OCR Text |
Show 8 Wednesday, September 12,2007 SPORTS www. dailyu tahchronicle. com Pre-MWC schedule making Utes stronger Tony Pizza SPORTS EDITOR Finally, the U volleyball team can exhale—at least a little bit. After spending the summer weathering the abrupt departure of Airial Salvo and Sydney Anderson and coping with the season-ending injury to middle-blocker Emillie Toone, the Utes experienced growing pains against the most arduous non-conference schedule in team history. However, there is not one member of the U volleyball team who isn't sure the team is better for it. "I think we're maturing as a team and we'll get there," said head coach Beth Launiere. "We got that win over Purdue when we were down 13-u in game five, so it will happen. We just need to get some wins, experience, you know, figure things out." The Utes compiled a 2-5 record against the likes of No. 4 USC, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Florida, No. 21 Dayton and preseason top-25 Purdue. The Utes' record, however, is hardly indicative of the fight or the improvement they displayed in their non-conference schedule. The Utes began the season against UCLA and got dumped in three straight games by scores of 30-23,30-21 and 30-27. Later, Launiere was able to put the Utes' season-opening loss in perspective. "We are such a better team than we were against UCLA three weeks ago," Launiere said "We're playing with a lot more confidence as a team. Against UCLA, we just weren'tflowingat all. I feel MAEGAN BURR/IhcO&lf Utah(hts Keisha Fisher digs the ball against Florida on Sunday. The Utes face San Diego State this weekend. like we're ready. We still have to develop our offense. We've got to get creative with some things this year, where last year we tended to keep things simpler and just executed. We've got a few things to do still, but I think we're ready to go." Aiding Launiere in that assessment was the fact that she had so much to contrast the loss to UCLA with. At the end of the Utes' non-conference schedule, they were hanging with top-tier teams like USC and Florida that are on par with UCLA on a volleyball court. The Utes came within two secondgame points of making USC a very nervous team Friday. Then, on Sunday, the Utes hung with a very good Florida team and battled with the Gators through the ebbs and flows of a competitive fourgame match. On top of those tough non-conference matches, the Utes also experienced three five-game matches that taught them a lot about themselves for the upcoming season. "We had a really tough preseason, but we are learning so much," said Kathryn Haynie, the Utes' outside hitter. "We've learned things we would have never learned having an easier preseason. We may be losing now, but it's going to pay off so much in the long run. We obviously have to learn to win some, but that's hopefully what we're going to do this weekend." The lack of a cake-walk schedule has helped freshmen Keisha Fisher and Karolina Bartkowiak improve immensely at the setter and middle blocker positions, respectively. Playing against the top teams in the country has also shown the Utes their weaknesses, which is something that might not have happened had they faced teams such as Weber State, UVSC and Murray State, as they have in past non-conference schedules. Freshmen aren't the only ones who have undergone drastic improvement during the Utes1 top schedule. Haynie, Lori Baird and Kate Robison have seen more playing time against the nation's elite, and have had to hit and dig against some of the best blockers and spikers in the country. But perhaps the biggest thing the Utes have gained from their schedule thus far is the bond they've formed as a team. Fisher is learning just how high AilAmerican Whitney Webb likes the ball on the right side and how low Baird needs the ball in mid-court to thunder home one of her patented kills. Now, all the Utes need to learn is what winning a few more times feels like. With a Mountain West schedule that has only one current top-25 team (No. 12 BYU), the Utes should find their conference matches a bit easier than their last seven matches. tpizza@ chronicle.utah.edu RSL hopes to slow D.C. United Jon Gilbert STAFF WRITER Real Salt Lake and a red-hot D.C. United will square off in a match tonight, both searching for points. Sound familiar? On June 23, D.C. United made the trip to Salt Lake City unbeaten in its last seven matches. RSL was winless for the year and had just made one of many trades to help spark floundering playoff dreams. The trade worked. Newly acquired striker Robbie Findley, formerly of the Los Angeles Galaxy, sandwiched the intermission with two goals to give Real the 2-i upset win. Now, in the second leg of the clubs' two meetings this season, D.C. United (14-6-4) is unbeaten in its last eight matches, winning five games by at least two goals. Real has seen better days since nabbing its first victory of 2007 in its showdown with the Black and Red. RSL (4-12-6) saw the influx of Findley, midfielder Kyle Beckerman and Argentines Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales and Matias Mantilla elevate the club's play. "If we go out and play our best game and (D.C. United) do too, we can still win," Beckerman said. To win, Real must keep tabs of Luciano Emilio, currently the most dangerous man in MLS who leads the league in goals scored with 18. Named MLS Player of the Week for posting two straight two-goal performances, the striker's activity should be the focus of any team's defense. Defense was the problem in Real's last match. Houston capitalized on RSL's mistakes en route to a 4-3 victory. "There were just too many technical breakdowns," head coach Jason Kreis said. "We gave the ball away too easily. Against a team like Houston, they're going to punish you. I thought we gave away too many silly free kicks and corner kicks." Emilio combines with several play- making teammates for D.C. United— who comfortably lead the MLS in goals scored and assists. All-time MLS goal-scoring leader Jaime Moreno and midfielders Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez and Fred all have tallied at least five goals and five assists this season. Although Real's offensive production has remained at the other end of the spectrum, the team