LOGAN, Utah – Junior outside hitter
Sami Blackett recorded 20 kills against her former team, helping Utah State volleyball record a season-high hitting percentage to defeat Utah Valley 3-1 on Thursday night at the Wayne Estes Center.
Set One
The two sides traded 3-0 bursts early in the match with USU's being led by kills from sophomores outside hitter
Addy Cook and setter
Silina Damuni plus an ace from junior middle blocker
Ava Napierski. The Wolverines then put together a 7-0 run to take control of the opening set. The Aggies fought off five-straight set points late, including three straight blocks from senior middle blocker
Sophie Scott, twice alongside junior outside hitter
Olivia Ruy and once alongside Cook, but UVU took the first set with a 25-21 win.
Set Two
After building momentum to end the first set, the Aggies carried it over to the second as Cook scored back-to-back kills to open. A 3-0 burst of consecutive kills from Damuni, Ruy and Cook pushed Utah State's lead to five. Following two Wolverine points, Ruy and Scott returned momentum back to USU with a pair of kill before Scott teamed with Blackett for back-to-back blocks to put Utah State up 15-8. UVU clawed back within four points late in the set before the Aggies scored three out of four points to take a 25-19 win. Cook and Blackett added kills while Scott combined with Ruy for another block during the closing run.
Set Three
Cook again opened the set with a kill and junior outside hitter
Justyna Novakova added a service ace before UVU responded with three-straight points. The Aggies countered with five-straight of their own as Ruy notched back-to-back kills and paired with Napierski for a block to kickstart the run. The Wolverines answered back with 4-0 and 3-0 spurts to jump in front 15-12 at the media timeout. Ruy again led the Aggies back to a tie with a pair of kills as part of a 3-0 burst, later again starting a 4-0 run with a kill with Napierski and Blackett also adding kills to put USU up by three points. Utah Valley closed the distance to a single point on two occasions, first being turned away by kills from Blackett and Cook and secondly stopped by kill and ace from Napierski as Utah State closed out a 25-21 win to go up 2-1 in the match.
Set Four
The Aggies came out strong again to begin the fourth set, going on a 12-3 run out of the gates. Blackett recorded four kills and three blocks during the stretch with Napierski twice combining on blocks while Scott registered her team-high seventh block of the match. The Wolverines swiftly erased the deficit with a 10-2 run to claw back within one point at 14-13 but the Aggies maintained composure and returned serve with a 10-2 run of their own. Cook, Scott and Ruy posted kills to stem the tide before Damuni and Novakova added aces to firmly return control of the set to the Aggies. In the closing stages, Blackett then added a pair of kills to cement the 25-18 win to give the Aggies the 3-1 match victory.
Quick Notes
- Blackett recorded her second double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 20 kills alongside 12 digs, a season-high five blocks and three assists.
- Cook recorded a season-high 18 kills on a .277 hitting percentage and added three digs and a block.
- Ruy finished with 13 kills and a season-high four blocks, also adding two digs.
- Damuni recorded her fourth double-double of the season, posting 46 assists alongside a career-high 13 digs, also adding two kills and a career-high two aces.
- Novakova's two aces tied her career-high.
- Scott's seven blocks are her most since 2022. She also added three kills and four digs.
- Napierski tied her career high with four digs, adding five kills on a team-high .417 hitting percentage with two aces and four blocks.
- Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Lily LaFlesch recorded 20 digs for the second-straight match, narrowly missing a double-double with a career-high nine assists plus an ace.
- Sophomore defensive specialist Sadie Warren also tied her season-high with five digs.
- Utah State's 61 kills, .308 hitting percentage, 58 assists, 74 digs and 11 team blocks were all season-high marks while Utah Valley's .147 hitting percentage was a season-low by an Aggie opponent.
Up Next
Utah State (1-8, 0-0 Pac-12) concludes a string of four-straight matches against in-state opponents on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. (MT), when they take on No. 24 BYU in Provo.
Tickets
Season tickets, single-game tickets and the USU women's sports pass are on sale now and can be purchased through
the USU online ticket office.
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 -
