Volleyball club places fifth at Univ. of Utah tourney
After winning all their matches during pool play, the Utah State men’s club volleyball team tied for fifth in a tournament at the University of Utah this weekend.
USU played Friday and Saturday in a conference tournament consisting of 16 teams, including rivals Utah, Utah Valley State College and No. 4 Washington State University.
Friday night, USU beat the Weber State University B team, the UVSC B team, and Washington State. Washington State took the Aggies to three games before they were able to put the match away. It was a big win for USU because Washington State is ranked above them nationally, said coach Greg Jorgenson.
The pools were re-seeded Saturday. The Aggies played Southern Utah University and the Utah B team, winning both matches. Jorgenson said SUU did not give them much trouble, but Utah gave them a bit of a run.
Following pool play Saturday, the teams were divided into two single-elimination brackets. The top-10 teams were placed in the upper bracket, with the remaining six in another bracket. Utah State entered single elimination seeded third.
USU was matched up with sixth-seeded Ricks College for single elimination. In the first game, USU lost 25-18.
“We came out sloppy in the first game,” Jorgenson said.
In the second game, the outcome was better and USU managed a 25-20 victory. Entering the third game, USU came out strong, Jorgenson said, moving out to an 8-4 lead. Following a side change, USU committed four hitting errors, resulting in four points for Ricks.
“We just lost focus,” Jorgenson said. “We played good when it counted in pool play, but we were up and down.”
The loss left USU tied for fifth with Washington State. Utah and Ricks, both ranked below USU nationally, finished above USU in the tournament, but tying Washington State, No. 4 in the nation, was a good thing, Jorgenson said.
Utah State’s next match, a single match, will be Friday against Weber State University in Ogden. The following week, USU will travel to Tucson, Ariz., for another conference tournament. At the end of March, USU will play at least one, possibly two home games, depending on whether it can use the Spectrum.