Oct. 23, 2000
Box Score
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State's women's volleyball team, ranked 19th in the country, improved to 18-5 on the season and 8-2 in Big West action with an easy 15-11, 15-8, 15-5 win over Idaho tonight at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Idaho dropped to 11-8 overall and 2-6 in league play with the loss. The Aggies are a perfect 9-0 at home on the season.
"We are doing a lot of things well for periods of time, but we need to start doing those things well for long periods of time," commented USU head coach Tom Peterson. "Our offense was more diverse and quicker tonight, sometimes to quick for our own hitters, but that is something we have just implemented into our game. A times our timing was off tonight and we just need to be a little better at that."
As has been the case throughout Utah State's six-match homestand, USU roared out to an early lead in game one at 12-4. But once again, the Aggies seemed to let down a bit and allowed Idaho to claw its way back into the contest at 12-11. USU then closed the match out with four consecutive points to win the opening game. The Vandals jumped on the Aggies early in game two opening a 4-0 lead before USU scored the next 12 points en route to a 15-8 win. In the final game of the match, Utah State allowed the Vandals to hit only .033 and coasted to the sweep.
Seniors Amy Crosbie (Visalia, Calif) and Denae Mohlman (Shoreline, Wash.) paced Utah State with 12 kills apiece, while fellow senior Melissa Schoepf (Georgetown, Calif.) added 10 kills and hit a team-high .500. Junior Heather Olmstead (Carpinteria, Calif.) led the defensive charge for USU with 11 digs, while sophomore Hailey MacKay (Bountiful, Utah) had a team-high four blocks. Utah State hit .270 in the match to Idaho's .129 percentage.
Up next for Utah State will be two crucial Big West matches at No. 14 UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Oct. 27th, and at Cal Poly on Saturday the 28th. USU defeated both clubs earlier this year in Logan.
"These upcoming matches are the most important part of our season and they aren't going to be easy," stated Peterson. "All four of our next opponents are very good and it will be a difficult test for this team."
