Aggies bow out of round one for third year in a row
In an unfortunate repeat of last year, the USU volleyball team was defeated by fifth-seeded San Jose State in a five-set match (25-16, 23-25, 16-25, 25-17, 8-15) Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2008 WAC Tournament.
The Aggies were led by senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh, who had a game-high 20 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles hit .500 in the match, recording five kills, 36 assists, two service aces and eight digs, while fellow Hollister, Calif., native Emily Kortsen recorded eight kills and three block assists.
Colleen Burke led San Jose with 19 kills and a .643 hitting percentage. Kelly Crow added 17 kills and 11 digs for the Spartans.
The Aggies beat San Jose in their two regular-season meetings, but the Spartans were able to knock USU out of the tournament by outhitting the Aggies .247 to .169 in the match.
Utah State came out with a balanced attack in the first set, hitting .258 as a team while limiting San Jose to a .034 hitting percentage. Fowles hit 1.000 in the match and had three kills as the Aggies took an early lead in the match, winning 25-16.
San Jose came back in the next set, hitting .317 on their way to the two-point victory. The Aggies struggled in the third set, recording a negative .027 hitting percentage as the Spartans won by nine.
A 6-0 run midway through the fourth set helped the Aggies take control, evening the match at 2-2 by hitting .280 on their way to the eight-point victory.
Before the fifth set began, the Aggies had a 6-1 record in five-set matches this season. Despite the record, the Aggies couldn’t grind it out as a 6-1 run by San Jose ended the match with the Spartans ahead 15-8.
The Aggies, who have now lost in the first-round of the tournament for three straight years, end their season with an 11-17 record.
–joseph.w@aggiemail.usu.edu