USU rally not enough
After winning two straight sets to push the match into a fifth, the USU women’s volleyball team couldn’t finish strong, losing to Fresno State, 3-2, Thursday evening at the Spectrum.
After losing the first two sets 25-22, and facing losing the match, the Aggies dominated the third set, winning 25-17. Freshman hitter Liz McArthur led USU with five kills as the Aggies led the entire set.
The rally continued in the fourth set as a pair of spikes from senior Melissa Osterloh led the Aggies to a quick 4-0 lead. USU again led the entire set, and finished 25-13.
Osterloh said she came out after losing the first two sets thinking, “Let’s get back.”
“There’s never a doubt in my mind that we’re not gonna win a game, and we’ve come back from a lot furthur behind,” Osterloh said. “It’s always just ‘What can we do now?’ to get back into the game.”
However, the Aggies trailed most of the fifth set as the teams raced to 15. After four tie scores, Fresno State ended the match with a 15-13 victory.
USU was led by Osterloh, who had a career-high 22 kills and hit .375. McArthur added a career-high 15 kills and five digs, while libero Christine Morrill had 19 digs.
The Aggies came out to an early 8-5 lead in the first set, but gave up the lead for good at 10-11. The second set started much like the first, but the Aggies gave up their lead at 19-20, and then struggled as Fresno State outscored them 6-3 to end the set.
The Aggies hit .263 while the Bulldogs hit .175 in the match. USU had the advantage in team blocks (11.5-7) and service aces (7-4), while Fresno State had four less service errors (8-12).
The Bulldogs were led by Brianna Clarke, who had 16 kills and five digs in the match.
With the loss, USU drops to 1-1 this season in WAC play.
“It was a hard loss,” Osterloh said. “We didn’t come out strong and we just got a little too comfortable.”
Despite the letdown of the loss, Osterloh said the team will learn from this game.
USU head coach Grayson DuBose said although the team passed well throughout the game, they broke down when they needed it – in the fifth set.
He said the team allowed Fresno State to dictate play, which is disconcerting in a home gym.
Osterloh said it was comforting to come out and dominate in the third and fourth sets, but the team needed to come out and play strong the whole time.
“We need to really learn that when we have a lead, we have to keep it,” Osterloh said. “We need to come out and play strong.”
Osterloh said the team was affected by little things like blocking errors and serve-receiving errors.
“Little errors like that can hurt you,” she said. “We just have to learn from this game.”
DuBose said McArthur did a nice job, taking a lot of swings and handling it well. Osterloh echoed DuBose, saying McArthur is doing awesome.
“She’s been working real hard in practice and her confidence level is getting up there,” Osterloh said. “As a freshman, that’s really important.”
–joseph.w@aggiemail.usu.edu
USU freshman outside hitter Liz McArthur (18) attempts a kill Thursday night in the Spectrum. The Aggies lost in five games to WAC foe Fresno State. (Patrick Oden)
USU senior outside hitter melissa Osterloh (3) attempts a kill Thursday night in the Spectrum against Fresno State. Fresno won, 3-2. (Patrick Oden)