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The University of Utah Athletics
2002 Utah Volleyball Season Outlook
8/21/2002 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 21, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY - One cannot look ahead to Utah volleyball's 2002 season without first reflecting on the monumental run of a year ago. The 2001 Utes posted their sixth consecutive winning season, going 25-7 overall and 11-3 in conference play, and captured the Mountain West Tournament Championship for the first time. Utah also made its inaugural trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and went 15-0 at Crimson Court to record its first-ever undefeated home season.
Now, the Utes hope to use last season's success as a springboard, catapulting them to even greater heights in 2002. The person responsible for taking the program to its unprecedented level is 13th-year head coach Beth Launiere, who is optimistic Utah can continue its climb in national prominence. "We're picked to win the conference for the first time ever and have a talented group of athletes to help us do that," says Launiere. "It's going to be exciting to experience the upcoming season."
The Utes' goals for 2002 begin with expanding their NCAA resume, which already includes four straight appearances. Also on the checklist for Utah is winning its first regular-season MWC title and advancing one round further in the NCAAs. "We put ourselves out on a limb by saying we wanted to make it to the Sweet 16 last year," tells Launiere. "This year we are the team to beat in the conference and know an Elite Eight appearance is a possibility."
Utah's big guns return from last season in Kim Turner and Sylva Strzinkov?. Turner, a 2001 honorable mention All-American and two-time all-conference honoree, led the Utes with 1.50 blocks per game and a .346 hitting efficiency. Strzinkov? also garnered all-MWC honors after notching 15 double-doubles in league matches.
Launiere plans to use a 5-1 offensive scheme more often this season over the 6-2 look of a year ago. The reason behind the move is the experience level of sophomore setter Kelsie Kartchner, who now has a season under her belt. Kartchner split time at setter last season with Jackie Morrill, but will be looked upon to handle the position alone this year.
Meanwhile, Morrill will be asked to perform other duties, moving to the NCAA's newly designated libero position. Wearing a different uniform than the rest of the team, the libero cannot serve, but may rotate in and out of the rotation without limitations.
Despite having a roster brimming with talent, Launiere knows she has big shoes to fill from last year's team. Among the losses to graduation are McKelle Stilson, Alisa Geddes, Adrienne Bradley-Drake and Lenka Urbanova. Another key loss is Katrena Ellet, who elected to serve an LDS Church mission rather than return for her senior season. "Katrena dominated the energy of the team, she will be missed," says Launiere.
Stilson wrapped up her four-year career as Utah's career leader in blocks (497) and block assists (449), and ranked third in kills (1,283). Geddes played all around for Utah and was the team's leading server. She also finished with nine double-doubles in league play. Bradley-Drake, who was named to the MWC all-tournament team, also played all around for the Utes.
"I think the biggest question we have with the 2002 team is our ball control," admits Launiere. "We lost Alisa, Adrienne and Lenka in that aspect. Aside from that, I think we have a lot of talent to fill in around Kim (Turner) and Sylva (Strzinkov?). We also have leadership with the two of them and Brenda Beal and Jackie (Morrill) returning."
Below is a position-by-position breakdown of the 2002 Utes.
Outside Hitters
The senior Strzinkov? will lead the outside hitters. "I think Sylva is going to have an even better season than she did last year," says Launiere. "She is in great physical shape and has the ability to dominate this year. We are going to increase her offensive responsibilities and allow her to use her abilities to hit different sets."
Strzinkov? led the Utes in 2001 with a 3.47 kills per game average and was second with 37 service aces.
As good as Strzinkov? is, Launiere is not hesitant to say that the rest of the group compares very favorably. Redshirt freshman Shelly Hundley spent last season learning the Utah system and is expected to make an immediate impact. "It is unbelievable to me that Shelly is just a freshman eligibility wise," claims Launiere. "I think she is eventually going to be one of the best outside hitters in this program. We will look to play her whenever and wherever we can because of her tremendous offensive abilities."
Hundley brings her 6-1 frame to the Utes, and possesses physical power and good passing skills.
Britt Whiting redshirted the 2001 season after transferring from Gonzaga and will also flip-flop between the middle and right side. "Brit has collegiate experience and reminds me of McKelle (Stilson) because she hits the slide very well. She is amazingly quick and brings an entire game to the floor," says Launiere.
Sophomore Sabine Schulz joins the Utes from Deggendorf, Germany, where she was one of the country's top players. "Sabine hits the ball very well and has wonderful ball control," says Launiere. "She knows and understands the game very well, and is very physical. Sabine's best asset is that she is able to play a lot of positions."
