In the second game, Utah State women’s volleyball fell to state rivals University of Utah in four sets. After winning their first game, the Aggies lost to Utah 3-1 (31-29, 15-25, 23-25, 12-25) in their second game in the same week. The Aggies started strong but couldn’t hold out Saturday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. They won the first set but lost everything else. The Aggies couldn’t get anything to go their way on their three-day event after they met up with UTEP. The Aggies were swept at the Utah Classic on Sunday. Utah State has 11 freshmen on the team this year so growing pains are to be expected.
USU Stops Shot After First Win
In their first game, Utah State rallied for the win Friday after falling behind twice and winning their first match against Green Bay. Phoenix fought well but USU couldn’t be stopped. After the game, head coach Rob Neilson said,
Just so fun to watch our team. Every game that we played last week in our exhibition, we got better and better. Every game we played tonight, we got better and better and better. We’re still learning how to play together, learning our dynamic, learning how we’ll respond to lots of different ups and downs in a game. But I’m so proud of this team and I am so excited for what’s to come for Aggie Nation.
Things changed for the Aggies on Saturday when they met the Utes. They were able to keep the momentum in the first set against Utah but then dropped the next three, suffering their first loss. This also ended their fifteen-match winning streak from last year’s season. Utah State started well with a 10-5 lead and kept things going most of the set until Utah forced the extra points. Urging on the continued win of the first set came to a close for the Aggies when they went on a 3-0 run. Key players were freshman Andrea Simovski, who made a kill, and Kelsey Watson, who made back-to-back blocks.
Utah State drew first blood in the second set, but they could never recover after that. Utah ran away with it, taking the set easily. However, the Aggies wouldn’t go down without fighting in the third set. But the Utes shut them down whenever they had a glimmer of hope. They finished off Utah State by going on runs without an answer.
Utah State vs. Utah Stats Breakdown
The Utes hit .284, while Utah State could only hit less than half of that with a .112. The Aggies, however, led with Lawson, had 13 kills, six digs, and a game-changing block. Mehmedovic and Simovski recorded nine and eight kills. In striving to dig out the team, Bialek gave the Aggies 16 digs, while Kofe had nine digs herself along with 19 assists. Tukuafu came close to the lead, having 17 assists, while Watson was the one who had the most blocks with seven. Simovski was right behind her with four.
When it came to the Utah State meeting with Utah, the Aggies fought well in the first set. It was a seesaw of points not giving way to either side until the Utes ran away with the set, winning by six. That set seemed to have crushed the Aggie’s confidence as they never did well in the second set, giving way to Utah all the way. In the third set, the Aggies started off well until about halfway through when the Miners ended it.
USU’s Game Against UTEP
In Utah State’s game against UTEP this past Sunday, the Miners hit a triple-triple at .333. USU could only hit a third of that with a .105. Mehmedovic had the most kills, with 12, while she hit .240. Lawson helped with two aces, Bialek dug out eight for the Aggies, and Loryn Helgesen helped with two blocks.
The Utah State ladies play again this upcoming Friday on their home court. They will be hosting California at 6 pm MT in the Wayne Estes Center. The Aggies have been doing well despite the losses but can always come back after improvement from starting so well.
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