Oct. 31, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State's women's volleyball team continues Western Athletic Conference play this weekend at No. 8 Hawai'i on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 11 p.m. (MT).

Utah State is 9-14 on the season and in fourth-place in the WAC with a 7-5 league record following a five-set win against Idaho (23-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 15-11) at home Thursday night. USU is led by senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh who is averaging 4.39 points, 3.75 kills, 1.91 digs, 0.54 blocks and 0.36 service aces per set, while sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles is hitting .323 and averaging 9.63 assists, 1.60 digs and 0.55 blocks per set. As a team, Utah State is hitting .173 on the season as compared to a .220 hitting percentage for its opponents.

Hawai'i is 17-3 on the season and in first-place in the WAC with a 10-1 league record following a three-set win against San Jose State and a four-set win against Fresno State at home last weekend. The Rainbow Wahine are currently ranked eighth in the nation and own a 12-3 record at home. Hawai'i is led by senior outside hitter Jamie Houston who is hitting .231 and averaging 4.06 kills and 1.81 digs per set. As a team, UH is hitting .290 on the season as compared to a .178 hitting percentage for its opponents. Hawai'i returns six starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's team that went 27-6 overall and finished in first-place in the WAC with a 15-1 league record.

Utah State is 8-35 all-time against Hawai'i, which includes a 4-16 road record. The last time the two teams played in Hawai'i was on Nov. 11, 2007 as the Aggies shocked then No. 10 Hawai'i in three sets (30-28, 31-29, 30-27) to snap a 108-conference match home winning streak for the Rainbow Wahine. It was also the first win for USU against UH in its last 20 meetings overall. Hawai'i won the first meeting this year between the two teams in Logan in three sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-18).

Against ranked opponents, Utah State is 10-49 (.169) over the last nine years. This year, USU is 1-2 against ranked teams as it lost at No. 20 BYU (3-0), defeated No. 15 Purdue (3-2), and lost to No. 9 Hawai'i (3-0) at home.

Utah State is 46-69 (.400) on the road over the last nine years, which includes a 30-42 (.417) record against league opponents. USU is 3-5 on the road and 4-10 away from home thus far this year

Following its match against Idaho, Utah State will play at ninth-ranked Hawai'i (17-3, 10-1) on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 10 p.m. The Rainbow Wahine defeated the Aggies in three games earlier this year in Logan.