PROVO, Utah – Utah State volleyball (2-2) lost 3-0 to No. 10 Pittsburgh (4-1) in Provo, Utah, on Friday.
It was a battle in the first set as the Aggies took an early 4-2 lead after a couple Panther errors, a kill from senior opposite side hitter
Kylee Stokes and a service ace from sophomore setter
Beatriz Rodrigues. Senior outside hitter
Shelby Capllonch spurred a 3-0 USU run with a kill followed by back-to-back aces to give Utah State the 10-7 lead. Pitt later responded with a 3-0 run of its own to hold a 14-13 advantage.
After some back-and-forth, Pittsburgh used a 7-2 run to take a 22-17 lead. The Aggies cut it to 23-20 after kills from redshirt freshman outside hitter
Kaylie Ray and Capllonch, but the Panthers won the set 25-21.
It stayed close to start off the second set as the Aggies and Panthers swapped the lead five times and were tied 11. The teams stayed within one until a Pitt serving error and block from Ray and redshirt middle blocker
Bella Wooden gave USU the 9-7 edge. Pittsburgh came back to tie it once again and the back-and-forth continued until Utah State took its final lead of the set at 12-11. Pitt responded with a 10-2 run to hold the 21-14 advantage. The teams traded points for the remainder of the set as the Panthers won 25-18.
A kill from graduate opposite side hitter
Emilee Turner gave USU the 6-5 lead early in set three. After the Panthers took a three-point lead, a Pitt attacking error and Capllonch ace trimmed the edge to 11-10. Pittsburgh extended its lead back out to three at 14-11 and maintained the distance until the Panthers closed out the set with a 7-0 run to win the third 25-15.
Overall, Utah State hit .196 (35-17-92) in the match, while Pitt hit .493 (41-7-69). Capllonch hit .400 in the match with 12 kills to lead the Aggies, while Ray hit .500 with eight kills.
USU was led by Rodrigues with 19 assists, redshirt sophomore libero
Jordi Holdaway with five digs, Capllonch with three service aces, and Ray and Wooden with three total blocks each.
Utah State wraps up its run at the BYU Nike Invitational by taking on Cincinnati (1-3) on Saturday, Sept. 3, at 4 p.m.
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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