Utah opened their first weekend of conference play on the road against two teams picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference. After dropping a fifth set to Colorado on Thursday, Sept. 25, in Boulder, Utah headed up to Corvallis to take on Oregon State on Saturday. The result was the same for Utah as they lost 2-3 to the Beavers and returned home still searching for their first conference win.
The Utes got off to a second straight slow start Saturday as they dropped the first two sets versus the Beavers in the same fashion as on Thursday night against Colorado. And just as they did against Colorado, Utah won the next two sets to force a fifth set against Oregon State. The Utes were unable to complete the comeback in either of the matches, dropping both 2-3.
“We gotta stop going down 0-2,” said head coach Beth Launiere.
Against the Beavers on Saturday, the Utes were on the verge of claiming the opening set with a 23-21 lead, but Oregon State closed on a 5-1 run to take the first frame 26-24.
“The first set was a good match tonight — we lost in a close one, and I think it rattled us a little bit,” Launiere said. “We gotta show some composure through some tough situations.”
The Beavers took advantage of the “rattled” Utah team, opening the second set on an 11-5 run, and never allowed the Utes to get within four points the rest of the set, eventually winning it 25-20.
“We were passing the ball quite well, and then on offense we just weren’t getting kills,” Launiere said. “They are a good defensive team, but we just gotta put the ball away.”
Even with Utah down, Launiere was confident her team’s play would turn around in Corvallis, and the Utes proved their coach right.
Utah built an early lead against Oregon State in the third set, going up 7-1 in the beginning stages of the set. The Utes held their lead throughout the set to secure a 25-16 victory.
Midway through the fourth set Utah opened up a 15-9 lead and didn’t let the Beavers get within three points the rest of the way. The Utes finished off the set with one of Chelsey Schofield-Olsen’s 21 kills and won 25-18. The 21 kills led the way for Utah and was also a season high for Schofield-Olsen.
“I thought we played really good volleyball for two sets. We beat them quite handily,” Launiere said.
In the fifth and deciding set, the Beavers jumped out to a 12-5 lead. Utah was able to get back into the set with a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to 13-11, but a Schofield-Olsen attacking error gave Oregon State match point. The Utes still didn’t go quietly, fending off two match points before OSU’s Mary-Kate Marshall got her 24th kill of the night, ending the set and match.
Launiere won’t let her team dwell on the tough losses to start out conference play.
“We just talked about getting back to the gym on Monday and getting back to work,” Launiere said.
As for individual players, Launiere raved about Shelby Dalton’s performance.
“Shelby Dalton had a huge match for us tonight. She was the go-to player, and she really took over in sets three and four,” Launiere said.
The Utes used Dalton in new ways against the Beavers, getting her hits from the middle of the net.
“We are trying to move her around a little bit more,” Launiere said. “She can hit that ball in the middle that is tough to defend. We got that implemented this week.”
The Utes head home for two matches against the Arizona schools this weekend.
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@BenJasarevic