Box Score

RENO, Nev. - Utah State women's volleyball encountered a rare loss to Nevada on Saturday, falling 3-0 and dropping a match to the Wolf Pack for the first time in eight meetings. The loss drops the Aggies to 5-17 overall on the year and 1-7 in the Mountain West.

"We need to learn to respond better under stress," head coach Grayson DuBose said after the match. "Our season is going quickly and we need to get this sorted out quickly."

Utah State had several leads in the first set, including an opening 2-0 advantage behind a kill by junior outside Kaylie Kamalu and a Wolf Pack error. The teams then swapped leads four times with the Aggies taking their final advantage at 14-12. Nevada countered with a three-point run to take a 15-14 lead, but a kill by sophomore outside Rachel Gale on the next rally tied the match again at 15-15. The teams were tied again at 16-16 until the Wolf Pack broke the deadlock with a three-point run, taking a 19-16 lead. Utah State came back and pulled to within one point at 19-18, but the offense stalled and Nevada closed out the frame after scoring the final six points to take it, 25-18.

The teams each had a lead and then battled through seven ties in the beginning of the second set, culminating in an 8-8 deadlock. Nevada was able to break the tie with back-to-back points as part of a 10-5 run, taking an 18-13 lead. Another five-point run by the Wolf Pack at 19-15 gave the home side set point at 24-15. Back-to-back points by Utah State extended the set, but a closing kill by Nevada wrapped up the stanza, 25-17.

Utah State fell behind early in the third set, but put together a five-point run to come back from an 11-6 deficit and tie the frame at 11-11. However, Nevada echoed the run with a five-point push of its own, taking a 16-11 lead. The teams then traded points down the stretch, siding out on each serve with the Wolf Pack taking the match in the end, 25-19.

Gale led the Utah State attack with 14 kills, hitting .209 (14-5-43) while the Aggies hit .172 (29-13-93) as a team. Nevada finished the match hitting .333 (49-14-105) and was led by a trio of double-digit hitters, including junior right side Madison Morrell with 20 kills and sophomore outside Madison Foley and senior middle Sam Willoughby with 10 kills apiece.

Utah State will open the second half of its Mountain West slate next week when the Aggies host Wyoming and Colorado State at home. USU will face Wyoming on Thursday, Oct. 22, and Colorado State on Saturday, Oct. 24, with both matches slated for 7 p.m.

Fans can purchase tickets for the 2015 season by contacting the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.

Fans can 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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