Oct. 1, 2014 LOGAN, Utah - Utah State volleyball travels to Albuquerque, N.M., Thursday, Oct. 2 to face New Mexico as it begins its first Mountain West roadtrip of the season. First serve between the two squads is set for 6:30 p.m. (MT) at New Mexico's Johnson Center.
Both teams have played two league matches this season, with New Mexico boasting a perfect 2-0 record by beating San José State and Nevada by identical 3-0 scores. Utah State split its first two MW home matches of the year, 1-1, with a 3-1 loss to No. 7 Colorado State and a five-set, 3-2 victory over Wyoming. Overall, Utah State is 5-7 on the season after losing three of its last four. New Mexico is 9-5, including winning seven of its last eight matches.
The Aggies are led by senior outside hitter Rachel Orr with 3.30 kills per set, adding a .175 hitting percentage (165-80-485), while sophomore outside hitter Kaylie Kamalu adds 2.67 kps. Senior middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff is second on the team in kills with 2.66 per set, posting a .333 attack percentage (133-40-279) which ranks eighth in the MW, while averaging 1.24 blocks per set. Senior setter Paige Neves dishes out 9.80 assists per set and senior libero Ashlan Rogers-Court collects 4.38 digs per set. Junior opposite side hitter Elle Brainard leads USU and the MW in blocking with 1.67 bps, while adding 1.13 kps. VanHoff leads the team with 0.28 service aces per set, while Neves and Rogers-Court both land 0.26 saps.
UNM is led by senior right side hitter Chantale Riddle, who leads the Mountain West with 4.75 points per set, and is second in the leauge with 3.72 kills per set. Riddle is second in the MW behind Brainard with 1.61 blocks per set, as well. Junior middle blocker Skye Gullatt boasts a .353 attack percentage (63-15-136), while adding 1.80 kills per set. Gullatt also adds 1.23 blocks per set, ranking seventh in the MW. Junior Simone Henderson rounds out the Lobo's trio of top MW blockers by adding 1.33 blocks per set, good for fourth in the league. Junior setter Hannah Johnson averages 9.43 assists per set. Freshman libero Ashley Kelsey digs 3.61 attacks per set.
The Aggies and Lobos will be going head-to-head against each other in Albuquerque for the second year in a row and just the third time since 2006, USU head coach Grayson DuBose's first year at the helm. UNM leads the all-time series, 13-10, including a pair of 3-0 wins over USU last season during conference play.
Utah State volleyball season and single-match tickets are available by contacting the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum during its office hours 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305. Season tickets can also be purchased online at www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official website of USU Athletics and clicking on the "Ticket Office" tab.
Fans can also follow the Aggie volleyball program on twitter @USUVolleyball, on facebook at USUVolleyball or on instagram at @usuvolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at @USUAthletics, on facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on instagram at @USUAthletics.
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