So close yet so far: Aggies miss chance for upset win
“Moral victories, they all suck. We just want to win.”
That’s how USU head coach Grayson DuBose felt following an emotional loss Saturday to conference rival Colorado State.
“We had opportunities, and we just couldn’t capitalize when we needed to,” DuBose said.
The Aggies entered the Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum Saturday night determined to defend a season-high six-game winning streak against unbeaten Mountain West powerhouse Colorado State. The Rams entered the match ranked No. 9 in the nation with a perfect 21-0 record, sweeping their last three opponents in straight sets.
USU owns the distinction of being the only team to visit the Rams’ home court this year and win a set before ultimately losing the match 3-1. That match was back on Oct. 10 – since that game, the Aggies had won six in a row and were hungry for a rematch.
The showdown Saturday pitted the top two teams in the MWC against each other in front of a season-high 1,865 fans. The Aggies hadn’t lost since their match in Fort Collins.
Colorado State hadn’t lost at all.
USU began the match with a statement 25-20 win in the first set, capped by two straight kills from sophomore hitter Elle Brainard.
“We were kind of rolling,” DuBose said. “We had a nice game plan going in. (Associate Coach) Jeremiah (Larsen) put together a nice defensive scouting report, so we had some good opportunities.”
USU jumped out to an 11-5 lead to begin the second set, and two emphatic kills by junior outside hitter Rachel Orr prompted CSU to finally call a timeout in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The Rams would battle back to trail 12-11, but another big USU run kept the Rams at a distance at 20-15.
The Aggies won set two off of a costly CSU service error, and suddenly the Rams trailed two sets to none for the first time in their last 50 matches. Both teams headed for their respective locker rooms, USU exhilarated to have its conference foe on the ropes, the once-invincible Colorado State suddenly appearing mortal.
The Rams responded to the pressure of a must-win set after the break, leading USU early at 12-7. The Aggies fought to get back in the set, recording five blocks, 17 digs and nine kills, four of which were courtesy of Orr.
CSU refused to be swept however, racking up 23 digs and 7 blocks to ultimately own set three, winning 25-18 in the most lopsided victory of the night.
After just one lead change in the previous three sets combined, the fourth set featured four lead changes and 11 tie scores. Neither team lead by more than three points at any time. The crowd rose to their feet after a kill from junior Kaitlyn VanHoff gave USU a 16-13 edge, but the Rams answered with a huge 8-2 run to lead USU 21-18.
USU took over 24-23 off of another VanHoff kill, and the volume in the Spectrum intensified. CSU could feel the pressure and managed to tie it 24-24 before a service error returned the lead to USU once again. Leading 25-24, the Aggies needed one point to deliver a knockout punch.
They didn’t get it.
Three straight CSU kills ended the set, tying the match 2-2 and silencing USU’s best shot at an upset. The Rams couldn’t be stopped in set five, winning 15-8 and escaping the Spectrum with their perfect record intact.
“It was a grind. I thought it would be,” DuBose said. “That’s a good team. We had our chances for sure. Under pressure, they responded just a little bit better than we did, and it made all the difference.”
VanHoff, Orr and senior hitter Tumua Etimani ended the night with 13 kills each, with Elle Brainard tallying 15. Ashlan Rogers-Court contributed 31 digs in the contest, and is now ranked third all-time in USU history with 1,071 total digs.
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Twitter: @Logantj