Sorenson leads Aggies to victory in five sets
staff writer
The Utah State women’s volleyball team came away victorious in a thrilling finish, toppling New Mexico State University in five sets, 3-2, Thursday night in the Spectrum.
Junior opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen led USU with a career-high 19 kills while committing only three errors. Sorensen had her way with the NMSU defense most of the night.
“Shay had a wonderful match,” head coach Grayson Dubose said.
It was a back-and-forth match in the battle of the Aggies. New Mexico State had three match-point chances, but Utah State did not go away easy.
Sorensen gave life to Utah State with a statement kill to thwart NMSU’s first match-point opportunity. The NMSU defense then stepped up to give the southern Aggies a second opportunity, only to see their next serve end in error.
Opposite side hitter Josselyn White returned from an ankle injury after being out of action for five weeks and came up with a huge block for USU to tie the fifth set at 16-all. After an attack error by New Mexico State, freshman setter Paige Neves and freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff put the nail in the coffin with a team block.
“Having Josselyn out there has helped us stay composed, because she’s kind of been there, done that,” DuBose said. “She never thinks she plays well. There’s a steadiness and a composure to her that brings a real calming influence on our team.”
The blue Aggies got off to a fast start midway through the first set. USU used some solid offense to steadily build a four-point advantage at 21-17. After three kills from Sorensen, Vanhoff finished it off for the Aggies by a score of 25-21.
New Mexico State rebounded quickly in the second set as freshman outside hitter Meredith Hays led the way with five kills, and NMSU took the set, 25-19. USU had a tough time figuring out the southern Aggies’ offense, as Hays got help from redshirt sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Ziegler and added four kills and three digs.
New Mexico State targeted White throughout the match.
“Since I’ve been gone, teams will key in on me because I’m the weak link,” White said. “Because of my ankle, I have to be mentally prepared, and I am the weak link because of that. But that’s understandable.”
Utah State prevailed in a sloppy third set with eight tied scores, four lead changes and 15 errors between the two teams.
After handing New Mexico State the first two points of the set, USU went on a 7-0 run to open a five-point lead. The lead would only increase from there as the blue and white Aggies took the set, 25-18.
New Mexico State rebounded with a 25-19 fourth-set win and forced the decisive fifth set.
The Aggies’ win came at what Sorensen feels is an opportune time.
“It’s a huge win. We had a bad road trip at San Jose and Hawaii,” Sorensen said. “It really lifted our team’s spirits, and everyone is excited to keep going and finish the rest of the season strong.”
With the win, Utah State reached the double-digit mark for wins, improving to 10-13 on the year and reached .500 in WAC play at 5-5. New Mexico State falls to 18-6 for the season and holds a 7-2 record in WAC play.
USU will try to build on Thursday’s win as it hosts the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech University Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Spectrum. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We’ll let them enjoy it tonight, and we’ll get focused (on Louisiana Tech) tomorrow,” Dubose said.
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu