FORT COLLINS, Colorado – Utah State volleyball fell in their regular season finale at Colorado State, 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-21), on Saturday afternoon at Moby Arena. With the loss, the Aggies will enter next week's Mountain West Tournament as the third seed and will face Boise State in the opening round.
Set One
USU came out strong in the opening set, recording eight service aces as a team. An early 4-0 run gave Utah State momentum and the lead. After the Rams trimmed the lead to a single point, the Aggies responded with a 7-0 run powered by five aces from freshman
Andrea Simovski, tying her career-high in the first set alone. Despite a pair of CSU runs, two aces from sophomore
Kendel Thompson set up the clinching kill from senior
Adna Mehmedovic to take the opening set, 25-19.
Set Two
The Aggies maintained momentum to begin set two, slowly building a 9-6 lead in the early stages. The Rams responded with a 7-2 stretch to jump back in front and then took full control of the set with a 7-1 run to close out a 25-17 win and tie the match at one set apiece.
Set Three
Colorado State kept control with tandem 4-1 runs early in set three. Before Utah State could build a response, the Rams blitzed the set with a 9-1 run to go up by 11. The Aggies battled back late with a 4-1 spurt but were unable to eat into the deficit before Colorado State took the set, 25-14.
Set Four
In a do-or-die set, the Aggies jumped out first with a 4-1 stretch early in the fourth set. The Rams responded with a 4-0 run of their own to retake the advantage and foretell a back-and-forth battle for the remainder of the set. Utah State retook the lead following a 5-1 run before CSU scored the next two points to tie the set at 11-11. The Rams jumped ahead with a 4-0 run midway through the set before the Aggies again erased the deficit with a 4-1 stretch of their own. With the set tied at 21-21, the Rams made the final move of the match, claiming the final four points to win, 25-21.
Quick Notes
- Utah State finishes Mountain West play at 12-6 and tied alongside Fresno State and San José State for second place in the conference standings. By tiebreakers, the Aggies will enter the MW Tournament as the third seed and will face sixth-seeded Boise State on Wednesday, March 27, at 5 p.m. MT. Should USU advance, they would face second-seeded San José State in the semifinals.
- Simovski led the Aggies with 14 kills, while both Mehmedovic and junior Tierney Barlow finished with nine kills. Mehmedovic posted a team-high .444 hitting percentage while Barlow hit .412 and Simovski finished with a .241 hitting percentage.
- Simovski set a new career-high with six total aces in the match, the most by an Aggie since Beatriz Rodrigues also recorded six aces against Fresno State in 2022.
- Thompson led the Aggies with seven digs while all three of Simovski, Kofe and freshman Jagoda Bialek finished with five digs each. Redshirt junior Kaylie Ray led USU with three blocks.
Up Next
The Aggies head to Las Vegas for the Mountain West Tournament. Utah State will face Boise State in the opening round on Wednesday, Nov. 27, at 5 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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