Oct. 3, 2014 LOGAN, Utah - Utah State volleyball travels to Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday, Oct. 4 to face Air Force as it concludes its first Mountain West roadtrip of the season. First serve between the two squads is set for 6:00 p.m. (MT) at Air Force's Cadet East Gym.
Utah State is coming off a loss at New Mexico on Thursday, where the Aggies pushed the Lobos to five sets before ultimately falling, 3-2, to drop to 1-2 in conference play and 5-8 overall. Air Force is in the middle of a three-match winning streak, all in conference, to improve their record to 9-8 overall with a perfect 3-0 mark in the MW.
The Aggies are led by senior outside hitter Rachel Orr with 3.27 kills per set, adding a .170 hitting percentage (180-88-540), while sophomore outside hitter Kaylie Kamalu adds 2.69 kps. Senior middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff is third on the team in kills with 2.67 per set, posting a .314 attack percentage (147-49-312), while averaging 1.31 blocks per set. Senior setter Paige Neves dishes out 9.69 assists per set and senior libero Ashlan Rogers-Court collects 4.22 digs per set. Junior opposite side hitter Elle Brainard leads USU in blocking with 1.67 bps, while adding 1.13 kps. Rogers-Court leads the team with 0.27 service aces per set, while VanHoff adds 0.25 saps.
Air Force is led by junior outside hitter Akokwe Clement, who leads the Falcons with 3.52 kills per set on a .266 hitting percentage (232-76-586). Junior outside hitter Maggie Sherrill is second on the team with 2.91 kills per set, while junior middle blocker Raquel Rosas leads the blocking charge for Air Force with 0.64 blocks per set as a part of the Falcons' 1.52 blocks per set as a team. Senior setter Hillary Keltner posts 11.18 assists per set, as junior libero Rebeca Bates collects 4.12 digs per set. Junior defensive specialist Rachael Powers Bradley leads the team with 0.26 service aces per set.
Last season saw the first two matches in series history between USU and AFA, as Utah State won both by identical 3-1 scores. In both matches, Air Force took the first set only to see the Aggies rally for three-straight set wins to take both matches.
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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