Spikers tally fourth in a row
Only two nights after their first five-game match of the year, Utah State’s women’s volleyball team defeated Utah Valley 3-1 in the Spectrum to run their winning streak to four matches and their overall record to 13-10.
It was a win, but it wasn’t pretty.
The Aggies had 51 total errors on the night, and hit .167 for the match. Even without their best match, they were able to beat a UVU team that came into the match with a 16-7 record.
“When we’re not even playing our best and we can still win, that’s a good feeling,” junior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh said. “Imagine what we’ll be like when we are playing our best.”
Even in their Game 1 and 2 wins-30-26 and 31-29, respectively-Utah State was never really able to get momentum. Head coach Grayson DuBose attributes the Aggies’ struggles Thursday night to a well-coached, disciplined Wolverine team.
“They played well and they took us out of what we’re comfortable with, which is what we kind of do to other teams,” he said. “I don’t know how to say it, they just did a good job.”
The Aggies’ comfort level contributed to a match full of back-and-forth games with both teams trading side-outs.
Game 1 got USU off to a good start with 20 kills, five total team blocks and a .273 hitting percentage. Senior opposite hitter Amanda Nielson led the Aggies with eight kills in the first game, while hitting .250. They also picked up five kills from sophomore middle blocker Danielle Taylor, who hit at a .571 clip.
Game 2 was a much sloppier contest, with both teams recording double-digit error totals. Utah State got down early, but with the help of a 6-1 run they found themselves up 24-21, and in the driver’s seat, but the Wolverines weren’t done. They went on a run of their own to tie the game up at 29.
In an ending that summed up the play in Game 2, the Wolverines gave the Aggies the game with two straight hitting errors.
Although they were up 2-0, Utah State looked noticeably different in Game 3.
Senior Heather Hillier replaced starter Chelsea Fowles as the Aggie setter and senior outside hitter Monarissa Ale didn’t see a lot of time on the floor. She was replaced by junior Kris Hymas.
“I just thought the location was a little off with Chelsea,” DuBose said about the move to Hillier.
He said Hymas replacing Ale was for a different reason.
“The kids come in and they work hard every single day in practice, and they deserve playing time, and that can’t always happen,” DuBose said.
With the slightly different lineup on the court, USU was plagued by errors-16 total errors in Game 3-and struggled to get things started. The Wolverines jumped out to a lead of as much as eight, until the Aggies went on a 12-5 run to take the lead at 21-20. The lead would be short-lived, as UVU came back to put the USU away 30-26 in a match that saw the Aggies only hit .075.
For the first few minutes of Game 4 it looked like the Wolverines would parlay their momentum into a win and a Game 5. They jumped out to a 5-1 lead before the Aggies went back to the freshman Fowles to run their offense.
“(Hillier) came in and did a job and after Game 3, I thought, ‘Let’s go back to something we’re more familiar with,'” DuBose said.
Fowles first set back on the court looked very familiar, as she got an assist on a Nielson kill. The momentum swung to Utah State as they climbed back to tie the game at seven. From that point, it was mostly side out after side out, with 13 ties in the game.
Ultimately, it was four aces by Aggie servers, including two by Fowles, and one each from Nielson and Ale, that gave the game and the match to the USU with a score of 30-27.
Utah State’s ability to come back and play through adversity showed DuBose a little about his team.
“I thought we showed a little character,” he said. “We stayed composed and we didn’t get too rattled. So even though we weren’t comfortable we were still finding ways to score points.”
Despite the errors, several Aggies had good games. Nielson lead the team once again with 26 kills. But it was Osterloh’s 16 kills and 15 digs that stood out on the stat sheet.
“I just try and be as consistent as possible,” she said. “I just want our team to do the best we can. I just come in every night hoping for that.”
Being consistent will only get harder for Osterloh and her teammates, as they will play their third game of the week Saturday at 7 p.m., against Fresno State in the Spectrum.
But fatigue at this stage of the season isn’t unusual.
“At this point in the season, everybody’s tired, and everybody’s nicked up,” DuBose said. “It’s kind of a battle of attrition here in the end. I’m sure they are tired. I don’t blame them, I’d be tired, too. They’ve played a bunch of volleyball.”
-da.bake@aggiemail.usu.edu