Spikers looking foward to weekend at home
In answer to how it feels to be back in Logan after two rough weeks, Kelsi Peterson didn’t mince words.
“Oh my gosh, yes (it feels good),” said with a laugh.
Peterson, a senior libero on the USU women’s volleyball team (10-12, 3-5 in WAC play), returned with the rest of her team on Sunday afternoon from a road trip which featured five-game losses to Fresno State and San Jose State.
It was the tail-end of two weeks and four consecutive losses against WAC competition.
But losing losing wasn’t the only negative.
“Even more so (it’s good) to be able to go to classes,” Peterson said. “It’s been a struggle. Yea. that whole part of it. That part sucks really bad.”
The Aggies host the Idaho Vandals (5-12, 4-1) Thursday and the Boise State Broncos Saturday.
Both matches will be in the Spectrum, beginning at 7 p.m.
For USU it is the midpoint of the conference season, and winning both of them will be critical for their seeding in the conference tournament, which will take place Nov. 22-24 in Reno, Nev.
“Being at home is a real comfort zone for us,” Aggie head coach Grayson DuBose said. “It’s nice to be back home. There’s some familiarity. You’re sleeping in the same bed. You’re eating at the same places, doing the same stuff.”
Peterson added, “It’ll be fun to be home again and be in front of our own crowd and hear our own names not slashed.”
Currently the Aggies are sixth in the WAC – three spots behind the Vandals, and one spot above the Broncos.
The Vandals are 1-7 in matches played away from Moscow, Idaho.
Sophomore outside hitter Hailey Larsen leads Idaho with a .180 attacking percentage, and is averaging 3.53 kills and .085 digs per game.
The Broncos have a 2-4 road mark this season.
Cameeron Flunder, a senior middle blocker, leads the Broncos with a .340 attacking percentage to go along with 3.48 kills, 1.24 digs, and .072 blocks per game.
USU knows it will have its hands full, as has been the case with almost every game this season.
Peterson knows that whether at home or on the road, a team has to back itself up with solid play.
“I think the WAC is one of the best volleyball conferences in the country,” said Peterson, who set a school record of 36 digs against the Bulldogs last Thursday. “You don’t see any games where a team gets obliterated. Teams battle back. There’s a lot of players with heart in this conference. Even in the games we’ve played we’ve been up and then the other team battled back.
“Maybe the bad thing was that we were expecting to win being up seven points,” she said. “But these teams battle back and it kind of bites us in the butt. Idaho is always a threat. Boise State fights hard.”
DuBose pointed out his team’s improvement in blocking and defensive digs in the two losses over the weekend.
As for the Aggies’ inability to come through in Game 5 against the Bulldogs and Spartans, DuBose said it comes down to not making mistakes.
“The fifth game is just gonna be a total crap shoot anyway because you go to 15 now,” DuBose said. “Mistakes are really magnified in the fifth game. We just made too many errors in the fifth game to come away with a win. I thought we had some real opportunites. (But) we’re improving as a team. “
-sbhislop@cc.usu.edu