USU loses home opener
The Utah State women’s volleyball team lost its home opener Tuesday night to the visiting Utah Utes three sets to one.
The Aggies took the first set 25-20 before dropping three-straight sets 25-23, 25-16 and 25-19.
“Game three slipped away from us, too many errors, and then game four we were making some changes here and there,” said head coach Grayson DuBose.
The changes came after junior setter Erica Moscoso left the match early in the third set with an apparent ankle injury. She remained on the bench while the trainers evaluated her, but did not return to the game. No official status report was given.
“We were in a nice rhythm with Erica and then you throw in a freshman who’s never been in the mix before, it’s tough,” DuBose said.
Without any seniors on the roster, and starter Lauren Anderson sidelined with an injury, Utah State went into the match already lacking depth and experience. It didn’t seem to be a problem in the first set, though, as the Aggies never trailed in the first set.
“All of us were on the same page, we had tons of energy, and we were super excited to play together in the first home game of the season,” said freshman outside hitter Simone Gibeau, who finished the match with 11 kills. She finished the match 11-4-25 and .280. “It was just really exciting for all of us because we knew who we were facing.”
In the second game, which featured 15 ties and nine lead changes, USU battled the Utes down to the final point, but were hurt by an attacking percentage that fell from .323 in the first game to .257 in the second.
“On our side, our passing broke down at times, and it’s just little things that make a big difference for the game,” said junior outside hitter Kaylie Kamalu.
In the third game, after Moscoso left with the injury, the Aggies committed 10 errors and posted an attack percentage of 0.59. The Utes wrapped up the win in the final set.
Despite the loss, there were positives to take away from the game, DuBose said.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction. We’re getting better,” Dubose said. “We’re more competitive, we’re minimizing errors. We’ve just got to be able to defend a little better and stop some people.”
On the night, Kamalu had 15 kills and 11 errors on 45 attacks with a .089 attack percentage. She also had a service ace and eight digs.
Freshman setter Kassidy Johnson, who primarily replaced Moscoso, had 11 assists and seven digs. Moscoso had 26 assists and eight digs before leaving the match.
The Aggies’ next game is a home match against Middle Tennessee State on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
— thomas.sorenson@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @tomcat340