Aggie spikers prepared for final road swing
Maybe this weekend is exactly what the Utah State women’s volleyball team needs.
While UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, Cal State Northridge and Pacific all battle for position at the top of the Big West Conference standings, the Aggies can simply focus on getting back on track.
After splitting last weekend’s matches at home, USU will go on the road to take on UC Riverside (3-11 in BWC action, 8-17 overall) and Cal State Fullerton (2-12, 8-18) Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Aggies swept the Highlanders (30-18, 30-13, 30-20), but had to go five games with the Titans (30-25, 23-30, 31-33, 30-24, 15-12) earlier this season in the Spectrum.
Utah State Head Coach Burt Fuller said he hopes his team can work on consistency from game to game.
“At this point of the year, you hope that your team will get into a little feeding frenzy when you jump on somebody in the first game,” he said.
He said volleyball becomes even more fun when a team takes advantage of consistency and big leads.
Fuller said the Aggies need to realize, though, they can’t ride a great first game and expect to beat anyone in the conference.
“Everybody is really close [right now],” he said. “Hopefully, our team is going to have that desire [to be consistent and win].”
UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge are the only teams in the conference to record double-digit victories with 12 and 11, respectively.
The Aggies are 7-7 in league play and 15-10 overall.
USU will play its final two regular-season home matches next week against Pacific and Cal State Northridge before heading to Provo to take on BYU in non-league action.
The Aggies have been a much improved team away from the Spectrum over the last three years. USU has recorded a 23-30 overall road record, including a 15-18 mark in league play.
This year USU is 4-6 on the road and 3-4 on the road in BWC action.
-juag@cc.usu.edu