Aggies rope Broncos with three set win
Junior outside hitter Liz McArthur pounded 11 kills and senior libero Christine Morrill posted a record-high for kills in three-set match with 24 to lead the Utah State Aggies (18-7, 6-6 WAC) over the Boise State Broncos (17-11, 4-8) in a three-set sweep Thursday night (25-18, 25-22, 25-23). The Aggies had already lost to the Broncos on the road this season and knew they would have a fight on their hands.
“That was really big,” senior middle blocker Katie Astle said. “We’re just giving it everything we’ve got.”
The first set went back and forth, and there were five ties and three lead changes. The Broncos had cut the Aggie lead to 17-16 when sophomore outside hitter Fiona Jones committed a service error and the Aggies went on an 8-1 run to notch the first set victory. McArthur had four kills during the first set and Morrill had 10 assists. The Aggies disrupted the Broncos, holding them to a -.024 hitting percentage in the first set.
“We knew Boise is really scrappy, too so we had to match their play,” Morril said. “We went there and played them, we got outworked defensively. Being scrappy is a big deal. We knew this was a big game, so I think we were out there just giving it our all, especially on defense I think that was our main mindset for that game. Every win that we can get right now is a big deal. We’re playing really well as a team right now.”
The Aggies jumped out to a fast start in set two and led by as much eight points. The Broncos wouldn’t go away quietly, however and cut the Aggie lead to 23-21 late in the set. The Aggies were able to hold their composure and McArthur along with sophomore outside hitter Josselyn White each notched a kill to close out the set. The fact that the Aggies were able to battle through adversity was especially positive for head coach Grayson DuBose.
“I thought we showed a lot of character,” DuBose said. “I thought we did a really nice job battling back. I was real pleased with how we played and the composure we showed.”
The third set was closer than the Aggies would like. There were 10 lead changes and four ties in the set and the Aggies weren’t able to pull away till late in the set. Jones put the Broncos up 19-17 with a powerful kill, forcing the Aggies into a timeout. Bronco’s senior middle blocker Alisha Young came up with huge block out of the timeout, but the Aggies went on a 8-3 run to capture the set and the match.
“Typically for us, we let up in third right there towards the end and we battled back and scored,” DuBose said. “We gave them a little bit of momentum going into that third set and I thought we just stayed steady for a long period of time.”
With the season winding down every win is crucial for the Aggies. Six teams move on to the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas and the Aggies are in fifth place.
“We know that we’re coming to the end of the season and every win is big for us right now,” Astle said.
The Idaho Vandals and the Nevada Wolf Pack are the two teams just ahead of the Aggies in the WAC standings and the Aggies will have a chance to take on both teams at home in the upcoming week. The Aggies dispatched the Vandals in four sets on the road this season, but they know there isn’t a single game they can take for granted and aggressive tough play will be crucial to success.
“We need to be aggressive,” DuBose said. “We need to go hit the ball hard and take risks. We talk about that every day. It’s nice to have something to work on at this stage of the season. We can still improve a little.”
Morrill said, “Idaho is a great team and coming here they can be a completely different team. That’s a really big match for us.”
The match against the Vandals is slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Spectrum.
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu