Ags rally for first WAC home volleyball win
After coming within one point of defeat in the fifth set, the Utah State volleyball team went on a 6-2 run to cap their come-from behind win, defeating Nevada in five sets Saturday evening at the Spectrum.
Down 12-14 in the fifth set and facing match point from the Wolf Pack, the Aggies hopes were lifted as a kill from sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles and a service ace by freshman hitter Liz McArthur evened the score. Then, with the score even at 16-16, a kill from senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh put USU ahead by one. Freshman Emily Kortsen came off the bench for the winning spike, her only kill of the game.
Head coach Grayson DuBose said the team was a little lucky in the fifth set. The Aggies had three serving errors and four hitting errors in the set, giving Nevada seven of the necessary 15 points just from errors. But USU was able to keep grinding it out, DuBose said.
“We kept the pressure on and they started to feel the heat,” he said. “Nevada’s a good volleyball team, so I’ll take that win any way I can get it right now.”
The Aggies came out strong in the first set, easily defeating the Wolf Pack 25-11. The Aggies pulled away midway through the set and finished by going on a 13-2 run. Osterloh led the Aggies with six kills in the first set, while sophomore libero Christine Morrill added six digs in the set.
USU struggled with errors in the second set, falling to Nevada 17-25.
“We just have little breakdowns at the end of our games,” Fowles said. “We need to learn to control those more.”
In the third set, the Aggies were close to a win with the score 24-20. USU errors led to a six-point run from Nevada, putting Nevada ahead 2-1 in the match as they won the set 26-24.
After a close fourth set, the Aggies took the lead for good at 19-18. A dump from Fowles ended the set with USU ahead 25-22, pushing the match into a fifth set.
“At that point, you just have to do everything you can, run for every ball as far as you can,” Fowles said. “And I’m excited that they let me dump now, because they didn’t last year.”
Fowles had 12 digs and 52 assists in the match, hitting .625. She also had five kills, most of which were dumps. Morrill had a career-high 27 digs, while junior hitter Jessalyn Payne added a career-high 13 kills and five block assists for the Aggies.
Lindsay Baldwin led the Wolf Pack with 13 kills, hitting .200 in the match. Kylie Harrington added 10 kills and five digs for Nevada.
DuBose said the team was able to keep the pressure on Nevada. He said despite being behind in the match, the Aggies were able to pull through.
“We just kept grinding it out, believing we’d find a way to win,” he said. “It’s a testament to our character that under pressure, we got better as the match went on.”
“If nothing else, the fans are getting their money’s worth,” he said.
After Thursday’s rally and loss to Fresno State, Fowles said she is glad the team pulled this one out.
“It makes us feel a lot better about our team as a whole,” she said. “We’ve been a little rocky here an there, so we’re coming together a lot more as a team.”
DuBose sent in substitutes often, looking to slow Nevada’s momentum. Junior libero/defensive specialist Shanda Larson was sent in during the fifth set for the first time in the match, and DuBose said she did a fantastic job.
“She hasn’t played in a number of matches,” he said. “And then putting her in the fifth game, she did great. She received serve, she made a couple of defensive plays.”
DuBose also credited Lori Wilson for coming off the bench as a serving specialist.
“She came in and just kept the pressure on (Nevada) with the serve and made some plays defensively,” DuBose said.
Morrill said one of the team’s good attributes is that they can depend on anyone to come in and play hard.
The Aggies finished the match hitting .210, while Nevada hit .110. USU had the advantage in digs (73-52) and kills (63-49), while Nevada had three more service aces (6-9).
By winning the match, USU avoided losing their first two home games in conference play. The team is now 2-1 in the WAC, and will play two more home games next week.
“This does give us momentum and a lot of confidence going into our next game,” said Morrill. “It’s good to be home, it’s fun.”