The Utes were able to achieve their goal of making it into the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in school history. Utah was one of nine Pac-12 programs selected. They face the Yale Bulldogs on Friday at 3 p.m. in University Park, Pa.
“It is so, so exciting,” outside hitter Morgan Odale said. “I feel like for three years we have been working the Pac-12 and just trying to climb our way up and now we are finally able to do it. It is pretty sweet. It has been rough and tough.”
Utah racked up 20 wins through the regular season, four less than the number they achieved in their last NCAA tournament run in 2008. That season, the Utes snagged two postseason victories on their way to the Sweet 16 before falling to Washington.
Since joining the Pac-12, the progression has been slow yet evident. It was suspected that Utah would struggle against conference competition. Utah’s nine Pac-12 wins this year is their best mark yet, following five conference wins in 2012 and six in 2011. Launiere has been pleased with the advancement in the program.
“I am not going to underestimate it,” Launiere said. “It was a lot of work and we grinded it out, our staff and our players. It was not a small task so it is a tribute to our whole program, the university and the athletic department backing up our program. It just put a lot of pieces together.”
The key has been in the strides the Utes have taken in their recruitment. Utah’s seven juniors were once regarded as a Top 25 recruiting class featuring players such as Bailey Bateman, who is one of the league’s top blockers. In their third year facing some of the best competition in the country, their work is beginning to pay off. It has been an ongoing process that Launiere continually evaluates.
“Recruiting is something that is going to be ongoing for the future,” Launiere said.
“This is a group of players where when we started three years ago, they were freshmen and sophomores and now are juniors and seniors. So, it really was about getting this group better. I told every single person, our program had to get just a little bit better at everything and they did and that has been kind of our mind-set. Now we are figuring our way up the Pac-12.”
Now the Utes have a chance to step into the national spotlight. In a one-and-done tournament, the Utes will have a challenging road ahead of them. If the Utes can take down Yale in the first round, they’ll face Big Ten champion Penn State who have won 10 of their last 11 conference titles and five national championships in the last 15 years.