Aug. 28, 2010
Final Stats
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Junior outside hitter Liz McArthur recorded a match-high 19 kills to lead Utah State to a three-set win (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) against UC Davis here Saturday in the Utah Classic hosted by the University of Utah. USU will conclude competition in the Utah Classic by playing the host Utes Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Utah State, who improves to 1-0 on the season, has now won its season-opener three times in the last five years under head coach Grayson DuBose. UC Davis, who lost to host Utah in four sets Friday night, falls to 0-2 on the season with the loss.
All three sets in the match against UC Davis were very similar as Utah State used late rallies in each to pull away for the victory. USU scored four straight points late in each of the first two sets breaking an 18-all tie in set one and a 19-all tie in set two. In the third set, USU rallied from a 17-14 deficit with a 7-1 run to take a commanding 21-18 advantage en route to the sweep.
Utah State hit .343 (17-5-35) in the first set, .500 (15-2-26) in the second set and .290 (14-5-31) in the third set, while UC Davis hit .154 (11-5-39) in set one, .241 (13-6-29) in set two and .167 (11-6-30) in set three.
Senior middle blocker Katie Astle (Sandy, Utah) had seven kills and three block assists for Utah State to go along with a .417 (7-2-12) hitting percentage in the match, while fellow senior middle blocker Shantell Durrant (American Fork, Utah) had six kills and hit .500 (6-1-10).
Sophomore outside hitter Josselyn White (Smithfield, Utah) also had seven kills for USU to go along with a career-high three service aces, while senior libero Christine Morrill (Neola, Utah) had a match-high 11 digs. McArthur (St. George, Utah), who finished the match with a .500 hitting percentage (19-3-32) had seven kills in the first set and six kills apiece in the final two sets.
Kayla Varney had 12 kills to pace UC Davis, while Allsion Whitson registered 10 kills.
Utah State finished the match by hitting a robust .370 (46-12-92) as compared to a .184 (35-17-98) hitting percentage for UC Davis. USU also recorded seven more digs (35-28) and two more service aces (7-5) in the match.
Following its match against Utah, Utah State will return home and face Weber State in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in its home opener on Tuesday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m.