Freshman Danielle Leichliter has a 5-11 frame and is possibly the player that will replace Geddes. "We are very excited to have Danielle in the program," tells Launiere. "She has good defensive and passing skills and can tool the block. Danielle plays a lot outdoor volleyball and brings that style of play to the table."
Middle Blockers
The play in the middle is expected be centered around Turner. The junior needs just 331 kills to join a select group of seven other Utes in the 1,000 kills club. This season will be the first where Turner plays all around. "I don't think people realize how good of a passer Kim really is," admits Launiere. Since Turner is such a key player for the Utes, she could be moved to outside hitter on occasion. "We are going to be a better team if we get the ball to Kim more. She has proven to be a leader and has always shown the bigger the match, the bigger she plays. Kim has developed into a significant player nationally and is ready to lead this team."
Senior Brenda Beal is likely to split her playing time between middle blocker and opposite hitter. "Brenda has played on and off throughout her career despite not being a starter," says Launiere. "She has experience, and is ready to have a great senior season and to make a difference on the court for us."
Freshman Amie Toone is expected to redshirt the upcoming season to learn the Utah system. "Amie's athleticism is excellent. She hasn't played a lot of volleyball, but should develop into a great player for us down the road," underscores Launiere.
Setters
The 5-10 Kartchner could handle a lot of the setting responsibilities this year. "Kelsie gained invaluable experience last season by setting for a top-20 team as a freshman," admits Launiere. "She handled the pressure very well and learned so much. I believe she is ready to handle the task being the quarterback on the floor."
Tracy Neumeier saw some playing time as a freshman last fall and had a great spring practice. "I am expecting Tracy to compete for the starting setter position. She is very talented and has a great personality on the court. I know she'll be ready to go as a starter or backup," says Launiere.
Freshman Brooke Webster will redshirt the 2002 season. "Brooke is a very exciting athlete," says Launiere. "She is very strong and has great leadership skills. The coaching staff is excited about her future in the program."
Liberos
Morrill, a junior, will guide the defense at the libero position. "I think Jackie will be one of the top liberos in the country," boasts Launiere. "The libero is possibly the most important position on the court because this person passes every rotation. It will be different for Jackie because she'll be playing more than just the three rotations, as she did last season at the setter position. Playing libero will allow her the opportunity to show how great of a volleyball player she is."
Junior Taryn Horner should see time at the libero and defensive specialist spots. "Taryn is becoming an awfully good defensive player. She worked very hard during the off-season and is in great physical condition," says Launiere.
Schedule
In the preseason polls, the Utes were ranked No. 11 by Volleyball Magazine and No. 13 in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll. "The rankings are a reflection of what this program has done over the past couple of years," says Launiere. "Now if we want to push the ranking and become a top-10 team, we have to prove we can beat the top-10 teams. This is the toughest schedule we've faced because it includes several national caliber teams and competitive conference foes."
Based on the USA Today/AVCA preseason poll, Utah will face seven Top 25 teams this season. Among the battles is a rematch with defending NCAA champion Stanford, which beat the Utes in the regional semifinals last season. The majority of the matches against ranked opponents take place at Crimson Court, including confrontations with nonconference foes Hawaii, Arizona, Pacific and Illinois, and Mountain West rivals BYU and Colorado State. Utah opens the season by hosting No. 12 Pacific, New Hampshire and Murray State in the Utah Classic, Aug. 30-31.
The following weekend Utah travels to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Tournament. The field includes No. 1 Stanford, Cal Poly and San Jose State. "That is going to be a tough tournament," admits Launiere. "We aren't even thinking about Stanford because we have to get through San Jose State and Cal Poly first. Both are very good teams."
The Utes open conference play against UNLV on Sept. 27 in Las Vegas, Nev. "This league is very interesting," says Launiere. "We return quite a bit of experience and talent, but so does UNLV and San Diego State. In fact, both teams return almost all of last year's starters. BYU and Colorado State lost a lot of experience, but are always competitive on the conference and national level. It will be exciting to see if UNLV and San Diego State can break into the league's top three, which has been us, BYU and Colorado State in recent years."
Utah made its mark on the national scene in 2002 by knocking off several outstanding teams and advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Can the Utes take their success a step further this season?
"It is amazing the number of coaches and media who now know about Utah volleyball. Advancing to the next level helped build our image as a national contender, and now people don't hesitate to put us with the top teams," says Launiere. "Reaching the Sweet 16 brought a real sense of accomplishment. Now I'm anxious to see what this team can do as a follow up."
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