Box Score

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Utah State women's volleyball beat Oregon State on paper in the 2016 season opener for both schools on Friday, but encountered some costly miscues in the deciding set, falling to the Beavers, 3-2.

USU started strong in the first set, recording 19 kills, hitting .378 (19-5-37) and breaking a 5-5 deadlock with back-to-back points to take a 7-5 lead. The Aggies never trailed again, despite Oregon State fighting off three set points, before a kill by junior outside Lauren Anderson wrapped up the set for Utah State, 25-21.

The Beavers opened the second set with a 9-2 run, but it was answered with a 7-1 Utah State run that pulled the Aggies to within one point, 10-9, and prompted an Oregon State timeout. OSU came out of the break with a three-point run, but Utah State, once again, chipped away and eventually tied the match at 23-23. However the Beavers scored back-to-back points to close out the set and tie the match, 1-1, with the 25-23 victory.

The teams fought through five ties in the third set, until Oregon State broke a 10-10 deadlock with an 8-1 run to take an 18-11 lead. The Beavers then captured their first set point, 24-20, but Utah State scored three straight behind a pair of kills by Anderson and a service ace by junior middle Carly Lenzen to pull to within one, 24-23. The run was stopped and Oregon State took the set 25-23 on a closing kill, taking a 2-1 lead.

Utah State rolled in the fourth set, 25-11, to even the match at 2-2, hitting a match-best .522 (13-1-23) during the frame to Oregon State's -.133 (6-10-30). The stanza began with four straight points for the Aggies behind kills by junior right side Kayla DeCoursey and senior outside Kaylie Kamalu-Smith. An Oregon State attacking error gave USU its first double-digit lead of the set, 15-5, and a closing six-point run by the Aggies punctuated the set.

The fifth set was back-and-forth as the teams battled through six ties and four lead changes over the first 14 points, culminating in a 7-7 deadlock. The Beavers broke the tie with a four-point run as the Aggies committed three attacking errors during the stretch and then held onto the advantage for the eventual 15-11 victory.

Overall, Utah State had more kills (66/64), hit at a higher percentage (.291/.231), had more assists (64/62), more service aces (7/4) and more digs (75/64) than the Beavers during the match, and only trailed the hosts in blocks, totaling 7.0 to Oregon State's 12.0.

USU was led offensively by outside hitters Kamalu-Smith and Anderson with 18 kills apiece and they were followed closely by DeCoursey with a career-high 17 kills, hitting .485 (17-1-33). Senior setter Erica Moscoso directed the attack to the tune of a career-high 61 assists, with every attacker hitting positive during the match.

Defensively, senior libero Hannah Gleason led the Aggies with 26 digs, marking her 11th consecutive match in double-digits, dating back to last season. Senior defensive specialist Maddie Day-Larsen also tallied double-digit digs, logging a career-high 16. Lenzen led the Aggies on the block, tying Kamalu-Smith, with four, while also leading the team with a career-high-tying three service aces.

"Despite the loss, I was happy with the way we played," head coach Grayson DuBose said after the match. "We hit at a high percentage, Kayla DeCoursey hit well, Lauren Anderson did some nice things and Kaylie (Kamalu-Smith) also hit well. Our defense was good and Maddie (Day-Larsen) and Hannah Gleason did a fabulous job for us defensively. The one thing we struggled at was blocking, so we'll pay a little more attention to that and we'll be headed in the right direction."

Utah State will return to the court tomorrow, facing Seattle at 11 a.m. (MT), followed by a match with Portland at 5 p.m. (MT). Fans can follow the matches with live stat links online at utahstateaggies.com.

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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