Nov. 4, 2000

Box Score

LOGAN, Utah - After battling back from a two games to none deficit to take a 9-4 lead in the fifth and final game of its match versus No. 18 Long Beach State, Utah State's volleyball team (ranked 19th in the country) lost a heartbreaking five-game match to the 49ers Saturday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in front of a record crowd of 2,258 by scores of 12-15, 2-15, 15-12, 15-10, 13-15. With the loss, USU falls to 19-8 on the year and 9-5 in the Big West Conference, while Long Beach State improves to 17-7 overall and 8-5 in league play.

"For us to come back showed a lot of heart by this team," commented USU head coach Tom Peterson. "I am very proud of our gals to fight back the way they did, especially with some of the things Long Beach State was running against us. We could have won that match if one or two things go differently in that last game."

A war was staged in the opening game of the match as both teams fought one another throughout. The Aggies built an early 8-4 lead in the contest before LBSU battled back to claim game one. The 49ers rolled into game two and quickly disposed of USU with a 15-2 win as the 49ers hit .552 in that second game. The match looked to be over early in game three as Long Beach State raced out to a 9-4 lead. However, the Aggies dug in and fought back to take a 14-10 lead and eventually win the match 15-12. USU exploded for a 11-1 lead in game four before the 49ers new what happened. But once again the momentum changed and LBSU closed the contest to 14-12 before USU could win the game. Game five was two different games in itself as USU built a commanding 9-4 lead under rallying scoring. But then the match changed in favor of the 49ers as they rattled of seven straight points to take an 11-9 lead. The margin grew to 14-10 for Long Beach before the Aggies answered with three straight points to close the game to 14-13 before eventually losing the game and the match.

In her final home match of her career, senior outside hitter Amy Crosbie (Visalia, Calif.) led Utah State with 22 kills, while fellow senior Melissa Schoepf (Georgetown, Calif.) added 16 kills, 11 digs and nine blocks. Junior Heather Olmstead (Carpinteria, Calif.) had a team-high 20 digs in the match, while three other Aggies had 10 plus digs. Junior Cheryl Weaver had a match-high 29 kills for Long Beach State to go along with 14 digs as the middle blocker hit .451 in the contest.

Overall, USU hit .190 in the match, while Long Beach State hit .259. Utah State did outblock the taller 49er squad 15.5-to-11.0, while LBSU recorded three more digs.

Utah State will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at Idaho State before closing the season on the road with a pair of Big West Conference matches at Boise State and Idaho.