Box Score

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Utah State women's volleyball was kept out of an offensive groove all night as the University of Wyoming hit over .300 and used 18.0 blocks to avoid a season sweep with a 3-1 victory on Thursday night. The loss drops the Aggies to 9-10 on the year and 5-4 in the Mountain West while the Cowgirls move to 17-5 and 6-3 with the win.

USU struggled to put back-to-back points together in the first set and trailed 11-4 before finally doing so to pull to within five, 11-6. However, the same offensive funk set back in as Wyoming built a 19-10 advantage, leading to a Utah State timeout. Play continued with the Cowgirls picking up their first set point at 24-14 before a Kaitlyn VanHoff kill prolonged the set, 24-15. The set ended on another Aggie miscue as a service error put UW up 1-0 with the 25-15 win.

Utah State bounced back in the second set, despite a slow start that saw the Aggies down 5-0 early in the frame. The Aggies pulled to within one point at 12-11 with a 4-1 run, but it was answered by a three-point run by the home side to extend the difference to four at 15-11. The margin grew to five as the Cowgirls hit the 20-point mark first and took a 20-15 lead. USU then made its run, putting together a 9-2 swing and creating a set point at 24-22. Back-to-back points by UW tied the match at 24-24, but it was echoed by a two-point punctuating run by the Aggies to square the match at 1-1 with the 26-24 victory.

The momentum from the win didn't seem to carry over into the third set for Utah State as Wyoming picked up the first four point of the game and built a lead of as much as 11, 20-9, prompting a USU timeout. The two teams matched point-for-point down the stretch, but the strong start gave the Cowgirls the 25-14 win and put the home side up 2-1.

Another slump by Utah State in the middle of the fourth set gave Wyoming its largest lead of the frame, 18-10. The Aggies then returned to form with three straight points and pulled to within five, 18-13, and then returned to the bench on a Wyoming timeout. The break didn't stop the momentum as USU capped a 9-5 run with a VanHoff kill to pull within one, 23-22. An answering kill by Erin Kirby gave the Cowgirls set point at 24-22, but freshman Rachel Gale came back with a kill, putting the game at 24-23. Kirby then recorded her 14th kill of the match to punctuate the set, 25-23, and give Wyoming the four-set victory.

Kirby finished second on the team with her kill total, hitting .565 with only one error on 23 attempts. Laura Beach also had a strong night, hitting .500 with 16 kills on 28 attempts with only two errors. Beach also kept Utah State hitters in check with a team-best 10 blocks and was followed closely by Kayla Henderson with nine blocks.

VanHoff led Utah State with 12 kills and also led the Aggies in hitting, finishing the night with a .579 hitting percentage with only one error on 19 attempts. Elle Brainard joined her in double figures with 11 kills with Kaylie Kamalu and Kayla DeCoursey just behind with nine and eight kills, respectively.

Utah State (66) recorded more digs than the Cowgirls (65) as three athletes tallied double-digits, led by Ashlan Rogers-Court with 19 and followed by Paige Neves with 13 and Rachel Orr with 10. Neves finished the night with her ninth double-double of the season after adding a team-best 47 assists.

Utah State hit .130 during the match with 53 kills on 161 attempts and 32 errors. Wyoming recorded only 12 errors, including six in the second set, while recording 55 kills on 140 attempts for its .307 hitting percentage.

The Aggies will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when Utah State faces No. 6 Colorado State in Fort Collins. The match is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.

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-