SALT LAKE CITY — Although thrilled to be in the NCAA Tournament again, the University of Utah volleyball team didn’t quite get everything it wanted from the committee.
Having just wrapped up their best season since joining the Pac-12 eight years ago, the Utes were hoping to play hosts at the Huntsman Center this weekend. Their resume from the season seemed to make a good case for that, too — including a 22-9 record, a third-place finish in a tough conference and Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors for Utah’s head coach Beth Launiere.
“We didn’t really know what way it could go,” Ute standout outside hitter Dani Drews said. “... We were obviously hoping to host.”
Alas, Utah finished with a No. 17 ranking, missing out on hosting by one spot. BYU made it with a few spots to spare thanks to its No. 13 ranking. The Cougars will take on New Mexico State on Friday night following the Utes’ match against Illinois. Baylor is the overall top seed.
But the Utes aren’t going to let that small disappointment get in their way — even if it means they’ll play in Provo instead of on their own campus.
“I know we’ll have a great sea of red down there,” Launiere said.
Utah is even providing a fan bus to transport supporters down south with them in the early afternoon.
“I’m really motivated to go down there and do better than what we did last year,” said Drews, recalling how the Utes swept Denver 3-0 in the first round but lost in three straight to host BYU in the second round.
“I think we ended not as good as we could have down there last year,” she added. “It’s a cool chance to, in a way, get a do-over to be able to play better this year down there. I feel like we’ve grown so much as a team this year and are playing such good volleyball that I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Drews, one of two first-team Pac-12 players on Utah along with 6-foot-3 outside hitter Kenzie Koerber, liked the message Launiere, now in her 30th season, gave to the Utes after the selection show.
“Wherever. Whoever. Just do whatever it takes to win,” Drews said, repeating her coach’s advice. “I think that’s everyone’s mentality — to just get as far as we can in the tournament. We know what we need to do.”
The first challenge: Beat the Fighting Illini at the Smithfield House on Friday afternoon. The NCAA did do the Utes one big favor with the timing. Fans can enjoy the volleyball match, which begins at 4 p.m., and then watch the football team take on Oregon at 6 p.m. in the Pac-12 Championship game. (Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham sent a video showing his team’s support of the volleyball squad, by the way.)
If the Utes advance past Illinois, they’d likely get a chance to avenge an earlier loss to BYU. The Cougars upended Utah 3-1 at the Huntsman Center in September.
Utah enters the NCAAs on a three-game winning streak. Illinois took seventh in the Big Ten and finished 16-13 overall. These two programs haven’t played since 2002, but Illinois has a 1-4 series record. Launiere has ties to the Fighting Illini, having coached and earned her master’s degree there in 1988-89 before coming to Utah.
Launiere believes her team’s challenging Pac-12 schedule — and the 11 five-set matches they experienced — helped put them in a good position to advance in the tournament.
“I feel like we’re battled-tested. I really do. You go through the gauntlet of the Pac-12 — the second round of the Pac-12 is a grind because there’s really good athletes and really good coaches and there’s really good scouting going on,” Launiere said. “Everyone’s battling, so yeah we got ourselves into some big-time five-set matches against some of the top other teams in the country and the conference. That’s got to help us. There’s not a situation that we haven’t been in this year and that we aren’t ready to handle again.”
Yep, even playing in Provo.
“This team had big goals,” Launiere said, “and we’ve met a lot of them along the way so far and we still have some ahead of us and we’re excited.”
No. 17 Utah (22-9, 14-6) vs. Illinois (16-13, 11-9)
Friday, 4 p.m. MST
Smith Fieldhouse, BYU, Provo
Stream: BYU TV