The 2017 preseason for the University of Utah volleyball team doesn’t get underway until the end of August when the Utes play three tournaments that lead into September, but the Utes have already begun to make a name for themselves. Ranked No.11 by PrepVolleyball.com, the 2017 incoming class has received its highest recruiting class ranking in over 10 years.
“I think being the highest ranked class … it shows that a lot of experienced girls are coming in,” said senior Adora Anae. “They have connections with our assistant coach and his club and where he previously coached before our team. He knows them well and he has had a lot of good things to say about them, so I think they are going to bring a spark this year and bring a lot to this team.”
Eight players were added to the roster for the upcoming season. Among the new Utes are seven freshmen and a junior college transfer. Anae believes this new class will help shape the team by backing each other up and deepening the bench.
When Anae was a freshman, her class wasn’t ranked, but despite that, Anae feels every year since she has been a student-athlete at Utah, each class always has a great group of players.
“We were a dominant group when my class came in,” Anae said. “We came in, worked hard, got some playing time and contributed to the season, so I think this new group is going to do the same with a lot of the seniors this year, so I’m super excited.”
One of the many new faces to join the Utes is Dani Barton, a multisport athlete from Sandy, Utah. In high school, Barton played basketball and volleyball, but she knew one day she would have to choose one over the other to pursue.
“Volleyball has always been my favorite sport,” Barton said. “I love basketball, but to me I feel like volleyball is mentally a tougher game. It challenges me more, and I think that’s why I like it more and why I chose it.”
The Utah bloodline runs deep in the Barton family. Her mom played for Utah volleyball head coach Beth Launiere in her senior year of college, and her dad played football and baseball for the school. Barton also has two brothers, Jackson and Cody, who are on the Utah football team. Ever since she was little, she always said one day she was going to be a Ute and now her dreams are coming true. Barton believes the incoming class has a lot of potential.
“It’s a really solid incoming class, so I think we are going to help this team a lot in any way,” Barton said. “We still don’t know who’s going to be doing what, but everyone is super talented coming in so it’s going to be really interesting to see how lineups end up looking.”
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