Utah’s volleyball team is full of promising young players who have the potential to be great, but perhaps none more so than sophomore Adora Anae.
Anae is the key player for this Ute team. She carries the team in big games and plays a major role on defense. She is the closer in tight matches and is the overall star.
Anae came to Utah as a freshman in 2014 and the head coach Beth Launiere was excited, but at the same time was still a bit wary about her new recruit.
“We were very excited about her,” Launiere said. “She had the size, the length and the skill, but you never know what they are all about until you get them on the court at this level.”
Anae immediately shined on a Ute team led by six seniors. In her first game as a Ute, Anae recorded eight kills against Montana State and never looked back as the season progressed.
In the Utes’ second round loss to Nebraska in the NCAA tournament, Anae recorded 20 kills, setting a career high at the time, and added four blocks to her performance. Anae ended the season third on the team with 280 kills at a 2.46 kill per set average. She also amassed 70 total blocks and 129 digs. And she did not slouch on the defensive end. She continues to play a crucial role on that end of the court and is second on the team to only libero Tess Sutton in digs per set this season.
As the majority of last year’s starters graduated and left, Anae was thrust into the spotlight. At the end of her freshman season she was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman First Team and anyone who followed Utah volleyball knew she would be the future of the team.
As a sophomore, Anae was expected to mature into a star who could carry a team and was more than ready. Launiere praises her progress on a daily basis.
“She’s really learning how to bring it every day,” Launiere said. “Not only is she getting better technically, but she has made the shift from young freshman role player, to someone that understands how to carry a load.”
As far as her individual performance goes, Anae has not disappointed. So far this season, Anae has almost doubled her kill per set average from last season. She leads the team with 4.14 kills per set and is fourth place in this aspect in the Pac-12. Anae has also set numerous career highs this season.
She recorded 27 kills against California on Oct. 18, setting a career high and also setting the new mark for the school record of kills in a match. In that same match Anae recorded 25 digs and became the first Ute to ever record two 20-kill and 20-dig performances in one season.
While the Utes are only 7-12 on the season so far, including a 1-7 record in Pac-12 play, Anae has done everything in her power to carry this team. She has started every match, played the most sets out of any player on the team, and has led the team in kills in all but one match. She’s put this team on her back, something not many sophomores have the maturity or skill to do, yet Anae does it with a smile on her face and an air of confidence.
Redshirt freshman Jesse Jorgensen loves whenever she gets to spend time with Anae because of how she approaches the game.
“Adora is a lot of fun to play with,” Jorgenson said. “She is very passionate and energetic about what she does. She shows it every time she steps on the court. She makes us all want to play better.”
Adora looks to continue to lead her team and to bring home some more victories for the Utes as she progresses and Launiere knows nothing will get in her way.
“The sky’s the limit for her,” Launiere said.
g.hanson@dailyutahchronicle,com
@twelvegage96