LOGAN, Utah – Utah State volleyball (15-8, 7-5 Mountain West) lost 3-2 to UNLV (20-3, 11-1 MW) in a five-set battle on Saturday inside the Wayne Estes Center.
 
Junior outside hitter Tatum Stall led the Aggies with a career-high 27 kills, the most by an Aggie since Kaylie Kamalu-Smith had 30 at Nevada on Sept. 22, 2016. Senior outside Shelby Capllonch and sophomore opposite side hitter Adna Mehmedovic added 11 kills each, while senior middle blocker Kennedi Boyd hit a match-best .533 with 10 kills.
 
Freshman setter Leah Wilton-LaBoy led USU with a career-best 37 assists, while sophomore setter Beatriz Rodrigues added 27. Defensively, Capllonch led Utah State with a match-high 23 digs, followed closely by redshirt sophomore setter Jordi Holdaway with 20. Boyd led the Aggies with a match-best six blocks.
 
It was close in set one as a kill from Boyd gave USU set point before a 3-0 UNLV run gave the Rebels the 26-24 win.
 
After some back and forth in set two, three-straight kills from Stall, Capllonch and senior opposite Kylee Stokes gave Utah State a 5-2 edge. The teams continued to trade points until an 11-4 Aggie spurt gave USU the 18-10 advantage. A Mehmedovic hammer followed by a Stall solo block later gave USU the 25-15 win to tie the match.
 
Kills from Stall and Boyd put USU on top 4-1 to open set three. The Aggies then extended the lead to 8-3 with a Boyd hammer and Stall service ace. The teams traded points until a Stall kill and service ace extended the margin to 15-9. The Rebels responded with a 7-2 run to trim the lead to 17-16, but the Aggies countered with an 8-2 spurt to close out the set for the 25-18 win.
 
Set four stayed tight until a 4-0 Rebel spurt gave UNLV a 20-15 edge. After some back and forth, a UNLV kill gave the Rebels set point at 24-20. Back-to-back Boyd and Stokes kills, followed by a pair of UNLV attacking errors, tied the set at 24-all, but the Rebels scored the next two points to force a fifth set.
 
The teams traded points to start off set five, but a 3-0 UNLV run gave the Rebels a 6-3 edge and they led the rest of the set for the 15-8 win.
 
Overall, USU hit .242 (72-32-165), while UNLV hit .244 (60-21-160).
 
Utah State next travels to Fresno, California, to take on Fresno State (6-18, 0-12 MW) on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. (MT).
 
Fans can follow the Aggie volleyball program on Twitter, @USUVolleyball, on Facebook at /USUVolleyball or on Instagram, @usuvolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
 
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