Sacramento State box | Arizona box

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Utah State volleyball captured the first set in both of its opening matches at the Hornet Invitational on Friday, but ultimately lost in four and five sets, respectively. USU began the tournament with a 27-25, 17-25, 17-25, 15-25 loss to Sacramento State and then encountered another loss to Arizona in the second match of the day, 25-15, 20-25, 19-25, 25-21, 4-15.

In the first match, Utah State took the opening set against Sacramento State after fighting off four set points for a 27-25 victory.

Utah State jumped on Sacramento State early in the first, scoring four straight behind back-to-back kills by freshman middle Corinne Larsen and sophomore outside Gabbi Shumway to take a 4-1 lead. The margin grew to as much as five (14-9) later in the frame as another Shumway kill capped a three-point USU run and prompted a Hornet timeout.

Sacramento State overcame a 17-14 deficit with a four-point run to take just its second lead of the frame, 18-17, and later had set point at 24-21. Senior middle Lauren O'Brien recorded a kill on the next rally to kickstart a three-point run by the Aggies that was punctuated by a block by junior right side Izzie Hinton-Belnap and Larsen, tying the game at 24-24. Utah State lost the next rally because of a blocking error, but strung together another three-point run to take the set 27-25, highlighted by a pair of kills by Shumway.

Neither team was able to create much separation in the second set as the teams played through nine ties, including a deadlock at 12-12. The Hornets broke the tie with back-to-back points, taking a 14-12 lead. Sacramento State then tied the match at 1-1 with a five-point run at the end of the second set, capturing the frame, 25-17.

Sacramento State won the third set by the same score, 25-17, after creating a cushion with a six-point run that overturned a 5-3 Utah State advantage into a 9-5 lead for the home side. Back-to-back points by the Hornets wrapped up the set, 25-17.

Utah State hitters couldn't find their rhythm in the fourth set and logged the fewest kills in a set for the Aggies during the afternoon, finishing the frame with six. Sacramento State capitalized and jumped out to an early 9-1 lead and then kept the Aggies at bay, wrapping up the match 25-15.

Shumway recorded her first career double-double during the match, finishing with a team-best 12 kills and adding 13 digs. Senior setter Kassidy Johnson also turned in a double-double performance with 33 assists and 15 digs, and tied her career high with four blocks.

Utah State's back row generated more digs than Sacramento State (88 to 79) as Shumway and Johnson were joined by three others in double digits. Senior libero Tasia Taylor led the Aggies with 24 digs, followed by Johnson (15), sophomore defensive specialist Madi Olson-Shepherd (14), Shumway (13) and redshirt junior Ally Packard with 10. Larsen was tops for the Aggie defense at the net, collecting a match-high-tying seven blocks.

In the second match against Arizona, Utah State broke a 9-9 tie early in the first set with a 3-1 run to take a 12-10 lead following back-to-back Wildcat attacking errors, including a solo block by Larsen. Arizona called a timeout and fought back to within one, 12-11, following a Utah State service error, but it was echoed by a Wildcat service error and the Aggies never looked back. USU closed the frame with five straight points, including back-to-back kills by Shumway and a service ace by Taylor, taking the set 25-15.

Utah State fell behind in the second set as Arizona scored the first point and maintained the lead throughout the frame. The Aggies were within one, 13-14, but didn't get any closer following a 5-2 Wildcat run that gave Arizona a 19-15 lead and prompted a USU timeout. Utah State fought off an Arizona set point at 24-19 with a kill by Larsen, but a kill by the Wildcats wrapped up the set 25-20 and evened the match overall at 1-1.

The third set played out similarly as Arizona jumped out to an early lead and then maintained the advantage from start-to-finish. Despite losing the set 25-19, Utah State's attack began to find its groove as the Aggies hit .407 with 14 kills on 27 attempts with only three errors.

The attacking mojo carried over into the fourth, which proved to be closely contested. Utah State hit a blistering .520 with 14 kills on 25 attempts with only one error in the frame, but had to fight through 11 ties and seven lead changes to eventually take the set 25-21. The Aggies broke the final 18-18 tie with back-to-back points, including a Downing kill and Shumway service ace, to take a 20-18 lead. Arizona countered and came back to within one, 21-20, but back-to-back attacking errors by the Wildcats began a final 4-1 closing push by the Aggies.

Utah State's attack cooled in the deciding set as the Aggies hit -.158 (2-5-19) and Arizona was able to capitalize and punctuated the win with a 15-4 victory in the fifth.

Sophomore outsides Bailey Downing and Shumway both turned in career highs during the match, leading the Aggies with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Taylor recorded her second-straight 20-plus dig outing with a team-best 22 and increased her career total of 20-plus dig outings to 15. Larsen, again, proved to be the top blocker for the Aggies, logging a match-high six during the contest.

Senior middle Lauren O'Brien proved to be the most efficient hitter for the Aggies during both matches, hitting .467 (8-1-15) against Sacramento State and .412 (9-2-17) against Arizona. Hinton-Belnap also settled into an offensive groove during the match against Arizona, hitting a team-best .450 (9-0-20).

Utah State will return to the court on Saturday in its tournament finale, facing CSUN (formerly Cal State Northridge) at noon (MT). Fans can follow the match via live stat and live video links online at www.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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