Oct. 19, 2000

Box Score

LOGAN, Utah - Junior setter Chelsi Neves (Otto, Wyo.) had a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs to lead No. 22 Utah State to a 15-9, 15-10, 15-8 win over UC Irvine tonight at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum as the Aggies improved to 16-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big West Conference. The Anteaters dropped to 6-11 overall and 1-7 in league play with the loss.

"It's always nice to get a win over a team that is as well coached as UC Irvine is," commented second-year head coach Tom Peterson. "We weren't very crisp or emotional at times tonight, but to our credit we didn't let that get to a point where that was a critical part of the match."

After racing out to a 9-0 lead in game one, Utah State struggled for the remainder of the match. UC Irvine rallied in game one to close the score to 13-9 before USU put the Anteaters away. UCI again hung around in game two before the Aggies scored six of the final eight points to take a two games to none lead. In the third and final game, USU managed to put a little breathing room between themselves and the Anteaters and coasted to the three-game sweep.

Individually for Utah State, Neves hit a team-high .769 with those 10 kills, and she also had three block assists. Senior Amy Crosbie (Visalia, Calif. ) had a team-high 12 kills in the match, while fellow senior Melissa Schoepf (Georgetown, Calif.) added 10 kills, nine digs, and three block assists. Senior Denae Mohlman (Shoreline, Wash.) led the Aggies with six block assists as USU recorded 9.5 team blocks to just four for UCI. The Aggies hit .314 in the match and held UC Irvine to a .162 hitting percentage.

Utah State will return to Big West action this Saturday, Oct. 21, when it hosts Cal State Fullerton at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum at 7:30 p.m.