Stats

BOISE, Idaho- Utah State senior Kaitlyn VanHoff and Boise State freshman Sierra Nobley each tallied career numbers in kills on Tuesday night, but it was Nobley who was able to lead the Broncos to a 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-16) victory over the Aggies at the Bronco Gym. VanHoff finished the night with 18 kills as USU dropped to 8-9 on the year and 4-3 in the Mountain West. Nobley recorded 24 kills as Boise State snapped a three-match losing streak against the Aggies and moved to 11-8 overall and 4-3 in the MW.

Utah State was in a hole in the first set, trailing 7-3 before using a five-point run to take the lead at 8-7. The game was then back-and-forth through an 11-11 deadlock that was broken by a three-point push by the Aggies to give the visitors the 14-11 advantage. USU maintained at least a one-point cushion throughout the set until Boise State came back late with a three-point run to tie the frame at 22-22. The Aggies answered with a three-point run of their own and took the opening set 25-22 on a closing kill by Kaylie Kamalu.

Utah State finished the first set hitting .325 with 16 kills on 40 attempts and 3 errors and looked to have the upperhand as Boise State had not won a match all year (0-7) after losing the first set. However, the USU attack went south in the second set as the Aggies hit only .027 (10-9-37) and the Broncos capitalized to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 win in the frame.

USU came back in the third set and led by as much as four, 16-12, midway through until a 6-2 Boise State run tied the match at 18-18. The run continued with three more points for the home side, putting the score at 21-18 and giving BSU its first lead of the stanza. Utah State came back to within one point, 21-20, via a Paige Neves kill, but four straight points by the Broncos wrapped up the set 25-20 and gave Boise the 2-1 advantage.

BSU led start-to-finish in the fourth set and rode a career-high 24-kill performance by Nobley to close out the match, 25-16, and post the 3-1 victory. The result snapped a three-match Aggie winning streak against the Broncos.

VanHoff led the Aggies with a career-high 18 kills and hit .382 during the nigth with five errors on 34 attempts. She was followed by Elle Brainard, also with a double-digit kill night, recording 12 and hitting .290 (12-3-31). Neves was the most efficient hitter for USU, recording seven kills on 11 attempts without an error. The senior also added 39 assists and 13 digs to tally her seventh double-double of the season and lead the Aggies in both categories.

Maddy O'Donnell for Boise State joined Nobley in double digits with 11 kills and narrowly missed a double-double after leading the team with nine blocks. Utah State recorded a .325 hitting percentage to Boise's .275 in the first set, but the Broncos wrapped up the match hitting .269 (56-17-145) to USU's .178 (53-26-152).

USU will be back in action on Thursday night when the Aggies host Fresno State in the annual Dig for the Cure match at Kirby Court at the Wayne Estes Center. The contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and fans that wear pink will be receive free admission.

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.

-USU-