USU has formed and followed a pattern that they repeated yet again in their last match against Wyoming. The Aggies have again forced their opponents to another five-set match. However, they fell short against the Cowgirls in a 3-2 set scoring (25-27, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12) over the weekend at the Wayne Estes Center.
This is the sixth time the Aggies have gone the distance in pushing their match to go five sets. This is a new program record. The Aggies had a five-point lead and seemed to be heading to their first Mountain West Conference volleyball victory. Wyoming had other plans. That would have been five with the hosts had they come out on top. But they didn’t.
Strong First and Second Sets
The first set turned into a battle of runs as the Cowgirls jumped out to an immediate 4-0 lead before the Aggies responded with a 4-0 run to take a one-point lead. The sides exchanged 5-0 bursts before Wyoming built a three-point lead late in the set at 22-19. USU then closed the set on a 7-2 run capped off by kills from freshmen Mara Štiglic and Loryn Helgesen to take the opening frame, 27-25.
The visitors immediately opened the set, building a 3-0 lead. Utah State erased the advantage with a 7-1 stretch, creating a four-point lead before a 10-2 run from the Cowgirls, which ultimately proved the difference as Wyoming tied the match with a 25-20 win.
The Third and Fourth Change
In the third set, the Aggies flipped the script with a 4-0 run out of the gates before Wyoming clawed back to tie it at 6-6. After a pair of runs from each team, Utah State blitzed the Cowgirls with a 6-0 spurt to go up 16-11. Wyoming fought back late, trimming USU’s lead to two points before a block and kill from senior Adna Mehmedovic completed the 25-22 win for the Aggies.
USU threatened to close out the match with a 6-0 burst to begin the fourth set. Despite a 4-0 Cowgirl run, the Aggies countered with a 6-1 stretch featuring an ace each from Štiglic and freshman Kate Lijic, to go ahead, 13-6. Wyoming answered with a 6-0 run to come within a point before USU again created separation with a 5-1 run. However, the Cowgirls built another comeback, using a 4-0 run to take their first lead and ultimately force a fifth set with a 25-23 victory.
Bring On the Heartbreak
The two sides exchanged points to begin the final set as neither side built a multi-point lead in the early stages before Wyoming slowly made distance during a 10-4 stretch. The Aggies rallied late with a 3-0 run to come within two points before a Cowgirl kill clinched the win for Wyoming at 15-12.
The Aggies Stats
Mehmedovic led USU with a career-high 19 kills while hitting .289. Mehmedovic tied for the team lead alongside junior Tierney Barlow with six blocks apiece. Helgesen was the most efficient of the Aggie attackers, finishing with a .450 hitting percentage, 12 kills, and three blocks. Štiglic, Kofe, and Simovski tied for the team lead with two service aces each.
Freshman Kaylie Kofe led USU with 36 assists, adding four kills on only six attempts, while Lijic added 15 assists. Sophomore Kendel Thompson set a new career-high with 23 digs, tying for the most digs by a Utah State player since former Aggie Jordi Holdaway finished with 25 digs against Air Force in 2022. Freshman Andrea Simovski made it two Aggies with double-digit digs, finishing with 10. Utah State will travel for the first time in conference play, taking on San Diego State on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m., and UNLV on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 2 p.m.
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