Indiana Box Score | Eastern Kentucky Box Score

GREELEY, Colo. - Utah State volleyball split its final matches at the Northern Colorado Invitational on Saturday, falling to Indiana 3-1 in the morning and then coming back and posting a 3-1 win over Eastern Kentucky in its tournament finale. The results put the Aggies at 4-10 on the year.

In the first match of the day, Utah State fell behind Indiana early in the first set when the Hoosiers broke a 5-5 tie with a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. The Aggies came back later in the frame, taking a 16-15 lead after back-to-back points, including a kill by sophomore middle Carly Lenzen. However, the USU advantage was erased when Indiana put together an 8-1 run to take a 23-17 lead. A final Hoosier service ace wrapped up the set for Indiana, 25-19.

Utah State came back in the second set and out scored Indiana 13-6 in the middle of the frame to break an 8-8 tie and turn it into a 21-14 advantage. Indiana scored back-to-back points to cut the margin to five, 21-16, but it was as close as IU came down the stretch as Utah State squared the match with a 25-18 win.

Utah State had an 11-9 lead midway through the third set, but Indiana countered with a 5-0 run and captured a 14-11 lead. The Hoosiers continued to lead by at least two throughout the set and secured their first set point at 24-20. The Aggies continued to fight and extended the frame with three straight points behind a kill by freshman outside Simone Gibeau and errors by Indiana. IU ended the Utah State run and the set with a closing kill, going up 2-1 with the 25-23 win.

The Aggies opened the fourth set strong, building a 10-5 lead, capped by a kill by sophomore outside Rachel Gale. Utah State had a second five-point lead at 16-11 when the Aggies capped a three-point run with a kill by junior outside Kaylie Kamalu. Indiana countered with a six-point run, taking a 17-16 lead, but back-to-back points put the lead back in the hands of Utah State, 18-17. However the Aggie attack stalled and Indiana scored six straight, taking a 23-18 lead and later wrapped up the match 25-21.

Kamalu and Gale led the Utah State offense with 14 and 11 kills, respectively, as the Aggie attack hit .202 (39-16-114) overall as a team. Freshman setter Kassidy Johnson directed the USU attack and recorded all but two of the Aggies' assists during the match, finishing with 34. Junior libero Hannah Gleason and freshman defensive specialist Tasia Taylor tied for the team lead with 10 digs apiece, while Lenzen recorded a career-high eight blocks as USU out blocked Indiana, 11.0 to 3.0.

Indiana was led by a trio of double-digit hitters, including senior outside Amelia Anderson with 18 kills, junior outside Allison Hammond with 11 kills and senior middle Awele Nwaeze with 10. The Hoosiers finished the match hitting .225 (61-30-138) with junior setter Megan Tallman directing the offense with 46 assists. Senior defensive specialists Courtney Harnish and Kyndall Merritt led the way defensively with 15 and 12 digs, respectively.

In the opening set against Eastern Kentucky, Utah State overcame a 13-12 deficit and turned it into a 15-13 lead after scoring three straight points behind a trio of EKU errors. The Aggies led throughout most of the final stretch of the set until the Colonels came back to tie the frame at 22-22. Utah State scored the next point, but Eastern Kentucky answered to tie the match again at 23-23. That same scenario played out over the next few rallies until the Aggies scored back-to-back points, punctuated by a Kamalu kill, to break a 26-26 tie and take the first set 28-26.

Utah State used another late push in the second set to break a 22-22 tie and capture set point at 24-22, highlighted by a kill by Gibeau and a service ace by Gale. Eastern Kentucky fought off the set point with a kill, prompting a Utah State timeout, but the Aggies came out of the break and wrapped up the set behind another kill by Gibeau.

Utah State never quite clicked in the third set, falling behind early, 4-0, and finishing the set hitting .067 (7-5-30), while Eastern Kentucky put together its best offensive showing during the match. The Colonels hit .270 (16-6-37) during the frame and used the discrepancy to take the set 25-14.

The fourth set was much like the first and second as the teams fought through 11 ties and four lead changes. Eastern Kentucky had a 22-20 lead late in the set, but back-to-back kills by Gale tied the set at 22-22. The comeback prompted a Colonel timeout and EKU came out of the break with a point, but the Aggies closed out the set with blocks by sophomore middle Hannah Smith, Johnson and Gibeau and captured the win, 25-23, on an Eastern Kentucky error.

Kamalu led the Utah State offense with a career-high 20 kills and was joined in double figures by Gale with 17. USU hit better than .200 for the second consecutive match, recording a hitting percentage of .204 with 51 kills on 142 attempts and 22 errors. Johnson directed the attack, logging 45 assists, with Gleason and Taylor pacing the defense with 23 and 13 digs, respectively. Smith led the USU block with six as the Aggies out blocked the Colonels, 12.0 to 8.0.

Eastern Kentucky was led by a trio of double-digit attackers, including senior middle Rachel Vick with 16 kills, sophomore outside Celina Sanks with 13 kills and junior setter Johanna Boyer with 10 kills. Boyer also logged a double-double with a team-best 33 assists, directing an EKU attack that hit .154 (53-30-149) overall. Sanks was one of three players with double-digit digs, recording 12 for a double-double, while freshman defensive specialist Chloe Rojas led the team with 20, followed by sophomore defensive specialist Mallory Maxwell with 10.

Utah State will now turn its attention to Mountain West play, opening its conference slate on the road next week at Colorado State and Wyoming on Sept. 24 and 26.

Fans can purchase season 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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