Aggies finish up three-match road swing
Another battle with a nationally ranked Big West Conference leader lies ahead for the Utah State University women’s volleyball team.
The Aggies faced No. 8 Long Beach State University on Sept. 21, falling in three games. Last Friday, the University of California Santa Barbara went on the road and defeated Long Beach, breaking a 30-game-home-win streak for LBSU.
With the victory, the Gauchos moved alone into first place atop the Big West Conference (13-0, 4-0 in BWC play) and jumped three spots to a No. 7 ranking.
“Santa Barbara is playing really, really well,” said Aggie Head Coach Burt Fuller. “They’re not an overpowering team on paper, but they just play hard, they play steady, they tool the block, they pass well [and] they serve well.”
Utah State will meet the Gauchos Friday night in Santa Barbara, Calif.
The Aggies (6-6, 1-2) are going into the match coming off a win Saturday against the University of Idaho, Utah State’s first conference victory of the season.
USU middle blocker Erin Cartwright said picking up the first conference win was a relief for the team, and helped to build confidence.
“It showed how good we can play and how we have to play like that all the time,” she said.
If UCSB beats USU and Idaho the following night, the Gauchos will set a school record with 15 straight victories.
Although Santa Barbara is No. 7 in the nation, Cartwright said she feels the Aggies have a chance if they work together and communicate.
“Santa Barbara is really good, especially on their home court, but we have a chance,” she said. “If we come out strong and play our hardest, who knows.”
Fuller said, “Just all aspects of [UCSB’s] game are clicking right now. We haven’t had a whole match like that. We’ve had instances and parts of games where we’ve been clicking so we’re still waiting to see us break out.”
After playing Santa Barbara, the Aggies will meet California Polytechnic State University (3-9, 2-2) Saturday.
Despite Cal Poly’s 3-9 record, Fuller said he excepts the Mustangs to be solid.
“You can’t look at their overall record because of the schedule they’ve played,” Fuller said. “That’s a good team. One of their kids, [middle blocker] Worthy Lien, is just coming back into the lineup. We want to at least get a split, and we want to do our best on the road.”
The biggest challenge in playing the Mustangs will be the quick turnaround and “playing with just as much intensity on Saturday,” Cartwright said.
Cal Poly will also have to deal with the turnaround though, as the Mustangs play Idaho Friday night.
One key in both of the matches will be consistency in passing, Fuller said.
“Consistency is the word and we’re not consistent in our passing,” he said. “Some matches we’re passing very well and other matches we’re not passing very well.”
Cartwright said, “I think we’re getting a lot better off the serve receive, passing wise, because we’ve been working on it more.”
By passing better, Fuller said it will help the team to be more successful in attacking.
“Our attacking numbers were good back East and they haven’t been that good since,” he said. “But we had a great second game and a great third game at Idaho, so you can see the roller coaster we’ve been on.”
Following its match against UCSB, USU will return to the Spectrum to face BYU – a team the Aggies have beaten in their last two meetings.
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