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The University of Utah Athletics
2010 Utah Volleyball Preview: Opposite/Right Side Hitters
8/16/2010 12:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 16, 2010
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With the first serve of the 2010 Utah volleyball campaign 11 days away, utahutes.com preps fans for the beginning of the season with a breakdown of the Ute roster as well as a look at the upcoming schedule. This is the first in a five-part series about the student-athletes Utah has at each position heading into the season as well as the competition they will face.
Monday, Aug. 16: Opposite/Right Side Hitters
Tuesday, Aug. 17: Outside Hitters
Wednesday, Aug. 18: Middle Blockers
Thursday, Aug. 19: Setters/Liberos
Friday, Aug. 20: Schedule
Beth Launiere has been one of the most successful coaches in the nation over the past 20 years, putting together a 408-224 record (.646) as Utah's head coach. The foundation for Launiere's success with the Utes has been built on three basic but essential principles.
"The formula for success is really quite simple," Launiere said. "We have to win our matches at home. We have to beat the teams who feel we are supposed to beat. Then we have to pick off some big wins on the road along the way, whether it's in conference or not in conference."
The Utes posted a 17-12 overall record last season and finished in a third-place tie with New Mexico in the final Mountain West Conference standings with a 10-6 mark in league play. Consequently, Utah did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in the last 13 years.
"The No. 1 thing for us this season is that we have to defend Crimson Court again," Launiere said.
Heading into the 2009 season, the Utes were 106-16 within the friendly confines of Crimson Court since 2000. Their 11-3 home record last season was solid but spoiled by a pair of losses to conference opponents.
"If we can't [defend Crimson Court], it's going to be that much tougher to get where we want to be. In past years, we have done very well in the conference when we play well at home."
Launiere welcomes back a solid core of six starters, who will benefit from going through the inconsistent 2009 season and will be prepared to lead a consistent effort onto the floor for each match regardless of the opponent.
"We're definitely more experienced," Launiere said. "The players' roles are more defined. We have a number of players who will be returning to the same role, not only position-wise but their individual role on the team, in terms of leadership and offensive and defensive positioning.
"The returning players learned a lot last season, especially about leadership," Launiere said. "First of all, we have three seniors who have started their whole career: Karolina Bartkowiak, Stephanie Neeley and Keisha Fisher. Bartkowiak and Fisher were captains and Neeley has always been a floor leader so they understand what it truly takes to be a leader. They didn't understand that at the beginning of last year and there were growing pains in that area for them. It wasn't easy, but we kept working on it and addressing it this spring as well. They've really blossomed in that area in the past year.
"Those three are very important to our success. We have an idea of what the other players are going to do, but how much more ready and prepared they are will make a difference.
"It really comes down to how the players who were on the team last year respond. The offseason was good. They worked hard. When you get into situations like last season, it can be motivating to not reach your goals. It really is about this same group getting it done. We've brought in some players who can make us better but it really is about that core group responding to last year."
Utes Will Boast Versatile Opposite/Right Side Hitters in 2010:
Senior Karolina Bartkowiak and junior Jennifer Lanting will assume the opposite/right-side hitter position for the Utes this season.
Bartkowiak earned her first AVCA All-West region honorable mention selection and second consecutive All-MWC selection in 2009. She finished sixth in the MWC with 3.04 kills and 3.59 points per set. In 16 conference matches, Bartkowiak was fifth in the conference-only stats with 3.17 kills and 3.70 points per set. She showed her versatility by posting 12 double-doubles and leading Utah in kills 15 times, blocks three times and digs once.
"A little part of me would like to have Bartkowiak play just front row but she's too valuable to us to not have her on the court all the time," Launiere said. "She's become a primary passer for us. We did not focus on her offense this spring very much. We really focused on her back row play, her passing, defense, and her overall game. She's so valuable, not only because she's become a pretty good passer and defensive player, but we want her on the court all of the time because of her intangibles."
Versatility was one of the concentrations for Lanting, who has averaged 1.36 kills per set in 40 career matches, during the offseason.
"Lanting had as good of an offseason as she's ever had here," Launiere said. "We played Jennifer a bunch on the left side this spring, out of necessity but also to develop her overall game, and it really helped her. She's becoming a low-error, high-kill player for us. Her blocking is getting better and she's more aggressive so we're really excited about the progress she made in the offseason. Where she started a year ago compared to where she is starting now is like night and day.
"Last year, Jennifer hadn't really gotten on the court very much. Now she has a whole year under her belt and a great offseason."
Opposite/Right Side Hitter Player Notes:
Karolina Bartkowiak
Sr. ? OPP ? 6-2 ? Aurora, Ill./Wroclaw, Poland ? West Aurora H.S.
Established herself as one of the top players in the Mountain West last year ... more prepared for playing all the way around, both physically and mentally ... 2009 AVCA West Region Honorable Mention ... two-time All-MWC selection ... 234 kills shy of becoming 12th member of Utah's 1,000-kill club.
 Senior Karolina Bartkowiak is just 234 kills shy of becoming 12th member of Utah's 1,000-kill club.  | |
Jennifer Lanting
Jr. ? OPP ? 6-6 ? Corcoran, Calif. ? Central Valley Christian H.S.
Gained a lot of experience and made really big improvements during offseason ... size is valuable to the team but will look to become more versatile.
 Junior Jennifer Lanting gained a lot of experience and made really big improvements during the offseason. | |
Players Mentioned
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