First Big West road trip crucial for USu volleyball
After playing three straight matches in the Spectrum to open its home and Big West Conference season, the USU women’s volleyball team will travel to Southern California for a pair of crucial Big West road matches.
The Aggies will take the court against the University of California-Riverside tonight and square off against California State University at Fullerton on Saturday. Both games will start at 8 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
“We haven’t traveled in awhile, so we have to get back into a traveling mode,” Head Coach Burt Fuller said.
Following a 3-1 victory over California Polytechnic University, Fuller said it is imperative the Aggies win both of these matches if they want to finish in the top half of the Big West. Utah State University was picked to finish ahead of both the Titans and Highlanders in the preseason BWC coaches’ poll.
In order for the Aggies to be successful on the road, they need to “band together” and avoid being distracted by external factors outside of the task at hand – winning the matches, Fuller said.
On the other hand, he said USU has developed good team cohesion and is playing well as a team.
“I’m happy with the way the team is playing, so I like our chances,” he said.
Not only did the Aggies gain much needed confidence over their three-game homestand, they improved team communication and play with more emotion now, Fuller said.
“They gained a fair amount of confidence [last week], but I think they saw how fun it was to yell and scream,” Fuller said.
When the Aggies take the court against UC-Riverside (8-6, 1-4 in the Big West), they will face a Highlander team similar to their own. Like the Aggies, the Highlanders are a strong defensive team as they average nearly three more digs per game (17.3) than their opponents, while limiting them to a .160 hitting percentage.
Despite their 1-4 league record, the Highlanders have shown they are a dangerous team, losing to the No. 8 ranked University of the Pacific squad in three close games.
Fullerton (6-5, 2-2 in the Big West) will enter Saturday’s game with the Aggies riding a three-match winning streak, including a four-game win over the Highlanders on Tuesday.
Although the Aggies swept both matches from the Titans last year, the Titans did push the Aggies to the limit in the Titan Gym before succumbing in five games.
The Titans are led by Be Holcombe. The 6-foot-3-inch middle blocker leads the Titans in kills and hitting percentage (.335).
“She’s very good,” Fuller said. “The thing that we have to try to do is make sure we don’t let too many other kids beat us.”
For the Aggies, outside hitters Lisa Borom and Erin Cartwright are tied for the team lead with 125 kills, while defensive specialist Heather Olsteam paces the team with 39 digs.
USU will return to the friendly confines of the Spectrum next week when it faces the No. 8 Pacific Tigers on Thursday and California State University at Northridgte on Saturday.