USU volleyball goes 0-3 at tournament
The USU volleyball team finished in fourth place at the USF/Asics Powerade Challenge in San Francisco this weekend, losing three matches and dropping to 0-7 for the season.
The Aggies lost in four games (25-15, 21-25, 14-25, 26-28) Friday evening to Texas-Arlington, despite a school record from Rebecca Anderson. The senior middle blocker hit .786, setting the school record for hitting percentage with 14 or fewer attacks. She also had 11 kills in the match. Sophomore middle blocker Katie Astle hit .500 in the match and recorded seven kills, while sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles had 47 assists.
In the first set against Texas-Arlington, the Aggies hit .333 and held the Mavericks to .094, winning the set by 10 points. Texas-Arlington came back to win the next three sets, hitting .248 in the match while USU hit .208. The Mavericks had the advantage in service errors, committing six while the Aggies had nine.
USU continued their struggles Saturday, losing to UC Santa Barbara in three sets (25-19, 25-18, 25-21). Senior hitter Melissa Osterloh led the team with 12 kills. Fellow senior outside hitter Kris Hymas had 10 kills and six digs. USU hit .206 in the match while the Gauchos hit .348. UC Santa Barbara finished with the advantage in team blocks (7-4) and service aces (4-3) in the match. However, Utah State had the advantage in digs (34-26).
The tournament ended with another USU loss as the Aggies fell to San Francisco in a three-set loss (25-19, 25-21, 25-22). Osterloh led the Aggies with 19 kills, while Hymas added seven kills and 10 digs. Astle added four block assists and three kills. USU hit .168 in the match, compared to a .361 hitting percentage from USF.
Tournament MVP Carly Babin hit .733 against USU, leading led San Francisco to a first-place finish. The Dons had three players record 11 kills against USU, including Babin. San Francisco had the advantage in digs (49-37), while Utah State had the advantage in service aces (4-2) and service errors (8-6). USF improved to 4-2 this season.
Despite another winless weekend, head coach Grayson DuBose said he saw some positive things. He said the team played “nice defense” and had a good blocking system.
“We’ve shown glimpses of being a strong team,” DuBose said. “We’re developing an identity now.”
DuBose said the team learned about identity at the tournament, and is developing their identity to become a better team this season.
Astle was the only Aggie named to the all-tournament team. DuBose commented on Astle, saying she played very well. Astle hit .300 throughout the tournament, and averaged 1.8 kills and 0.8 blocks per set. She had eight kills against UC Santa Barbara and seven kills against Texas-Arlington.
After going 0-3 in two weekend tournaments this season, USU will begin another three-game tournament Friday against the University of Utah at the Utah Classic in Salt Lake City.
-joseph.w@aggiemail.usu.edu