USU women’s volleyball falls at home, fails to overcome Boise State’s offensive attack
The USU volleyball team dropped its third straight match Thursday night, as the Aggies fell 3-0 at home to conference rival Boise State.
In the first set, things looked hopeful for the Aggies, as they were able to start out strong to a 16-11 lead. But the Broncos went on a 14-5 run to win the set, and from there they never looked back.
“They got us uncomfortable and then we got fragmented and we couldn’t respond,” said Aggie head coach Grayson Dubose. “They played well, and we just didn’t give ourselves chances.”
Over the next two sets the Broncos went on to outscore the Aggies 50-28, fueled by a high-efficiency offensive attack. Boise State had a combined team hitting percentage of .344 on the night, versus a .091 hitting percentage from the Aggies. Boise State also countered the Aggies offensive attack with 52 combined digs and 9 blocks.
“That’s about as bad of a performance as you can have in your home gym,” DuBose added. “We got smacked in the mouth and we didn’t fight back, and that’s a little disappointing.”
Aggie senior outside hitter Kaylie Kamalu-Smith was one of the bright spots of the night for the Aggies, finishing with 12 kills, two service aces, three digs, and a block. Senior libero Hannah Gleason led the team’s defensive effort with 10 digs in the match.
“I try to stay composed,” Smith said. “It’s kind of hard when the things we’re supposed to be focusing on don’t go our way, but I just put myself out there and that’s all I can do.”
Junior outside hitter Sierra Nobley, who leads the Mountain West in kills per set, had a big night for the Broncos. She led the team with 14 kills, and added on 10 digs and 1.5 blocks.
This match was the second time this year that the two teams have played each other, and the second sweep for Boise State after the Broncos defeated the Aggies 3-0 last month in Boise.
The Aggies will attempt to bounce back and break their three-game losing skid when they play the Air Force Falcons this weekend. The match will be held Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Wayne Estes Center.