Simply put, the Pac-12 is hands down the most difficult volleyball conference in the nation. Eight of the conference’s 12 teams were ranked in the latest AVCA poll, including four placing in the top 10. The next closest conference to even sniff that is the Big Ten, with six ranked teams.
Despite cracking the list in the preseason, the Utes are not one of those ranked teams, but they are looking to rise to the challenge and win in spite of the tough schedule they face.
This will be the U’s fifth season in the Pac-12 after joining from the Mountain West Conference in 2011, and so far, success in the conference has been hard to come by for the Utes. They have gone 29-53 in Pac-12 play over the last four years, which includes a 9-11 mark this past season. That record secured Utah the seventh spot in the conference, but also a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
This year might be an even harder journey to the postseason, as the Utes have to deal with a number of elite teams, most of them twice. They play third-ranked Stanford twice, No. 17 UCLA twice and the No. 8 team, Washington, twice as well, among the rest of the Pac-12. This is a daunting schedule in a stacked conference, but freshman Berkeley Oblad isn’t intimidated.
“That’s why we all come to play in college,” Oblad said. “You want to play at the highest competition level there is. That’s the Pac-12. You’re going to get the best competition. Being around all these other girls that want to do that as well just gets you fired up about it.”
Not only will it take an eagerness to play to remain competitive, but the players have to be ready and willing to work to get better and play their best when it comes to game time. Sophomore Adora Anae knows what it will take to play against these tough opponents week in and week out.
“It takes a lot of reps in the gym,” Anae said. “Getting in the gym. Doing what is needed. Trying to be the best team we can be.”
Head coach Beth Launiere still sees a few kinks in the process.
“I think as a young team they need to learn how to prepare better,” Launiere said. “We talked about that last weekend. Whether it’s home or it’s away, it’s just a learning process of how to really prepare for this level.”
The players will need to learn quickly, as Pac-12 play opens on Sept. 23 with No. 23 Colorado coming to play the Utes at the Huntsman Center. The rivalry game with 12th-ranked BYU on the Sept. 17 will be a good introduction to playing tougher opponents, but it will not carry as much weight as the conference games will.
To reach the NCAA Tournament this year, the team will have to prepare itself to, at the very least, replicate last year’s success, if not surpass the 9-11 mark they set. The players are working their way towards that goal, and by the time conference play opens up, the Utes will seemingly be ready to step their game up.
@Twelvegage96