Volleyball: Southern Aggies sweep Utah St.
Despite solid performances from two young outside hitters, the USU women’s volleyball team lost to New Mexico State in a three-set match (25-12, 25-14, 25-20) Thursday evening in Las Cruces, N.M.
Freshman outside hitter Liz McArthur came off the bench to record six kills, while fellow freshman hitter Emily Kortsen had five kills. Both players hit .417 in the match, but it wasn’t enough as New Mexico State hit .549 as a team.
“They were just better than us tonight,” said head coach Grayson DuBose. “That’s a nice team. They’re experienced and playing at home.”
Lindsey Yon led the New Mexico State Aggies with 15 kills and a .522 hitting percentage.
“We kept them out of system for bits of the game,” DuBose said. “But not for long enough periods of time.”
DuBose said the team struggled with ball control early on, but was able to pass better as the match went on.
USU served well, recording only one service error in the match.
The Aggies scored the first three points of the first set, but New Mexico quickly put down seven straight kills, paving the way for the 13-point victory. The NewMags dominated the set, hitting .783 in the match while limiting USU to a .200 hitting percentage.
New Mexico took an early 7-0 lead in the second set, but the Aggies were able to fight back, getting as close as 11-9. New Mexico then went on an 11-2 run to finish the set, winning 25-14.
USU hit .250 in the third set, its best performance of the match, but were unable to stop New Mexico. The NewMags had seven players record kills in the set, grinding out a 25-20 victory, completing their second sweep of USU this season.
DuBose praised both Kortsen and McArthur for their performances.
“Emily Kortsen and Liz McArthur both did a real nice job,” he said. “Liz (McArthur) came off the bench and competed well.”
Utah State is now 8-7 in conference play and 10-16 overall this season, while New Mexico improves to 14-1 in the WAC and 20-7 overall.
Despite the loss, DuBose said he is positive about the rest of the season.
“We like our chances,” he said. “This is a hard road trip, but it just is what it is. We have to come out and compete well, and I think we’ll do that.”
The Aggies will finish conference play Saturday at 6 p.m. at Louisiana Tech.
–joseph.w@aggiemail.usu.edu