COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – Utah State volleyball won its fourth straight match, defeating Air Force on the road, 3-1 (26-24, 25-14, 20-25, 25-19), on Thursday night at Falcon Court at East Gym.
 
Head coach Rob Neilson
"I love watching this group learn and grow together. To kill 69 balls in four sets is phenomenal. We battled through some adversity and didn't play as clean as we would like – hats off to a scrappy Air Force team– but we continue to find ways to win."
 
Set One
USU took early control of the match, using a 6-1 run to take the lead in set one. The Aggies led by as many as seven points at 14-7 before the Falcons clawed back within one point. Utah State staved off the comeback with a 3-0 run, though Air Force again closed the distance, this time tying the match on multiple occasions late in the set. Tied 24-24, freshman Andrea Simovski gave the Aggies another chance to clinch the set before a ball handling error from the Falcons clinched the win for USU, 26-24. Freshman Loryn Helgesen was instrumental in the opening set, totaling nine kills on a .571 hitting percentage in the opening set, while Simovski also added six sets to help the Aggies take the one-set lead.
 
Set Two
After a battle in the opening set, Utah State removed the suspense in the second. The Falcons opened the set with a 7-4 lead before the Aggies responded with a 21-7 stretch over the remainder of the set, featuring separate bursts of 6-1, 5-0 and 6-2. USU recorded 19 digs in the set with each of Simovski, freshman Kaylie Kofe and sophomore Kendel Thompson each recording four in the frame. Utah State seamlessly converted the defense to offense as the team hit .366 en route to the 25-14 win. Helgesen and Simovski again led the Aggie offense with six and five kills in the set, respectively.
 
Set Three
The Falcons fought back in the third set. After the two teams battled to a stalemate through the first half of the set, a 6-0 Air Force run proved too much to overcome. Utah State came with three points on several occasions late, but could not fully erase the deficit as the Falcons forced another set with a 25-20 win.
 
Set Four
With another chance to finish out the match early, the Aggies went on a 6-0 run of their own early in the fourth set. The Falcons again managed to battle back to tie it at 9-9 before USU again responded with a 5-1 run to restore the lead. USU maintained its lead but could not fully put away Air Force as the home side fought back to earn another tie at 17-17. From there, the Aggies took over, closing the match on a pair of 4-0 runs to take the fourth set, 25-20. Senior Kaylie Ray came off the bench for three kills during the first of the 4-0 runs to put USU comfortably in front. Junior Tierney Barlow began the final stretch with a pair of kills before Kofe attacked on the second hit to sneak in the final kill for the 3-1 win.
 
Quick Notes

• Utah State's 69 kills are the most by the team in a match going less than five sets this season, and are tied for the third-most kills in any Aggie match this season.
• The Aggies also hit .259 as a team, their seventh-consecutive match hitting at least .250, the longest such streak since Utah State joined the Mountain West in 2013.
• Helgesen led the Aggies with a career-high 19 kills on a .381 hitting percentage. Senior Adna Mehmedovic and Simovski also hit double-digit kills, finishing with 13 and 12 kills, respectively.
• Utah State also had three players with double-digit digs, led by Thompson with 15. Simovski added 13 digs to record a double-double alongside her 12 kills. Kofe also finished with a double-double with 12 digs plus a team-high 47 assists.
• This is the sixth match this season in which USU has recorded multiple double-doubles.
• Barlow led the Aggies with seven blocks, tying her season-high, including two solo blocks. 
• With the win, Utah State moves to 11-11 overall with a 8-4 mark during conference play. The Aggies retained sole possession of fourth place in the Mountain West standings, one half-game ahead of San Diego State. The top six teams in the conference will advance to the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas.

 
Up Next
The Aggies concludes its week at New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 1 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.
 
 - USU -