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Utes Focus on Volleyball After Voyage to Hawaii
By Phil Miller, Salt Lake Tribune
Dec. 2, 1999
Now that the team is all in Honolulu, the Utes can finally concentrate on volleyball. Getting an entire team and its traveling party to Hawaii on one day's notice took a travel-agent miracle, not to mention some serious dollars. But the Utes made it -- on two separate itineraries -- and hope to put aside their jetlag and enjoy the NCAA Tournament. Utah (21-9), seeded eighth in the Mountain Regional, faces ninth-seeded Colorado (18-11) Thursday at 8 p.m. (MST) at the University of Hawaii. The winner meets Prairie View (18-16) or, far more likely, No. 1 seed Hawaii (27-1) on Friday. That's a schedule that leaves little time for celebrating Utah's second straight NCAA berth, though Ute Coach Beth Launiere did set aside a few hours for her team to head to the beach. "We have a saying this week: 'Fun and Focus,' " said Launiere. "The NCAA Tournament is a great experience, and Hawaii is an incredible environment for volleyball. There will be 10,000 fans there, and they know their volleyball. It will be a lot of fun." Less fun was arranging the trip. Ever try to get 20 people toHawaii on one day's notice? It took an all-day effort to make each of those $1,300 reservations, but the NCAA picks up the tab. Launiere is more worried about the hectic schedule, she would have preferred playing on Friday and Sunday, like some other regionals, but Hawaii's men's basketball team will be using the arena this weekend. "It's really difficult, especially since we're on different flights and arrive at different times," the coach said. "We won't get to practice as much as we want, but at least everybody is in the same boat." And it hardly spoils what should be an exciting, if daunting, climax to a successful season. Launiere wasn't certain her team had enough offense, not with the three best offensive players graduated. But the Utes finished third in the Mountain West, came within two points of eliminating eventual champion Colorado State in the conference tournament, and "we're really playing our best volleyball of the season," Launiere said. "This week in practice, we were at another whole level of intensity." They will need it against the Buffs, who resemble Utah in many ways. Both schools feature young teams led by veteran setters, Graciela Torres-Lopez for the Utes and Kelly Campbell for Colorado. The pair have combined for more than 11,000 career assists. Utah was led this season by sophomore middle blocker McKelle Stilson, who had 419 kills and 145 blocks. Utah's lineup also includes sophomore Adrianne Bradley, who will be making a nostalgic trip: She transfered from Hawaii last summer. "Adrianne is our tour guide at Waikiki," Launiere joked. Like Utah, Colorado lost much of its firepower -- and five starters -- to graduation, but achieved its ninth straight NCAA appearance, thanks to some surprising freshmen and sophomores. That NCAA experience, not to mention a strong Big 12 Conference schedule, make the Buffs a far more dangerous opponent than Illinois State, Utah's first-round victim a year ago. Last year, the Utes were obsessed with reaching the tournament, a first for the school. Launiere said she has been careful not to burden her young team with too many expectations, but the players know what's at stake tonight. "We really would like to get to the second round again," she said. "We don't want to take a step back."
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