Aggies sweep Bulldogs during homecoming
After sweeping the University of Nevada earlier in the week, Utah State Volleyball continued its winning streak by defeating Fresno State in three sets on Saturday afternoon.
The Aggies improved to 12-5 overall and 5-1 in conference play, remaining tied for first place in the Mountain West Conference.
USU came out aggressive in the first set, winning 25-16 and never allowing Fresno State to take the lead. Graduate outside hitter Shelby Capllonch led the way on the attack, registering 4 kills while junior and sophomore setters Beatriz Rodrigues and Leah Wilton-LaBoy combined for 12 assists.
The Bulldogs responded in the second set, jumping out to an early lead before the Aggies came back to tie the score 10-10. The Aggies would take seven of the next eight points, building a 17-11 lead, but Fresno State came back to tie the set 23-23. The last two points were dominated by junior outside hitter Adna Mehmedovic. She combined with graduate middle blocker Kennedi Boyd on a block before ending the set with a kill to make the score 25-23.
“To just watch us respond in that moment, I thought was really impressive,” head coach Rob Neilson said. “We say, ‘Big-time players make big-time plays,’ and we got a lot of players out on the floor that have done it at a high level and do it consistently.”
The second set was defined by multiple long rallies, tie scores and lead changes, but Utah State was able to stay focused and make the plays necessary to win the set.
“We’re just wanting to make sure that we’re dialed in on defense,” senior outside hitter Tatum Stall said. “Our motto is to not let anything hit the floor, and I feel like that we’ve been doing that the past few games, especially this game.”
The Aggies dug themselves into a 5-0 hole to begin the third set but were able to battle back to win 25-18 to complete the sweep.
The match marked one-third of USU’s Mountain West schedule. Sitting in a tie for first place in the conference standings, a third straight conference championship is well within reach, but the Aggies know there is still a long way to go.
“We feel like this group can continue to get better. We found a little bit of offensive rhythm today, and we’re excited to see that continue to grow,” Neilson said. “Defensively, it’s tough to kill a ball against us. We want to stay dialed in.”
The Aggies face a challenging away slate throughout the rest of the month, playing five of their next six matches away from Logan. They’ll look to build off the momentum created at home when they take on Boise State on Oct. 10.
“We’re excited to play some tough teams that we played away back at home, especially in Club Estes,” Stall said. “We have a tough Boise team coming up, but we’re super excited for the rest of conference play and to hopefully go into the tournament.”