Sept. 11, 2010

Final Stats

MISSOULA, Mont. - Sophomore opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen recorded a career-high 14 kills to help Utah State defeat Temple in four sets (20-25, 25-15, 25-11, 25-22) here Saturday morning in its second of three matches at the 2010 Montana Invitational.

Utah State improves to 8-0 on the season with the win and Temple falls to 2-6 with the loss. For USU, it is the best start to a season since the 1979 AIAW National Runner-up team won its first 11 matches.

Sorensen (North Ogden, Utah) added a career-high five block assists for Utah State and hit .312 (14-4-32) in the match. Junior outside hitter Liz McArthur (St. George, Utah) also had 14 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Josselyn White (Smithfield, Utah) had seven kills, two block assists, two service aces and a career-high 11 digs.

Jovana Radojevic and Collin Wallace each had 12 kills to lead Temple, while Ariel Pierre had a match-high 24 digs.

Utah State dropped the first set of a match for just the second time this year (L, 30-28 at Utah) as it hit a negative .022 (12-13-45) in the opening set, while Temple hit .098 (10-6-41). The Owls scored seven straight points to break a 10-10 tie en route to the five-point win.

Utah State regrouped in the second set behind four kills from Sorensen to post the 10-point win as the Aggies scored the final six points. USU hit .240 (8-2-25) in set two and held Temple to a .000 (12-12-40) hitting percentage.

McArthur and Sorensen each notched four kills in the third set as Utah State rolled to a 14-point win after scoring the first seven points. USU hit a blistering .429 (13-1-28) in the third set and Temple hit just .061 (10-8-33).

Utah State led by as many as six in the fourth set before Temple rallied to tie it at 20-all. With the set tied at 22-all, USU scored the final three points to notch the win. McArthur had five kills in the fourth set, while Sorensen added four as the Aggies hit .156 (15-8-45) as a team and Temple hit .184 (14-7-38).

Utah State finished the match with a season-low .168 (48-24-143) hitting percentage and Temple hit just .086 (46-33-152). USU did have 4.5 more team blocks (10.5-6.0), four more service aces (5-1) and four fewer service errors (6-2), while TU had one more dig (61-60).

Utah State will play its third and final match of the 2010 Montana Invitational Saturday afternoon against North Dakota at 4:30 p.m.