool accomplishment,” Redd-Brandon said. “I have just been working hard and everything to help our team win. It’s cool seeing your hard work pay off.”
Against the Ducks, Redd-Brandon joined her teammate Odale as the fourteenth member of the 1000 Kills Club with 7 kills. She now has 1001 kills in her career. Odale is also a member of Utah’s 1000 dig club and 100 aces.
“We both have worked really hard,” Odale said. “We come in trying to get better every day and figure things out. We both want to go to the NCAA Tournament and reach our potential. We have never been so we are really trying to get our team to come with us and reach that goal.”