KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Utah State volleyball opened the Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament with a five-set loss (25-27, 25-19, 25-27, 25-20, 5-15) against Loyola (Chicago) on Friday morning.
USU had a trio of players with double-digit kills, including sophomore outside Bailey Downing with a team-high 16, followed by sophomore outside Gabbi Shumway with 14 and junior right side Izzie Hinton-Belnap with 12. Senior setter Kassidy Johnson recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with 45 assists and 16 digs. Senior libero Tasia Taylor led the Utah State back row with 23 digs, followed by junior outside Ally Packard with a career-high 18 digs. Senior middle Lauren O'Brien led the Utah State block with a career-high 10.
Utah State led for most of the first set, but was pushed late by Loyola when the Ramblers tied the match at 15-15. The Aggies rebuffed runs and took set point at 24-20. However, Loyola countered with four-straight points to tie the set at 24-24 and later took the frame 27-25 after a 7-1 closing run.
USU used a four-point run in the early goings of the second set to take a 10-7 lead, punctuated by a kill by freshman middle Corinne Larsen. The Aggies never trailed again and maintained an advantage of at least two en route to a 25-19 victory.
The Ramblers came out the aggressors in the third set, taking an early 6-2 lead before the Aggies came back to tie the frame 13-13. The teams then played through 12 ties as Utah State had set points at 24-23 and 25-24, only to have Loyola come back to square the frame at 25-25. The Ramblers closed out the set 27-25 behind a service ace and kill to take a 2-1 advantage over the Aggies.
Utah State used a six-point run in the fourth set to break a 15-15 tie and take a 21-15 lead. The Ramblers got to within three at 23-20, but a kill by Downing and block by O'Brien and Johnson wrapped up the set for the Aggies, 25-20.
USU never found its hitting groove in the decisive fifth set, hitting -.118 (3-5-17) while Loyola closed out the match hitting a match-high .385 (6-1-13) en route to the 15-5 victory.
The Ramblers were led offensively by Elle Van Grinsven, Morgan Gresham and Quinn Spieker with 12 kills apiece. Gresham and Spieker also recorded double-doubles with 17 and 15 digs, respectively. Loyola's Delilah Wolf also recorded a double-double with 43 assists and 17 digs. Alex Nunez led all players on the court with 24 digs, while Lauren Caprini also recorded double-digit digs, finishing with 10.
Utah State will be back in action on Saturday, closing out the tournament against Milwaukee at 10:30 a.m. (MT) and Western Michigan at 5:00 p.m. (MT). Live stats for both matches are available on the volleyball schedule page online at www.utahstateaggies.com.
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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