The fifth set of a volleyball game, which is played to only 15 points, provides a different tactical approach for coaches and a unique mental challenge for players. Utah head coach Beth Launiere is a fan of the shortened fifth set because it involves more strategy and mind games between the two coaches.
Even though Utah is 1-3 in the fifth set this year, Launiere thinks it’s the way the team starts that has to do with their negative record in the decisive fifth set.
“We’re not losing the five set matches at the end of the matches, we’re losing them at the beginning,” Launiere said. “We gotta come out and take charge of things instead of just responding to everything.”
Three out of the four matches that have gone to five sets have started with Utah trailing 2-0 in the match, including Friday’s victory over Cal.
The win against the Golden Bears was the first time the Utes have come back from a 2-0 hole to win the match since Oct. 14, 2006.
“I don’t even know what happens because if I knew we would obviously change it,” senior Shelby Dalton said about Utah falling back 2-0 before they get things going.
Lineup Changes
One key to forcing a fifth set on Friday night was the substitutions Launiere made coming out of the locker room. Launiere brought true freshman Eliza Katoa in for Makenzie Moea’i and transfer Brenna DeYoung in the middle for redshirt freshman Carly Trueman.
These were the first changes Launiere’s lineup had seen since the Utes opening Pac-12 match against Colorado on Sept. 25.
In Boulder that day, Utah was down 2-0 heading into intermission and Launiere pulled Katoa for Moea’i due to Katoa’s struggles passing the ball in her first ever Pac-12 match. Moea’i helped settle the team down with her passing, and the Utes forced a fifth set against Colorado but weren’t able to come away with a victory. Moea’i started every match after that until Sunday against No. 1 Stanford.
Katoa got the start on Sunday against the best team in the nation, and this time she didn’t let her nerves get the best of her. The freshman’s five kills led the Utes after the first set.
The team doesn’t let the recent changes affect the communication on the court, despite the lineup not seeing any changes during the first six conference matches.
“I just feel as connected to them as anybody else on the court,” senior Bailey Bateman said.
Conference of Champions
The Pac-12 is the toughest volleyball conference in the country, with seven teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, and an eighth team, Colorado, ranked at No. 26. Additionally, all 12 conference teams are ranked in the top 75 in RPI.
In 2013, the conference broke an NCAA tournament record by getting nine teams into the tournament. Earlier this season, Kevin Wong, a Pac-12 TV commentator, said during a telecast that he believes the Pac-12 will get 10 teams into the tournament this time around.
Utah is currently sitting at 10th in the conference with a 2-6 record in Pac-12 play.
“I think 10 teams can deserve it, but it just depends on if the committee really wants to put 10 teams in from a conference,” Launiere said. “We are right at the cut off, you have to be around 40-45 [RPI ranking] to make the tournament.”
Utah’s current RPI ranking is 49.
Jesse Agler, another Pac-12 TV commentator, mentioned that after the Cal. victory, Utah has to get on a run of victories to make the tournament.
It will be no easy task for the Utes considering some of the games coming up on their schedule, starting with undefeated No. 3 Washington on Friday.
@BenJasarevic