The Utes’ Pac-12 competition continues tonight at home against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils (13-7, 2-6) enter the match on a five-match losing streak and fell out of the Top 25 this week. Utah (15-5, 4-4) is looking to stay in the upper part of the league standings, because over the course of the Utes’ time in the Pac-12, seven or eight teams have made the NCAA Tournament each year. Utah sits in sixth entering tonight’s match.
Still, Utah head coach Beth Launiere isn’t thinking about December’s tournament just yet.
“I’m not even looking at it,” she said. “I don’t even know what place we are in. I think we are slowly putting ourselves in position for good things at the end, but it doesn’t matter to me right now.”
Even though the Utes have fallen a few places in the RPI and currently sit at No. 22, they have remained one of the best blocking teams in the nation. Utah is 13th in the country in blocks per set with a 2.82 average, which has been a buffer when offensive woes have arisen.
Junior middle blocker Bailey Bateman is seventh in the conference with 1.23 blocks per set. She and senior middle blocker Erin Redd-Brandon have combined to become a great wall at the net.
“We have really worked on refining it, getting to the right places at the right time,” Bateman said. “That helps us a lot. We just practiced it so much that it’s paying off.”
The Utes have also found success when they win the battle of the digs. Junior libero Lea Adolph and junior outside hitter Chelsey Schofield lead the team with 223 digs apiece, but Adolph is questionable for tonight’s match, as she is still feeling some effects from the concussion she sustained last week at Oregon State. Freshman Tess Sutton will once again fill in for Adolph if she is unable to play.
As for Utah’s opponent, the Sun Devils will look to sophomore outside hitter Macey Gardner, their most efficient player. Gardner has 266 kills on the year with a .451 hitting percentage.
“[Gardner] just gets a ton of sets, so we need to deal with her,” Launiere said.
Another Sun Devil the Utes will be keeping their eyes on is sophomore middle blocker Whitney Follette, who is fifth in the Pac-12 in blocks per set.
Despite the Arizona State’s current losing streak, Utah players recognize they can’t let up, but they are confident they have prepared well for the match.
“They are very patterned, so we know they have a lot of tendencies,” Bateman said. “If we really focus on the game plan we set up and do our jobs, each of us, then we should be able to execute and come out on top.”