Volleyball loses at Fresno

State in five games.

The Aggies went into the match tied for first in the WAC. With the loss, Utah State fell to 4-1 in conference play.

Despite building up an 27-18 lead in the first game, the Ags were unable to hold on for the win and allowed Fresno to come back and tie the game at 28.

The game stayed tight, but two kills from Fresno and a block gave them the 31-29 win in the first game and fueled them to a win in the second game as well.

The Aggies hit just .091 in the first game and barely improved to .116 in the second.

Utah State improved after winning the the third game, however.

Hitting .500 in the fourth game, the Ags easily won 30-21 – taking the Bulldogs into their first five-game match of the season.

But USU was unable to carry its momentum into the now-familiar territory of a fifth game. Dropping the game and the match by two points.

Junior Kelsi Peterson set a school record in digs during the match with 34 digs for the night.

Senior Zuzana Cernianska led Utah State offensively with 26 kills.

Two other Aggies recorded double digit kills. Senior Erin Graybill put 13 kills on the board – along with five blocks – while sophomore Beth Hodge added 10 kills.

For the Bulldogs, Alison Pitton had a team-high 26 kills. FSU’s Kasie Spencer was the only other Bulldog in double digits with 10 kills. Cassie Gilford led Fresno on defense with 32 digs.

Utah State will return home for its next match, hosting San Jose State Saturday night.

The last time the Aggies have had a win over the Spartans was in 1993. Since then, SJS has dominated the series.

So far this season, the Spartans are 7-7 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The match starts at 7 p.m. in the Spectrum.

-aed