USU Volleyball falls in straight sets at home

Friday night at the Wayne Estes Center ended in another straight set loss for the Aggies against in-state rival Weber State (21-25, 25-17, 21-25).

Sophomore outside hitter Bailey Downing recorded 13 kills, while senior middle blocker Lauren O’Brien, sophomore outside hitter Gabbi Shumway, and freshman Corinne Larsen each had five kills in the match.

In the first set of the night Utah State tied the match at 3-3, until the Wildcats took control and stayed on top for the rest of the game. The Aggies trailed the whole game, but came close when the set ended 25-21.

Holley Stringham

USU volleyball players watch as WSU serves the ball in a match at the Wayne Estes Center on Sep. 14, 2018.

Again, the Wildcats took control of the second set early on and never allowed USU to come close. Once the Aggies finally earned their first point of the set, the Wildcats had already put up four points. Weber now had a two-set lead after closing it out 25-17.

The third and final set of the night had a shimmer of hope when Utah State was able to pull up and tie the Wildcats 3-3. After a struggle to keep up, USU finally led 11-10, but the comeback magic didn’t last long. Weber State racked up six unanswered points after that slight setback and went on to sweep the Aggies with a final score of 25-21.

Next the Aggies will dive into conference play, with a road game to open up the Mountain West portion of the schedule against New Mexico in Albuquerque on Wednesday, Sep. 9. USU will then return home to host UNLV on Saturday, Sep. 22.