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Utah Volleyball Ready To Deal With Challenges Of Being On The Road

After sweeping Arizona in two matches over the weekend, Utah will now deal with a whole other set of challenges when it hits the road for the first time this season when the Utes face Cal on Friday and Sunday
Ryan Kostecka|
Utah Volleyball Ready To Deal With Challenges Of Being On The Road
Utah Volleyball Ready To Deal With Challenges Of Being On The Road

Beth Launiere was very pleased with her team's performance over the weekend, taking down Arizona in straight-set victories. 

While the performance on the court was impressive, to Launiere it was more about the confidence, maturity and business-like attitude the Utes had in their season-opening wins.

Now the Utes will take on a whole other set of challenges when they hit the road for the first time this season. Utah is set face Cal on Friday at 7 p.m. at Haas Pavilion and again on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Golden Bears lost to UCLA on both Friday and Sunday this past week.

While Launiere is always excited to see her team perform on the court, being on the road during the COVID-19 pandemic brings an entire different set of circumstances.

"This is our first time on the road and while we think we know what to expect, we really have no idea," Launiere said. "Having to sit on the bus every other seat or every other row, does the hotel have a room that can fit us all in for a team prep or will we have to do it multiple times in small groups? There are so many questions that will be answered for us."

The good news for the Utes is that they have the talent on the court and veteran leadership off of it to handle any situation thrown at them.

Dani Drews and Kenzie Koerber are returning seniors who were named All-Americans last year. Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres, a junior, was named an All-American last season as well and is the leader on the court as the setter. That trio of players is more than enough to make sure the Utes keep their heads on right when navigating the complications of the season.

"I think it always benefits to have a veteran team, but more so this year because of everything you have to deal with," Launiere said. "Lucky for us we have leaders on the team who, despite going through all this, nothing seems to faze them. I think we'll be good to go."

Drews is coming off a spectacular weekend in which was named the Pac-12 player of the week, the third time in her career she has received that honor. She notched 15 kills in the season-opening 3-0 victory over the Wildcats, and followed that up with 13 kills two days later in taking down Arizona 3-0 again. More than just an offensive player, Drews recorded 12 kills on Friday and nine more on Sunday.

"We couldn't be more proud of Dani," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "Becoming a two-time All-American and garnering first-team honors this year is an amazing honor for her and our program. Dani worked hard this past year to improve every aspect of her game and has become one of the top all-around players in the country."

Madelyn Robinson and Koerber showed their offensive skillsets as well, combining for 28 kills on the weekend while Torres was dynamite with 57 assists against the Wildcats.

But the most impressive part of the weekend came from freshman libero Vanessa Ramirez, who finished with 18 digs and perfect receiving percentage. 

Cal will present a totally different opponent than the Wildcats did as according to Launiere, the Golden Bears offensive attack is "extremely quick at the point of attack."

Katarina Pantovic and Lydia Grote make quite a 1-2 punch after tallying 24 and 20 kills this past weekend against the Bruins. Pantovic does her damage on the outside while Grote is an extremely athletic middle.

Utah's defense will have its hands full with these two and Roberts believes they will need to be sharper and more disciplined than last weekend if they want to stay perfect on the year.

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Ryan Kostecka
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