Screams echoed from the hallways leading to the locker room. They could be heard all the way from the sidelines of the court, through closed doors and thick cement walls. This is not all that rare on the night before Halloween, except these were screams of joy, not horror.
They were the cheers of a Utah team that finally threw a weight the players have carried through the month of October off its back. The Utes broke their nine-game losing streak and pulled out a victory against Oregon.
The match against the Ducks started off tightly contested. The game was tied at five, then Oregon went on a run many expected from a team that was nationally ranked a few weeks ago. The Ducks kept the lead and went on a 7-1 run, but the Utes did not give up.
They fought their hardest and clawed their way back into the game. Utah took a lead off of a few Oregon errors, and with a few kills the Utes took the first set against the Ducks, 25-23.
The second set started where the first left off. Each team got into a few runs, only to be answered by the other. The score was tied eight times, but the most crucial score came with Oregon down a point. It was 20-19 in Utah’s favor, but Oregon was coming back to tie up the match. Adora Anae had a different idea. She got a crucial kill and helped the Utes win the second set 25-22.
As the players went into the locker room, they were giddy. They hadn’t won a single set in any of the previous games, and Friday night they stood 2-0 against Oregon. However, the next set was a wake-up call.
The Utes slipped a little. They fought hard for the first few rallies, but then on an error by Carly Trueman, the Ducks took a 12-11 lead. The Utes stayed close to the Ducks for the rest of the set, but could never regain the lead. The Ducks took the third set 20-25.
In the fourth set, the Utes pulled off a feat they haven’t in a long time. The Ducks and Utes fought for every point and the teams stayed close the entire time. In this set alone, there were 13 tied scores and seven lead changes. The Ducks took a lead late in the set, going up 23-22 and it looked like they could force a fifth set. Anae came to rescue Utah once more and scored two crucial kills.
“[Anae’s] kill in set four at the end was huge,” head coach Beth Launiere said. “We needed that kill and she went up and got it.”
The Utes were up 24-23 with the set point and Brenna DeYoung and Emma Kirst combined for a block that sent the Ducks home with a loss.
The stadium erupted with cheers and the players rushed onto the court. The entire team huddled up for a moment on the court and wrapped their arms around each other. The relief was visible in their faces.
“Everyone was proud of each other,” DeYoung said. “We stuck through the fourth set. We were willing to go the distance and fight through it.”
As the players made their way back to the bench there were plenty of high fives and hugs to go around. Friends and family waited on the sidelines and greeted the players with huge smiles as they left the court.
“It felt awesome,” DeYoung said. “It had been a long time coming. We’ve been working really hard. It’s just a great reward, hopefully we can keep it going.”
Even Launiere was ecstatic about her team’s performance. With a slice of celebratory pizza in one hand she reiterated how important this win was for her team.
“It certainly goes a long way for confidence,” Launiere said. “We needed this win. It’s nice to get some reinforcement for the hard work we have been doing. Hopefully we stay hungry and keep going.”
Anae, who earned the Player of the Match award with 20 kills and 16 digs, is proud of the way her team fought.
“It feels so great to finally get a win,” Adora said. “You know we’re just doing the same thing. It’s just the passion and the energy that made a difference tonight.”
DeYoung sees this passion and energy spilling over to the next few games and has some high hopes for her team.
“I see us going on a winning streak,” DeYoung said. “We better get Oregon State on Sunday and then we just keep running from there.”
The emotions will be running high for this team after this victory, but there is no doubt that they will be focused on beating Oregon State on Sunday and getting Launiere her 500th win.
And for all of the superstitious fans out there — the Utes wore their blackout jerseys for the first time tonight and plan on wearing them as much as possible from here on out.
“We are definitely wearing [the black jerseys] on the road every time now,” DeYoung said.
@Twelvegage96