LOS ANGELES — In a closely-contested five-set match, Utah State volleyball outlasted Ohio with a come-from-behind set five victory to cap off a 3-2 win inside USC's Galen Center on Saturday afternoon.
"This was a big step forward for a young Aggie team," head coach
Rob Neilson said. "We still have a ton of work to do, but there isn't a group I'd rather do it with."
Set One
The Bobcats built an early 6-3 lead on a 4-0 scoring run to start set one. Utah State battled back with a 7-2 surge on kills from junior
Tierney Barlow and freshman
Loryn Helgesen and errors from Ohio to tie the set at 11 apiece. After falling behind 18-4, the Aggies outscored Ohio 11-5 in the final rallies, propelled by three kills from Helgesen and more points by graduate
Kelsey Watson and senior
Adna Mehmedovic to claim set one 25-23.
Set Two
Ohio stormed out to a 5-0 lead to begin set two. The Bobcats would maintain a lead throughout the entire set, but USU made things close in the finals points, cutting the Bobcat lead to two, 21-19, after an Ohio attack error. Freshman
Andrea Simovski would record a service ace to cut the lead to one, 23-22, but the Bobcats managed to close out the set 25-23.
Set Three
Utah State earned an early lead in set three 10-5, with kills by Mehmedovic, Helgesen and freshman
Delaney Lawson, as well as aces by freshman
Jagoda Bialek and Barlow, aiding the Aggies' cause. USU would use two separate 3-0 runs, fueled with blocks by Watson and Mehmedovic and Bobcat attack errors, to keep Ohio at bay, cruising to 25-20 victory in set three.
Set Four
Following a 3-0 Aggie scoring run to open the set, including an ace by freshman
Kaylie Kofe, Ohio tied things up at 5-5, before extending its lead to 11-6 midway through the set. USU cut into that lead with an ace by Barlow, block by Mehmedovic and kill by Lawson to trim the Bobcat lead to 16-14. Both sides traded points before a 4-0 Aggie scoring run tied the set at 22-22 on back-to-back aces by Simovski. The Bobcats would force a fifth set on a 3-0 run to close out set four 25-22.
Set Five
After falling behind early in the final set 7-1, USU proved its resilience by launching a 5-0 scoring run behind three-straight kills by redshirt junior
Kaylie Ray to get back into the set, down 9-7. Ohio went to set point 14-10 off a block, but Utah State clinched victory from the jaws of defeat on a 6-0 run to earn a hard-fought 16-14 set win and match victory 3-2. A block by Watson started the run, which featured an ace by Simovski and two more kills by Ray.
QUICK NOTES
- Helgesen led the Aggie offense with a career-high 15 kills on 27 attempts, hitting .481 on the night. Helgesen also recorded two digs in the effort.
- Watson recorded a season-best nine blocks to lead Utah State at the net. Watson also added seven kills on 21 attempts and four digs.
- Both Aggie setters posted career-highs in assists as Kofe logged 27 assists to lead USU and freshman Kate Lijic tallied 23.
- Simovski recorded a career-high five service aces, helping the Aggies to 11 aces on the night as Barlow and Kofe added two apiece.
- Additionally for Utah State on offense, Simovski totaled 12 kills, followed by Mehmedovic with 10.
NEXT UP
Utah State returns to the Beehive State to take on No. 17 BYU in Provo, Utah, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m., before returning home on Thursday, Sept. 19, to host in-state foe Utah Valley at 8 p.m.
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