USU loses in a close match against Wyoming

The Aggies fell to 3-10 in a nail-biting 3-2 loss Saturday against Wyoming. This was Utah State’s sixth five-set match in a row, four of which ended in losses.

“We’re getting lots of reps,” head coach Rob Neilson said following the loss. “We’ve got a lot of talent, but we’re just not putting it together in long enough stretches.”

Utah State’s front line asserted itself early in the first set. Outside hitter Mara Štiglic and opposite hitter Adna Mehmedovic scored most of the points early, and the Aggies took the first set 27-25.

The Cowgirls struck back with a decisive 25-20 win in the second set, led by the offense of Wyoming’s outside hitter Paige Lauterwasser. Lauterwasser finished with a game-best 23 kills to go along with nine digs. 

The third set was Utah State’s most dominant set of the day, leading by as many as five points and finishing with a score of 25-22. Outside hitter Delaney Lawson checked in at the start of the set and contributed five kills and a dig. 

The Aggies were leading 20-16 late in the fourth set and had a chance to close the game, but Wyoming surged back with a couple of serving aces and multiple errors from Utah State. 

“We were up big in the fourth and had opportunities,” said Neilson. “Everybody started to slow down, and we were playing just not to lose.”

Utah State’s struggles continued in the fifth set, allowing two more serving aces and committing four errors. The Cowgirls secured the win in the final set 15-12. 

Coach Neilson felt that this was a game that the Aggies let slip away, and he was visibly disappointed following the loss.

“Here’s a match that we felt like we should have won in four,” Neilson said. “Now we’re going into five, and everybody’s nervous. You have to play with a fearless mentality, or else you are going to lose, and all of our fears were confirmed.”

Despite the tough loss, multiple Aggie players had career-defining performances. Mehmedovic’s 19 kills were the most in her four-year college career. Štiglic also had her best-attacking game in her career, with 14 kills. And libero Kendel Thompson had the best defensive game of her career with 23 digs. 

Utah State now has the second-worst overall record in the Mountain West Conference, but they have been steadily improving. In the first seven matches, they lost 20 sets and won only 5, and in the six games since, they’ve been outscored in sets 16-14, each of those games being taken to the complete five sets.

“We’re gonna get pushed by every team in our conference, and we need to make sure we can go make plays that we need to make,” Neilson said. “We haven’t shown the ability to do that consistently enough.”

Next week, the Aggies will continue conference play and head on a two-game road trip against San Diego State and UNLV, two of the conference’s winningest teams.