Volleyball team welcomes red-hot Idaho to Spectrum
Like most team sports, the winner of a volleyball match can be determined by a few key plays.
This has been the case the last two years when the Utah State University women’s volleyball team has faced off against the University of Idaho – a team the Aggies will host Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Spectrum.
“I think Idaho, [Cal State] Northridge and us are all pretty close in skill level,” said senior outside hitter Shauni Fluckiger. “I think [come Saturday] it’s going to depend on who plays the best that night, and who makes less mistakes.”
Fortunately for the Aggies, they have been able to make fewer mistakes in the last three meetings between the two teams. USU won both of its matches over Idaho a year ago in five games, and picked up a four-game win Sept. 28 in Moscow, Idaho.
While the Aggies were able to win that match in four games, Fuller said it could have gone either way. After all, USU escaped with 30-28 victories in games three and four.
Not only will Utah State (9-10, 3-6 in the Big West Conference) be looking for its fourth straight victory over the Vandals, but a chance to move into a tie with Idaho (8-11, 4-5) for sixth place in league play.
In order for the Aggies to do this, they will have to beat a red-hot Idaho squad. The Vandals have won four of their last five matches, including a five-game thriller on the road against conference power Pacific.
“They’re coming in here with some confidence,” said USU Head Coach Burt Fuller. “They’re also going to want to raise their record, and we’re going to have to answer that.”
One player the Aggies will have to answer to is Anna-Marie Hammond. The junior middle blocker was selected the Big West Player of the Week after hitting a whopping .442 with 47 kills in two weekend matches.
On the flip answer, the Vandals will have to find a way to contain Aggie middle blocker Erin Cartwright – the conference Player of the Week a week ago. Cartwright leads the Aggies in kills (278), hitting percentage (.321) and blocks per game (1.21), and ranks in the top 10 of the BWC in all three categories as well.
Although Fuller did not specifically talk about the matchup between Cartwright and Hammond, he said it is essential the Aggies play well at the middle blocker positions.
“You always want to win the middle, [because] it opens up everything else,” he said. “That’s their strength, and the middle right side is our strength.”
Fuller said he is also hoping for a more balanced attack. In the Aggies’ loss to California State University Northridge Saturday, Tereza Cernianska was the lone USU outside hitter who finished with a positive attacking percentage.
“It’s huge, because people are going to flock to our middle and our right,” he said. “If we can pick up easy kills on our left side, that’s going to help us a lot.”
After a tough California road trip, Fluckiger said the team is happy to be back at the Spectrum.
“I’m personally happy to be home,” she said. “We’re comfortable here, and our fans help us out a lot.”
-jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu