LOGAN, Utah – On Homecoming weekend, Utah State volleyball proved the Wayne Estes Center as one of the toughest places to play in the Mountain West, defeating Air Force, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-19), on Saturday. The Aggies trailed for only three rallies during the entire match.
Head coach Rob Neilson
"We're getting better. We're a young team and we're finding our way. We're starting to find lineups that work for us. What's really great is that we have a lot of options and a lot of really great players that are on the bench that can step up if something's not quite working. That's a testament to the work of every player in our program. It's fun to put together a complete match and we're getting better."
Set One
The Aggies laid claim to the match early on, using an early 6-0 run to separate from the Falcons. USU's lead slowly grew through the remainder of the set, growing as large as 11 points at 23-12, before the Falcons mounted a comeback attempt with a 6-0 burst. In the closing stages, however, kills from both freshman Mara Štiglic and senior
Adna Mehmedovic preserved the 25-19 victory in the opening set.
Set Two
USU never trailed in the second frame, opening the set with a 4-1 run. The Falcons fought back to tie the set at multiple points, including using a 3-0 burst to square the score at 12-12. From there, the Aggies took over, going on an 8-0 run with freshman
Jagoda Bialek at the service line. Bialek recorded one ace during the run while junior
Tierney Barlow registered a pair of kills and a pair of block assists to help the Aggies take control. No Falcon comeback emerged this time, as another 3-0 stretch from USU capped off the 25-15 victory for the Aggies.
Set Three
The teams remained in much closer contact for much of the third set. After USU built a 6-3 lead at the start, Air Force answered with a 6-3 stretch of their own to tie it at 9-9. The Falcons then took their first lead since the first set at 12-11. The Aggies responded by taking 10 of the next 14 points to go up 21-16. After a brief AF run, USU slammed the door with a 4-1 to take the final set, 25-19.
Quick Notes
- Utah State has now won four consecutive matches after defeating San Diego State (3-2) and UNLV (3-0) on the road last week and taking down New Mexico (3-1) on Thursday.
- USU's 25-15 victory in the second set is tied for the team's largest margin of victory in a set so far this season. The Aggies also won set two against New Mexico by a score of 25-15.
- The Aggies had only six players make an attack in the match, with all six players ending with a positive hitting percentage. Three players finished with a hitting percentage over .500 in Watson (.625, 5-0-8), Barlow (.533, 9-1-15) and Kofe (.500, 3-0-6).
- Barlow and Simovski tied for the team lead with nine kills each. Štiglic followed close behind with eight kills.
- Barlow also tied for the team lead in service aces with two alongside Bialek.
- Freshman Kaylie Kofe posted a team-high 30 assists, also adding five digs.
- Graduate senior Kelsey Watson led the Aggies with six blocks, her seventh time doing so this season. Barlow, Kofe and Štiglic all finished in a tie for second on the team with five total blocks apiece.
- Utah State held Air Force to a .097 hitting percentage, the lowest hitting percentage allowed by the Aggies this season. USU also hit .306 themselves, their second time hitting over .300 this season and trailing only the team's mark of .343 against UNLV.
- With the win, USU is now 4-3 in Mountain West play and is 7-10 overall.
Up Next
Utah State takes their four-match winning streak on the road at Nevada as part of the MW Tuesday Night Block Party on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 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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