49ers strike gold in Logan, top Spikers in 3 games
The Utah State women’s volleyball home winning streak could only last so long. And when conference powerhouse Long Beach State came to town, the Aggies thought the match might go four or five games, but they didn’t anticipate a sweep by the 49ers.
Long Beach knocked off Utah State 30-28, 30-26, 30-19.
The 49ers haven’t exactly been on a roll as of late, plagued with injuries and suffering a surprising 3-1 loss to UC Riverside, but they did come into the match with a three-contest winning streak.
Before Thursday’s contest the Aggies had things going their way until last Saturday’s match against Idaho when outside hitter Zuzana Cernianska went down with an injury to her right elbow.
Utah State Head Coach Burt Fuller said having Cernianska out cost the Aggies at least five kills per game. Also, if in, she could have helped the team in the serving department. Utah State was unable to get on a run, scoring at most five straight points in the second game.
“It was hard to change over because she is a really aggressive hitter,” said Utah State setter Andrea Delsigne. “That was hard [not having her serve]. We just weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be to fill her spot. We’ve been doing the same thing since day one and then all of a sudden [things change].”
Sophomore Erin Graybill started in Cernianska’s place and finished the night with four digs and one block.
Fuller said Cernianska will likely sit out again on Saturday against UC Irvine.
“The report is possibly next week,” he said of her condition. “She just needs time to mend.”
Beth Hodge and Erin Cartwright let Utah State with 13 and 15 kills, respectively. Mari Ruddick added 12 digs for the Aggies.
Utah State rotated points with Long Beach during the first game, but lost momentum in the second and third games, falling behind by as many as 13 points in the final set.
The 49ers were led by Natalie Uhart, Erika Chidester and Robin Miramontes. Uhart had nine kills with a .643 hitting percentage, while Chidester had 17 kills with a .216 hitting percentage.
Miramontes, who finished with 12 kills at an even .500, was often the driving force behind Long Beach’s scoring runs against USU.
“Robin has picked it up in the last couple of matches,” said Big West Conference spiker of the week Jillian Mazzarella. “She has made a big difference because our hitters can be more spread out now. … Now it’s like an even attack all the way across the net.”
Mazzarella was also named the American Volleyball Coaches Association player of the week. Although she didn’t necessarily have a super attacking night, she did have 12 of LBSU’s 44 digs.
USU finished the night with 34 digs, a number that Delsigne said needs to change if the Aggies have a chance against UC Irvine. She said the Aggies also need to play aggressive in the first game. When Utah State comes out strong it seems to lead to more confidence on the court and eventually an overall win.
The Aggie host the Anteaters for a 7 p.m. start on Saturday. UCI is mentioned for the first time since the final NCAA poll in 1988 when the Anteaters were ranked No. 20.
They were listed in the other receiving points section this week.
The Anteaters are off to the best start in the program’s history with a 13-4 overall record and 4-1 in Big West Conference play. They fell 5-2 to Idaho on Thursday in Moscow.
-juag@cc.usu.edu