Oct. 6, 2000

Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Utah State's women's volleyball team (ranked 25th in the country) suffered its first conference loss of the season tonight at The Pyramid against No. 18 Long Beach State in three games by scores of 7-15, 5-15, and 8-15 to fall to 12-4 on the year and 4-1 in the Big West Conference. The 49ers improved to 10-4 overall and 2-3 in league play with the win. The loss snaps a 10-match winning streak for the Aggies that dated back to Sept. 9, 2000 versus Oklahoma.

"We never showed up tonight as a team," commented second-year head coach Tom Peterson. "We played under pressure and scared for the entire match. They (LBSU) just outplayed us in every facet of the game, and they were a very good team tonight."

Utah State was never in the match as the 49ers put the pressure on the Aggies early and often. LBSU outhit USU in game one .259 to .065 in notching the 15-7 win. Game two was a mirror image of game one as Utah State once again hit .065, but LBSU hit a blistering .500 and coasted to a 15-5 win. USU did make a rally in game three and closed the game to 11-8 at one point, but the 49ers scored the final four points to sweep the Aggies.

Individually for Utah State, senior Melissa Schoepf (Georgetown, Calif.) was the only Aggie to notch double-figures in kills with 10 on 28 attacks. As a team, USU hit just .137, while Long Beach State hit .419. The Aggies also got dominated at the net as the 49ers had 11 team blocks to just two for USU. LBSU outdug the Aggies 25-17 and had three more service aces.

Utah State will next we in action on Saturday, Oct. 7 at No. 14 Pacific who is 12-3 on the season and tied with the Aggies for first-place in the league with identical 4-1 records.