Kansas woes
There’s no place like home.
The famous catch phrase rang true for the Utah State volleyball team after a weekend trip to Kansas for the Kansas State Invitational. The Aggies dropped two straight matches over the weekend for a third place finish behind St. Mary’s and 22nd-ranked Kansas State.
Saint Mary’s 3, Utah State 0
(17-25, 22-25, 23-25)
Against the Gaels, senior outside hitter Shay Sorensen finished with a team-high 12 kills, but the Aggies struggled defensively. Jordan Shaw led SMU with a game-high 15 kills and the Gaels hit .531 en route to a 25-17 win in the first set.
After averaging 13 blocks per match through their first six matches, the Aggies managed nine blocks against the Gaels and were outhit .281 to .192 for the match. Utah State also committed five service errors in the straight-set loss.
No. 22 Kansas State 3, Utah State 0
(22-25, 23-25, 18-25)
The woes continued both offensively and defensively for the Aggies against the host Wildcats. Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Orr recorded 10 kills to lead USU while Sorensen and freshman Candace Richins had eight apiece.
One bright spot for Utah State was serving, in which the Aggies finished with seven service aces, compared to zero for the Wildcats. Both teams struggled to hit the ball as the teams finished with a combined 39 attack errors.
But despite the offensive struggles, USU kept it close with undefeated Kansas State. The Wildcats used a three-point run to break a 22-all tie and take the first set, and a two point run to take the second set after it was tied at 23.
Utah State fell to 5-4 overall with its third-consecutive loss while The Wildcats improved to 9-0 and moved up to No. 19 in the national rankings.
The Aggies will continue their four-game road trip with a visit to the University of Texas-San Antonio on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m.
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @curtislundstrom