Nov. 9, 2002
Final Stats
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Erin Cartwright (Hyrum, Utah) recorded a double-double with 20 kills and 10 digs to lead Utah State to a three-game win over UC Riverside at the Student Rec Center here tonight by final scores of 30-25, 30-19, 30-27 to improve USU to 12-13 on the season and 6-8 in the Big West Conference. With the loss, the Highlanders fall to 6-19 on the season and 2-13 in league play.
Utah State scored the first two points of the match and maintained that advantage until scoring three straight points to push its lead to 14-9. USU was up 23-17 when UC Riverside rallied and cut the margin to 23-20 before the Aggies closed the game out with a 7-2 run. Cartwright provided much of the fireworks for USU in the opening game with eight kills and a .700 hitting percentage.
The Aggies jumped all over the Highlanders in game two with six straight points and cruised to a 30-19 win. USU hit .405 in the second stanza and held UCR to a .147 hitting percentage.
In game three, Utah state took a quick 5-1 lead before UC Riverside closed the gap to 8-7 following four straight points. The teams battled back and forth with five lead changes until the Aggies went up 25-22. The Highlanders rallied again and tied the score at 26 before USU finished the match by scoring four of the final five points.
Cartwright hit .567 in the match as she recorded 20-plus kills for the second straight outing. Freshman Zuzana Cernianska (Prague, Czech Republic) hit .565 in the match with 14 kills to go along with five digs, while junior Tereza Cernianska (Prague, Czech Republic) hit .394 with 16 kills.
As a team, Utah State hit .358 in the match and held UC Riverside to a .218 hitting percentage. Neither team had much success at the net as USU managed only six team blocks, while UCR recorded 5.5.
Utah State will return to action on Tues., Nov. 12 when they travel to Ogden, Utah to face Weber State. USU will then return home for its final two home matches of the season on Thur., Nov. 14 against Cal State Northridge and on Sat., Nov. 16 against Pacific. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
