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Aggies fall to Lobos in four sets

Utah State volleyball’s five-game winning streak in the Estes Center ended Saturday against senior Chantale Riddle and the red-hot New Mexico Lobos. UNM, now on a five-match winning streak of their own, is currently tied with Wyoming for third place in the Mountain West with an 8-4 record. The Aggies fall to 6-6 in conference play, tied with Boise State for sixth place with seven conference matchups remaining.

The Aggies were led by a career game from sophomore Kaylie Kamalu, who recorded 19 kills in the contest. Junior Elle Brainard and senior Kaitlyn VanHoff added 12 and 11 kills to the effort, which saw the Aggies make a strong push for a fifth set before falling in four.

USU took control of the match early with a 25-17 win in the first set which concluded with a 10-6 Aggie run. The second set looked to go Utah State’s way as well, as the Aggies led 15-8 when a New Mexico timeout stopped the action. A revitalized Lobo offense began making up ground, eventually tying the Aggies at 18-18. The two squads traded points until an Aggie attack error gave New Mexico a 26-24 second set victory.

Set three belonged to the Lobos from start to finish. New Mexico would start the set off with a 7-1 run and never lose the lead, pushing the advantage to 23-13 before a well-placed kill from sophomore Devanne Sours and a block from Riddle put the Lobos up two matches to one.

A back-and-forth fourth set had the Aggies hoping for a shot at revenge after losing in five sets on the Lobos’ home floor in October. Though USU matched New Mexico stride for stride throughout the set, the Aggies remained unable to solve the Lobos, falling 25-27. The loss extended USU’s losing streak against New Mexico to four straight matches.

Riddle’s 18 kills, along with a 19-kill effort against Boise State earlier in the week, garnered Mountain West conference player of the week honors. Sophomore Cassie House also added 18 kills for the Lobos.

The Aggies next leave Kirby Court for a four-game road trip against Nevada, San Jose State, Utah Valley University and Fresno State before returning home Nov. 19 to face UNLV.