FRESNO, Calif. - Utah State women's volleyball fought back from a two-set deficit, taking sets three and four, but ultimately fell in five at Fresno State on Saturday night, 19-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-12, 11-15. The loss drops the Aggies to 12-14 on the year and 8-7 in the Mountain West while the Bulldogs snapped an 11-match losing streak and moved to 7-23 overall and 2-13 in conference play with the win.

Utah State won the match on paper, out hitting Fresno State .213 (56-23-155) to .137 (58-35-168) and out blocking the Bulldogs 22.0 to 14.0. USU even scored more points than Fresno, 81.0 to 78.0, but ultimately came up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

Fresno State used strong finishes in the first and second sets to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs closed out the opening frame on a 7-1 run to win 25-19 and then finished the second on a 10-1 run to overcome a 20-15 deficit and post the 25-21 victory.

Utah State came out in the third set with back-to-back points and surrendered the lead only once in the set, building its largest margin of five at 9-4 following a kill by senior middle Kaitlyn VanHoff. The Bulldogs only came as close as two during the rest of the set as a kill by senior outside Rachel Orr wrapped up the set for the Aggies, 25-22.

Utah State led start-to-finish in the fourth set, hitting a blazing .571 (13-1-21) and recording six blocks while holding the Bulldogs to -.057 (8-10-35). The effort led to a quick 25-12 results for USU with freshman outside Rachel Gale pacing the Aggies in the frame with six kills on seven attempts with no errors.

Utah State hitters cooled in the final set as the two teams battled through a pair of lead changes and six ties. Fresno State broke the final deadlock at 6-6 with a four-point push to create a 10-6 advantage. The teams then matched point-for-point down the stretch, but the difference held with FSU taking the match with the 15-11 win.

Gale had a career night for the Aggies, despite the loss, recording her first career double-double with career-highs of 16 kills and 10 blocks. Orr and senior setter Paige Neves joined her with double-doubles, recording 15 kills and 13 digs and 49 assists and 11 digs, respectively. VanHoff missed a double-double by one block after tying Gale for the team lead with 16 kills and adding nine blocks. Freshman middle Hannah Smith also had a career night, leading the Aggies with a career-high 13 blocks in the defeat.

Fresno State was led by Carly Scarbrough and Jaimee-Lee Morrow with 14 kills and they were followed by Maci Murdock with 10. Setter Jelena Jovanovic finished her night with a double-double after recording 26 assists and 16 digs. FSU's Maggie Eppright led all players with 20 digs during the contest.

Utah State will return to the court on Wednesday night, hosting UNLV on Kirby Court at the Wayne Estes Center at 8:30 p.m. The match will immediately follow the men's basketball game against Santa Clara in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum at 6 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-