SALT LAKE CITY-Friday, Utah volleyball, ranked #19 overall in the country, commences its season while featuring both experience and some new wrinkles.
The Utes return seven letter-winners and four starters from a 2017 squad that made the Sweet 16 for the third time in school history.
One of these returners, senior middle blocker Berkeley Oblad of Henderson, Nev., has been named to the Pac-12’s preseason all-conference team after amassing 300 kills and 143 blocks last season. Oblad also earned American Volleyball Coaches Association honorable mention All-American honors for her contributions.
Head coach Beth Launiere enters her 28th season, having won 20 matches or more 17 times in that span, including last season.
Launiere has five newcomers, including two transfers in junior libero/defensive specialist Taylor Laugero, formerly of Santa Clara, and junior outside hitter Kinga Windisch, a Hungarian national who previously played for Coastal Carolina.
The others include freshman setter Saige Ka’aha’aina Torres of Honolulu, freshman middle blocker Kennedi Evans of Twin Falls, Idaho and freshman outside hitter Megan Yett of Caldwell, Idaho.
With all of this said, Launiere still has a tall order as her Utes compete in arguably the toughest conference in women’s college volleyball.
Despite being the #19 team in the land, the Utes are slated to finish eighth in the Pac-12 as the conference features the #1 team in the polls, Stanford, as well as #10 USC, #11 UCLA, #15 Colorado, #17 Washington and #18 Oregon.
