Volleyball falls to Fresno State at WAC tourney
The Utah State women’s volleyball team concluded its season with a loss to Fresno State in the WAC tournament Monday. Senior Liz McArthur led the Aggies with seven kills in the loss.
“(The Bulldogs) were just on fire,” head coach Grayson DuBose said. “They played really well. They were finishing the season strong and got on a roll.”
The fifth-seeded Bulldogs took control midway through the first set.
With the score level at 7 each Fresno scored the next four points, getting three-straight kills from sophomore outside hitter Korrin Wild. Wild had five kills in the first set, and the Bulldogs used a series of small runs to take the first set by a score of 25-18.
Wild finished with 17 kills and eight digs against USU and was named to the All-WAC second team at the conclusion of the tournament.
Junior outside hitter Josselyn White put the Aggies ahead early in the second set, recording four of her six total kills. After a service ace from junior setter Kassi Hargrove, USU held a 10-8 advantage. Then after a service error from Wild the teams were level at 14-all.
The Bulldogs again settled in and took control.
Fresno scored four of the next five points and pulled away down the stretch, using an 11-5 run to close out the set 25-19.
DuBose said the consistency of the Bulldogs made the difference.
“They just maintained and built that lead,” the six-year coach said. “I think it was a culmination of things. They’d make a run and build it up. They were just more consistent than we were.”
With a two-games-to-none advantage the Bulldogs made sure there would be no comeback.
Fresno State scored the first three points of the final set, building a 10-2 advantage and holding the fourth-seeded Aggies to a negative .029 hitting percentage in the set. The Bulldogs finished hitting .381 for the match, while the Aggies finished at .100 percent.
“They played well offensively and defensively,” DuBose said. “They served well the whole night, but that third set they were really on fire. We just struggled, particularly in that third game.”
Fresno State finished 41-24 with more digs than Utah State, while the Aggies held a slight edge in blocks, finishing with 6 to 5.5 for the Bulldogs. Fresno also had 49 assists to USU’s 24.
The Aggies finished the season with a 12-17 record, including 7-7 in WAC play. The Bulldogs advanced to the semi-finals, falling in five sets to eventual tournament champion Hawaii.
Despite the rough regular season finale, three Aggies earned postseason awards at the conclusion of the tournament.
McArthur was named to the All-WAC first team for the second straight season, and junior outside hitter Shay Sorensen earned second team honors. Freshman setter Paige Neves was named to the WAC All-Freshman team.
As a team the Aggies finished near or at the top of several statistical categories within the conference. They led the WAC in blocks per set at 2.79 and were second in digs at 15.05 per set.
USU also ranked third after holding opponents to a .177 hitting percentage this season.
DuBose, who won national title as a coach at Brigham Young in 2004, said he’s
optimistic about the team’s future.
“The future is really bright for us,” DuBose said. “Our middle blockers got a lot of experience, and they are going to get better and better. Obviously losing Liz is a bummer, but we return everyone else. Our young players got a lot of experience, and we have a bunch of players coming back.”
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu