USU loses 1-2 at Gosner Invitational
The Utah State women’s volleyball team started the Gossner Invitational with a win on Friday, but lost its two games on Saturday to fall to 2-5 on the season.
“I think it was one of those days where things just weren’t clicking for us,” said sophomore outside hitter Rachel Gale. “We tried different things, and it just wasn’t happening.”
The attack was inconsistent in both games Saturday, as the Aggies had 28 errors while hitting .118 in the 3-1 loss to Southern Utah and 18 errors and a .135 hitting percentage in the 3-0 loss to San Francisco.
“We had a rough time keeping our energy up,” Gale said. “That was our main focus, was to get the energy up, because when we have good energy we play great, but for some reason our ebbs and flows were not managed.”
The Aggies played with the needed energy on Friday, as they had 54 kills and hit .219 in the 3-1 win over Middle Tennessee State, including a career high 18 kills and 55 attempts for Gale. She finished the tournament with 45 kills over the three games.
Utah State is a young team and the lack of experience, while not an excuse, has contributed to the inconsistent play, Gale said.
“Sometimes we get a little bit in our heads, so we need to get out of that, relax and go to the next one and work on those little ebbs and flows,” said junior libero Hannah Gleason.
In spite of the losses, the team has shown some positive things, said head coach Grayson DuBose.
“You know, we’re getting better,” DuBose said. “Obviously we want different results, but I’ll take the progress.”
Utah State was competitive at times, but allowed both Southern Utah and San Francisco to go on runs that put the games out of reach.
“We’re neck and neck and then we put together three or four errors in a row and that makes all the difference in the world,” DuBose said. “Now they’re feeling comfortable and we’re uncomfortable. We have to make sure we’re managing the ball a little better.”
After winning the second set 25-20 to level the match against Southern Utah, the Aggies were leading the third set 13-11. The Thunderbirds, aided by four Aggie errors, went on a 7-0 run and never relinquished the lead.
Similarly, in the fourth set the Aggies took a 20-18 lead after a kill by junior outside hitter Kaylie Kamalu. SUU went on a 7-1 run to take the set and win the match.
“It’s something we need to get down,” Gale said. “It’s totally under our control, it’s nothing their team does.”
Gleason was honored for her play on the back line and was named to the all-tournament team. She finished with 53 digs and two assists.
Kamalu had 35 kills and 18 digs over the three games. Freshman setter Kassidy Johnson had 108 assists while filling in for Erica Moscoso. Moscoso injured her ankle in the loss to Utah on Tuesday and is out indefinitely.
The Aggies will next play USC, Pepperdine and Idaho State in a tournament in Los Angeles on Thursday and Friday. The next home game for Utah State will be Sept. 15 against Utah Valley at 7:00 p.m.
— thomas.sorenson@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @tomcat340