Box Score

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Utah State volleyball lost its first match of the 2017 season on Saturday night, losing to Arkansas, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-19), in the Arkansas Classic finale.

Senior opposite Kayla DeCoursey led the Aggies with seven kills, and senior outside Lauren Anderson and junior middle Lauren O'Brien were just behind with six kills apiece. Overall, Utah State hit .175 (28-10-103) during the match to Arkansas' .422 (53-10-102). Junior libero Tasia Taylor led Utah State with 15 digs and O'Brien led the Aggie block with four.

Arkansas was led by senior outside Pilar Victoria with 26 kills, hitting .457 (26-5-46), and sophomore outside Reagan Robinson with 12 kills, hitting .458 (12-1-24).

The teams stayed within three points early in the first set, until Arkansas recorded back-to-back kills to take a 12-7 advantage, leading to a Utah State timeout. The Razorbacks had their first set point at 24-20, but an Arkansas service error, followed by a service ace by USU junior Kassidy Johnson and block by O'Brien and DeCoursey brought the Aggies to within one, 24-23. The comeback ended when Arkansas wrapped up the set with a kill, leading to the 25-23 final.

Senior outside Rachel Gale-Hammond served up back-to-back aces to begin the second set, but Arkansas countered with a four-point run and held the lead throughout the frame. Kills from O'Brien and Gale-Hammond kept the Aggies within one over the next several rallies, but another six-point push extended an Arkansas lead from 7-6 to 13-6. Utah State fought off the Razorbacks' first set point at 24-14 with a kill from senior middle Carly Lenzen, but Arkansas answered with a kill of its own, taking the set 25-15.

Arkansas hit .500 in the final frame, recording 17 kills on 30 attempts with only two errors, jumping out to a 12-9 lead midway through the set. The Razorbacks then put together a five-point run and carried the momentum into their first set point at 24-18. Freshman outside Gabbi Shumway recorded a kill on the next rally to extend the set, 24-19, but a USU service error punctuated the set in Arkansas' favor, 25-19.

Following the tournament, Anderson and Taylor were named to the Arkansas Classic all-tournament team. Anderson finished the weekend with 41 kills, 18 digs and five service aces, hitting .279 (41-10-111). Taylor recored double-digit digs in all three matches, totaling 53 on the weekend and averaging 5.30 per set.

USU will return to the court next weekend, hosting the Utah State Invitational on Kirby Court at the Wayne Estes Center. The Aggies will welcome Pacific, Montana State and UC Santa Barbara to Logan, with matches scheduled to begin on Friday at 4 p.m. (MT). USU will face Pacific on Friday night at 7 o'clock (MT), the Bobcats of Montana State on Saturday at 12 p.m. (MT), and UCSB in the tournament finale, Saturday night at 7 o'clock (MT).

Tickets for the season can be purchased online at utahstateaggies.com, at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum ticket office or 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.

-USU-