Utah volleyballers are short on tournament wins

Utah coaches and players say they're seeing exactly what they expected at this year's Junior Olympic Volleyball Tournament.

Unfortunately, that hasn't translated into a lot of wins yet.

At least three local teams have one win — the High Country 14s, Starling 14s, Starling 15s, and Summit 15s. The High Country 12-and-under team lost all five of its games, and several local teams have not started playing because they're in the older divisions which begin pool play Saturday and Sunday. The two 15-year-old teams started today, while the 12-, 13- and 14-year-old teams began play Wednesday.

"Some of these teams are really good," said Heidi Niederhauser, who is 13 years old and playing for High Country's 14s team. "It's fun because you get to see what teams from throughout the country are doing . . . They're all here for the same reason. They want to win. It's harder (than regional tournaments)."

Adds her teammate, Alex Rickard, 13, "You get better."

The girls are not discouraged by their four losses, and they say the experience has been both educational and fun. That, coaches say, is exactly what they hope for when bringing young players to a tournament like this.

"I expected this," said Starlings 15-and-under coach Lala Mulitalo, whose club is in its first year. "We really love it . . .

My girls are down for every challenge. They were excited to be here."

Niederhauser has been to nationals before, but she is the exception as most girls are playing in a national tournament for the first time in the younger age groups. For the Starling teams, many players are having their first club team experience.

"Most of them didn't play club last year because they couldn't afford the normal club," Mulitalo said. The former player and newly hired coach at Timpanogos High said she modeled the club after one her cousin runs in California. They trade work for gym time and fund raise to pay their tournament fees.

"This is a great experience for us," she said.

Adam Nash coaches the High Country 14-and-under team and said the girls don't get down about the losses because they "play forward. They want to win a national championship, but they're aware the reality is a lot of these teams are just better. They're very big 14-year-olds; they're top athletes and they're very fit."