has harmonized for an improved attack. "We realize that we haven't scored enough over the first three quarters of the season," Kreis said. "So we have been trying to figure out how we're going to get players forward and how we're going to get them forward quickly." Real received a boost in its loss to Houston from Kyle Brown off the bench. The striker scored his first MLS goal to pull his club within one goal in the 82nd minute. His improvement has not gone unnoticed. "We've seen that his level keeps increasing and increasing," Kreis said. "His experience is paying dividends." Real is looking for a boost from every player that steps onto the field, whether a starter or a reserve. "I think you have to rely on substitutes coming in and making a difference," Kreis said. Getting wins has made a noticeable difference on RSL's prospects. The last time Real faced off with D.C. United, gaining points in the MLS standings was of dire concern. Eleven points out of the last playoff spot currently held by Chicago, RSL is within striking distance of its preseason playoff expectations. Real plays three matches between today and Sept. 19. Chicago plays one match in that time, providing RSL the opportunity to close the gap. A victory tonight would also propel RSL in front of Toronto FC, which Real faces Saturday. j.gilbert@ chronicle.utah.edu Bradon Godfrey pulls in a pass in Saturday's loss. A series of injuries has placed the Utes in a difficult position as they prepare to face No. 11 UCLA on Saturday.. U football notebook: reason for concern Cody Brunner ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Running nowhere The Utes' coaching staff still isn't happy with the production of the running game, and who can blame them? In two games, Utah has amassed only 91 total rushing yards. Leading the Utes is junior Ray Stowers, who has rushed the ball 17 times for 47 yards. "The separation that we hoped to see in that football game (against Air Force) did not occur," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Darrell Mack" is probably going to be our starter (against UCLA). It's not definitive right now but that's probably the direction we're going to head. It's unfortunate that we have not been able to get that thing sorted out yet but we've got a lot of football left and we're hoping to get some separation there." Mack had the best average-percarry (3.6 yards per rush) of all the Utah running backs against Air Force,finishingthe game with 25 yards on seven attempts. Whittingham has also voiced displeasure with the offensive line's performance. "We're not functioning at a high-enough level on the offensive line right now," Whittingham said. "Usually of our five guys, four do the right thing and one won't. The offensive line has got to be a cohesive unit. We thought they were shaping up, but it has not shaped up as quick as we had hoped." Kicking it with the best in the country Utah placekicker and punter "Sweet" Louie Sakoda has been one of the few positives on the team this year, pinning teams deep in their own territory with his punts and hitting two of three attempted field goals. Sakoda currently ranks 17th in the nation in average yards-perpunt with 44.78 per kick. The junior, who is a Ray Guy (top-punter) and Lou Groza (top-kicker) candidate, has landed seven of his 18 punts inside the opposing team's 20-yard line this year. "Louie Sakoda is a bright spot on this team," Whittingham said. "He averaged close to 50 yards punting and nailed both field goals (against Air Force) and really continues to be a bright spot for us." Stop the bleeding For the second consecutive week, the Utes allowed an ungainlyamount of rushing yards against the Falcons. Utah conceded 334 yards on the ground and allowed Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney to run over them for 113 yards. "We've got to win the line of scrimmage and knock them back," Whittingham said. "We got pushed around in the Air Force game and we need to lower our pad level. We've got to be more stout up front so our linebackers can find the football," Coming into the season, the Utes' front seven defensive players were regarded as some of the best in the conference and the secondary was in question. In the first two games, the opposite has been true. The Utes have allowed a paltry 92.5 passing yards per game while giving away an average of 287.5 yards on the ground. With that being said, both Air Force and Oregon State boast run-happy offenses. "Defensively, it was the same old option attack that we've seen for years, but just different formations;1 Whittingham said. "It turned out to be double and triple option. That's what they hung their hat on." Offensively uncoordinated Many Utah fans were ques- tioning the play calling of offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig last Saturday, particularly when the Utes couldn't punch the ball in with two opportunities from the one-yard line. The failure to score either of those touchdowns ended any chance of a Utah win. "It's kind of human nature to second-guess when you are struggling," Whittingham said. "We don't do that. We'll evaluate everyone's performance at the end of the year. That means coaches, players and everyone else involved with the program." The Utah offense performed better against Air Force on Saturday than against Oregon State, gaining a total of 313 yards. Any gas left in the tank? Following two consecutive losses and a number of crippling injuries to open the season, the Utes are taking on national powerhouse No. 11 UCLA this Saturday. But after the loss to Air Force, Utah coaches, players and fans alike are in a state of disillusionment. "Guys are looking around like 'What's going on,'" Whittingham said. "It's not a situation that we expected ourselves to be in at this point, but we're going to try to fight our way out." The Utes' one saving grace for this season could be the return of Brian Johnson, who is estimated to play as early as next week against UNLV. "Brian is progressing," Whittingham said. "He will not play this week. I can say that with relative certainty, but we hope to get him back for UNLV. That's the course he's on right now, and we hope to have him available for the UNLV game in two weeks." c,brunner@ chronicle.utah.edu |