Spikers split roadtrip
After picking up a huge 3-1 road victory over UC Irvine Friday, the Utah State women’s volleyball team fell 3-1 to Long Beach State Saturday.
The weekend split moves the Aggies to 14-9 on the season and 6-6 in Big West Conference action.
Utah State jumped out early against UC Irvine en route to 30-17, 30-24 20-30 and 30-28 scores.
In the first game, the Anteaters hit -.023 while USU finished at .314.
The second game was even better for Utah State. The Aggies hit .500 with only three attack errors. UCI came back and hit .394.
Opposite side hitter Zuzana Cernianska led the Aggies with 23 kills and hit .500 for the match. Beth Hodge, who has been recovering from a rotator cuff strain, added 17 kills and hit .342.
Opposite side hitter Mari Ruddick also added 12 kills and five blocks, while middle blocker Erin Cartwright finished with 11 kills, 15 digs and five blocks.
Earlier in the season Utah State Head Coach Burt Fuller said he was pleased with the production of Hodge and Ruddick.
“[Ruddick] is giving us a very good option on the outside,” Fuller said. “And Hodge is also providing a 1-2 punch on the outside. That is where we have grown as a group this year.”
Against Long Beach State, the second-place team in the BWC, the Aggies came up short despite hitting .255 in the opening game.
The 49ers captured the 30-27, 23-30, 30-26, 30-20 win.
Cartwright led USU with 19 kills, eight digs and six blocks. She finished with a .395 hitting percentage.
Hodge continued to work back to her normal form by adding 12 kills, while middle blocker Ingrid Roth added 10 kills and eight blocks.
Ruddick chipped in 10 kills, six digs and six blocks.
As a team, Utah State hit .196 in the match. Long Beach State finished at .209.
Although LBSU had six more kills (68-62) and five more digs (62-57) in the match, Utah State recorded three more team blocks (16-13).
-juag@cc.usu.edu