USU spikers start 3-0 for first time since 1979
OGDEN – It would be easy to look at the Utah State volleyball team and say it is going to have a long season – the Aggies have eight newcomers.
Not the case, though. Just the opposite, in fact.
The Aggies are off to their first 3-0 start in 24 years and accomplished the feat by winning the Ogden Marriott-Weber State Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
Utah State opened the tournament with a win over Southwest Texas State (30-25, 25-30, 30-22, 30-25), followed by sweeps of Oral Roberts (30-23, 30-25, 30-18) and Weber State (30-23, 30-13, 30-25).
SWTS, Oral Roberts and WSU all finished the tournament 1-2.
“I’m encouraged,” said the third-year USU coach Burt Fuller. “We’re probably ahead of where I was hoping we’d be.”
Which could be contributed to non-volleyball outings the team took before the season started.
In hopes of bringing the team closer, the team went to Roy to visit the Air Museum at Hill Air Force Base, Promontory to see the Golden Spike Museum and Bear Lake to go jet skiing and to Pickleville Playhouse.
“We’ve just been getting to know each other a lot more,” said outside hitter Erin Cartwright. “It has helped us on the court a lot to be better friends, I think.”
Freshman Mari Ruddick said, “There is no one on the team that doesn’t get along with everyone else. I feel like I’ve known the rest of the team for so long, but I just met them like a month ago.”
Which is proof of how much chemistry the team actually has this season.
Just look at Game 2 against Weber State.
The Aggies were down 11-8, but came back to score 22 of the last 24 points.
“That’s a lot of points,” Fuller said. “What was nice from our standpoint was, I don’t think we had a lot of aces in there, but we had a lot of blocks and transition kills. They were taking some good swings; we were just defending well.”
And blocking well, too. Cartwright finished with seven solo blocks in the tournament. She said Fuller has spent a lot of time helping her to “go wide” and have her hands independent.
Ruddick’s success on the court came in the form of serving, something she said she didn’t do much of in high school and never saw time at during club.
“I don’t really think I’m that good of a server,” she said. “I just got the ball in.”
Tournament MVP Zuzana Cernianska also did well in serving for the Aggies, as well as adding 15 kills and a .321 hitting percentage against the Wildcats.
Setter Andrea Delsigne (89 assists on Saturday) was also named to the all-tournament team.
Kris Hollingsworth led Weber State with a match-high 16 kills and a .371 hitting percentage against the Aggies.
Utah State opens its home season Wednesday against Idaho State. The Aggies are 18-26 all-time against the ISU, but they have won four of the last five contests.
USU heads to Bozeman, Mont. on Friday and Saturday to take on Alabama, Montana State and No. 15 Kansas State.
-juag@cc.usu.edu
Utah State spikers celebrate after defeating Weber State at the Ogden Marriott Weber State Classic on Saturday at the Dee Events Center. (Photo by John Zsiray)