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The University of Utah Athletics
Flashback Friday: Utes Sweep BYU to Reach Sweet 16
4/17/2020 2:25 PM | Volleyball
Ka'aha'aina-Torres Remembers the Buildup of the Match
Sports is all about working as a group and overcoming challenges and obstacles to achieve a common goal amongst team members.
Every team, player and coach works countless hours behind the scenes to be able to put everything together on the court. Despite all of those hours practicing and playing together, it's still rare when everyone clicks at the same time. When it does happen, it's something that not only players on the team remember, but it is also something that fans will never forget.
For Utah volleyball, a night like that came in a huge moment with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line on the road against a rival.
"I feel like we had a lot of games previously where things were going well, but the fire that night was because the stage was bigger," Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres said. "There was a lot more excitement behind it because if we won it then we go to the Sweet 16. I had never been there before and really wanted to get there. I think the fact that the match led to something bigger fueled that fire."
The Utes had won a marathon first-round match against Illinois that went five sets with Utah battling back after trailing several times. Then, just 24 hours later, the Utes had to turn around and play BYU on their home floor in front of 5,000 raucous fans.
"The night before against Illinois was really exhausting after going through another five-set match," Ka'aha'aina-Torres said. "We had already been through a ton of those in the regular season, so I think we were prepared for the quick turnaround. Coming into our serve and pass the next day, it was about refocusing and making sure our bodies are loose and ready for the next game. I really do think that Illinois match prepared us for our match against BYU. That put a new mentality in us that nothing was going to come easy and we had to keep battling hard. That Illinois match really set us up to be successful after we won it."
With that big win and playing again the next night, it takes a quick reset. Add the dynamic of playing your instate rival and the pressure rises, but it's still just going out to play volleyball.
Ka'aha'aina-Torres was in her first season starting at setter. She had a lot of support around her, but it was up to her to keep the offense moving in the right direction. That day leading up to the BYU match and with the support of teammates and her coaches, she simplified things.
"I was definitely nervous because it was one of the biggest matches I've ever played in so far," Ka'aha'aina-Torres said. "I talked to Dan (assistant coach) a couple of times throughout the day and he helped me calm down and refocus on what our game plan was going into the match. It was just back to the basics of what our team needs to do to be successful, which is give the hot hitters the ball, make sure the sets are being distributed evenly to make sure everyone has opportunities to score and be successful. Going back to the basics of our system really helped me to calm down and stay focused."
Back to the basics. Something that doesn't happen overnight, but really began back in January when Utah started preparing for their 2019 season in the fall.
"The big thing we talked about all season was about preparation and how our preparation would influence the outcome of all of these matches," Ka'aha'aina-Torres said. "I don't think it was like that just because we were playing BYU, but more so because we were excited to play for a chance to go to the Sweet 16. We had worked so hard to get there the entire season, and put everything we had been working on the last few months on the court to show everyone how good we really were."
That night, Utah swept BYU to earn their fourth Sweet 16 berth in program history. It was the first time BYU had been swept in Smith Fieldhouse since 2011.
Utah never trailed in the match, blitzing BYU 25-15 in all three sets. The Utes were in sync with everything that night. They had 12 blocks on defense and hit .394 on offense quieting the home crowd and never letting BYU get settled into the match.
"It was a culmination of all of the practice that my coaches have helped me put in from the preseason up until that point," she added. "It all came together. I don't know what made the switch flip or what caused it, but it all made sense in that point in time and felt really good to run the offense freely. I had all of my teammates supporting me and felt really confident."
That confidence and the way the team played that night is something that won't be soon forgotten by Utah fans.
Every team, player and coach works countless hours behind the scenes to be able to put everything together on the court. Despite all of those hours practicing and playing together, it's still rare when everyone clicks at the same time. When it does happen, it's something that not only players on the team remember, but it is also something that fans will never forget.
For Utah volleyball, a night like that came in a huge moment with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line on the road against a rival.
"I feel like we had a lot of games previously where things were going well, but the fire that night was because the stage was bigger," Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres said. "There was a lot more excitement behind it because if we won it then we go to the Sweet 16. I had never been there before and really wanted to get there. I think the fact that the match led to something bigger fueled that fire."
The Utes had won a marathon first-round match against Illinois that went five sets with Utah battling back after trailing several times. Then, just 24 hours later, the Utes had to turn around and play BYU on their home floor in front of 5,000 raucous fans.
"The night before against Illinois was really exhausting after going through another five-set match," Ka'aha'aina-Torres said. "We had already been through a ton of those in the regular season, so I think we were prepared for the quick turnaround. Coming into our serve and pass the next day, it was about refocusing and making sure our bodies are loose and ready for the next game. I really do think that Illinois match prepared us for our match against BYU. That put a new mentality in us that nothing was going to come easy and we had to keep battling hard. That Illinois match really set us up to be successful after we won it."
With that big win and playing again the next night, it takes a quick reset. Add the dynamic of playing your instate rival and the pressure rises, but it's still just going out to play volleyball.
Ka'aha'aina-Torres was in her first season starting at setter. She had a lot of support around her, but it was up to her to keep the offense moving in the right direction. That day leading up to the BYU match and with the support of teammates and her coaches, she simplified things.
"I was definitely nervous because it was one of the biggest matches I've ever played in so far," Ka'aha'aina-Torres said. "I talked to Dan (assistant coach) a couple of times throughout the day and he helped me calm down and refocus on what our game plan was going into the match. It was just back to the basics of what our team needs to do to be successful, which is give the hot hitters the ball, make sure the sets are being distributed evenly to make sure everyone has opportunities to score and be successful. Going back to the basics of our system really helped me to calm down and stay focused."
Back to the basics. Something that doesn't happen overnight, but really began back in January when Utah started preparing for their 2019 season in the fall.
"The big thing we talked about all season was about preparation and how our preparation would influence the outcome of all of these matches," Ka'aha'aina-Torres said. "I don't think it was like that just because we were playing BYU, but more so because we were excited to play for a chance to go to the Sweet 16. We had worked so hard to get there the entire season, and put everything we had been working on the last few months on the court to show everyone how good we really were."
That night, Utah swept BYU to earn their fourth Sweet 16 berth in program history. It was the first time BYU had been swept in Smith Fieldhouse since 2011.
Utah never trailed in the match, blitzing BYU 25-15 in all three sets. The Utes were in sync with everything that night. They had 12 blocks on defense and hit .394 on offense quieting the home crowd and never letting BYU get settled into the match.
"It was a culmination of all of the practice that my coaches have helped me put in from the preseason up until that point," she added. "It all came together. I don't know what made the switch flip or what caused it, but it all made sense in that point in time and felt really good to run the offense freely. I had all of my teammates supporting me and felt really confident."
That confidence and the way the team played that night is something that won't be soon forgotten by Utah fans.
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