Aggies look for win over Pacific
Winner of four of its last five matches, the Utah State University women’s volleyball team (7-4, 4-1 in the Big West Conference) is hoping momentum will carry over when the Aggies play a team they haven’t beaten in 20 years – the No. 12 ranked University of the Pacific. The game will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Spectrum.
Although the Tigers (13-3, 4-1 in the Big West) are only one loss away from their total of a year ago, they are still one of the best teams in the country, USU head coach Burt Fuller said.
“UOP is still a top-ranked team and there’s a reason for that,” Fuller said.
Then again, UOP’s losses haven’t exactly come against easy teams. Two of the Tiger’s setbacks came against Long Beach State University and the University of Nebraska – the No. 1 and 2 ranked teams in the country. Pacific’s other loss came against an upstart University of Nevada-Reno team.
“They have great players,” Fuller said. “They’re always well-coached and well-skilled. They’ve always had great athletes.”
One of those athletes the Aggies will have to contend with is sophomore middle blocker Jennifer Joines.
As a freshman, Joines earned second-team All-American honors and was the Big West Freshman of the Year. Joines has picked up where she left off last year as she leads the Tigers in kills (272) and block assists (79).
Senior Jamie Hamm has also been a presence on the court for the Tigers. The first-team all-conference selection has more than twice as many digs as anyone else on the team (216) and is second on the team in kills with 177.
Despite the daunting task ahead of them, Fuller said he is confident the Aggies can hold their own against the Tigers and hopefully pick up a huge conference win.
“If someone would have said we would be 4-1 [in BWC play] right now, we would have taken that,” he said. “I like where our team is right now; I like how we’re playing.”
After starting the year with a hitting percentage in the .160 range, USU has increased it to .212 with its hot play as of late.
Two Aggies who have especially picked up their level of play are seniors Lisa Borom and Michelle Matheson.
As a result, Borom and Matheson are among the BWC leaders in two offensive categories.
Borom is currently sixth in kills per game (3.95) and Matheson is ninth in the conference with a .324 hitting percentage.
Stalwart Chelsi Neves is third in the conference with 12.16 assists per game.
Fuller said the Aggies can credit increased communication on the court and a more fluent offensive attack for the team’s recent success.
“I think our offensive flow has really improved,” Fuller said.
Following Thursday’s game, the Aggies will continue their two-game homestand on Saturday against California State University at Northridge. The match will start at 7 p.m. in the Spectrum.
“We’re also looking forward to playing Northridge, who is also a good team, too,” Fuller said.