KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Utah State was stretched to five sets in each of its final matches at the Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament on Saturday, picking up a five-set victory over Milwaukee in the morning before losing to the hosts, Western Michigan, in five sets that night.
In the first match of the day for the Aggies, sophomore Gabbi Shumway led the Aggies with 16 kills and was followed by freshman middle Corinne Larsen with 15 and sophomore outside Bailey Downing with 12. Larsen finished her day with the first double-double of her career, adding a career- and match-high 10 blocks. It marked the first double-double for a Utah State middle since the 2014 season.
Senior setter Kassidy Johnson recorded her second straight double-double, finishing the match with 42 assists and a career-high 21 digs. Taylor led the Aggies on the back row with 26 digs, marking her second straight game with 20 or more digs, and was followed by redshirt junior Ally Packard with 14 digs.
Utah State was able to elude the service errors that plagued the team in a five-set loss the day before, finishing the match with 10 aces compared to eight service errors. Four different Aggies recorded two aces as Shumway, Johnson, Taylor and Packard all tied for the team lead.
The Aggies used a nine-point run in the first set to take momentum and build an 18-12 lead, capped by a Downing kill. A final kill by junior right side Izzie Hinton-Belnap wrapped up the set for Utah State, 25-20. The momentum carried over for the Aggies into the second set as Utah State built an early 6-1 lead, punctuated by a service ace by Taylor. Milwaukee fought back and used an eight-point run to erase a 21-14 USU lead and take a 22-21 lead of its own. The Panthers ultimately took the set 26-24 to even the match at 1-1.
Utah State broke a 5-5 tie in the third set with back-to-back kills by Shumway to take an 8-5 lead and never looked back en route to a 25-17 victory. The storyline was reversed in the fourth set when Milwaukee broke a 5-5 tie with a three-point run and never trailed again in a matching 25-17 win to force a fifth set.
Utah State opened the decisive set with a 4-2 lead, but it was countered by a four-point run by the Panthers, giving Milwaukee a 6-4 advantage. The Aggies were still trailing by two, 8-6, when Utah State called a timeout and then came out of the break to tie the set at 8-8. The teams then played through five ties, including a 13-13 deadlock, until back-to-back attacking errors by the Panthers gave Utah State the match, 15-13.
In the nightcap for the Aggies, USU middles led the attack against Western Michigan as senior Lauren O'Brien tied for the team lead with 12 kills, hitting a team-best .407 (12-1-27), matching Downing's 12-kill performance, hitting a career-high .273 (12-3-33). They were followed closely by Larsen with 10 kills, hitting .273 (10-3-20), to go along with a team-best seven blocks.
Taylor led the USU back row with 18 digs and was followed by Packard and Shumway with 10 digs apiece. Shumway narrowly missed a double-double performance after finishing with eight kills.
Utah State never found an attacking rhythm in the opening set against the Broncos as WMU scored the opening two points and then led wire-to-wire for the 25-12 win. The Aggies bounced back from a two-point hole in the second set, matching the opening points by the Broncos with two of their own to tie the set at 2-2. Utah State then broke a 5-5 tie with four-straight points, including a kill by O'Brien, service ace by Taylor and back-to-back blocks by Larsen and Hinton-Belnap, to take a 9-5 advantage. Western Michigan only came as close as three points over the rest of the set as Utah State posted a 25-18 victory.
Utah State's offensive woes returned in the third set as the Aggies hit a match-low .028 (8-7-36) during the frame, allowing Western Michigan to take the set 25-19. The lull made way for an offensive explosion for Utah State in the fourth set as the Aggies hit .484 with 16 kills on 31 attempts with only one error. Despite the hitting, USU still had to battle in the fourth to force a decisive fifth set and didn't really seal the frame until finishing with a three-point run to take it, 25-22.
Western Michigan used a five-point run in the fifth set to create separation from the Aggies and kept Utah State from coming any closer than four points down the stretch in the eventual 15-8 win.
Notably, Utah State led Western Michigan on the block 13.0 to 4.0, marking the third consecutive match that the Aggies have recorded double-digit blocks and the third consecutive match that USU has held an advantage on the block.
Following the matches, senior libero Tasia Taylor was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Aggies in digs in all three matches, including two matches where she surpassed the 20-dig plateau. In all, Taylor record 67 digs during the weekend, averaging 4.47 per set to go along with 17 assists (1.13 per set) and a team-best eight service aces.
Utah State returns to the court on Friday, Sept. 14, hosting Weber State in the second of two in-state matches for the Aggies this season. Fans can follow the match via live stat and live video links on the USU 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.
-USU-
