Aggies’ three-match win streak snapped against UOP
A three-match winning streak for the Utah State University women’s volleyball team was broken at the University of the Pacific Thursday.
It took only three games, 30-18, 30-28, 30-25, for the Tigers (11-6, 6-2) to defeat USU (9-9, 3-5) in Big West Conference action.
The victory was the 750th in Pacific’s history.
In the match, the Tigers out-hit the Aggies .287-.167.
Utah State was paced by outside hitter/setter Zuzana Cernianska with 10 kills, 24 assists and seven digs. Middle blocker Erin Cartwright chipped in nine kills and three block assists, while outside hitter Tereza Cernianska had nine kills and nine digs.
“We needed to get the ball more to Erin,” said Aggie Head Coach Burt Fuller.
Middle blocker Ingrid Roth was also strong for the team, hitting .462 with seven kills.
“It was nice to get her the ball,” Fuller said.
For the Tigers, middle blocker Jennifer Joines, a second team All-American, had 12 kills while hitting .478, and outside hitter Ashley Groothuis added 10 kills.
“[Joines] is just one of the best players in the country,” Fuller said.
During the longer rallies, Fuller said the Aggies weren’t able to hit the ball effectively.
“It felt like we were a back-stop,” he said. “We were just stopping the ball until they put it away. We couldn’t finish.”
The Aggies were also out-blocked 14-4 in the match.
“We had some coverable balls that fell,” Fuller said. “We were not there to cover our hitters.”
Utah State will be back in action Saturday at California State University Northridge.
-slbk5@cc.usu.edu