Utah State takes second at SDSU Invitational
Hitting the road for the first time this season, the Utah State volleyball team traveled to San Diego for the Aztec Invitational. The Aggies finished the tournament 2-1 with wins over Montana and Sacred Heart and suffering a loss to host San Diego State.
USU 3, Montana 1
Senior Shay Sorenson and sophomore Rachel Orr each finished with 17 kills for the Aggies, who fell behind 2-1 before bouncing back to win two straight sets.
Senior Josselyn White added 10 kills for Utah State as the Aggie defense finished with 14 team blocks.
It was the third straight win overall for the Aggies, who improved to 4-1.
USU 3, Sacred Heart 1
Coming off their tournament opening victory over Montana, the Aggies made it four in a row with a win over Sacred Heart in four sets for their second win of the Aztec Invitational.
After taking the first set, USU continued its smothering defense with 20.5 blocks while holding the Pioneer squad to a .124 hitting percentage.
The Aggies improved to 5-1 overall this season behind a team-high 13 kills by freshman Candace Richins. Orr added 12 for USU, while three other players finished with at least seven kills apiece.
Sacred Heart was led by Alissa Young with 14 kills, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Aggies’ stifling defense.
SDSU 3, USU 1
In the final game of the Aztec Invitational, Utah State came up short against host San Diego State, suffering a four set loss – 17-25, 25-23, 22-25 and 18-25.
Three Aggies finished with 12 kills in the loss but were unable to overcome nine service aces from the Aztecs. SDSU had four players with double digits in kills, including a double-double from Michelle Waber.
Utah State fell to 5-2 on the season after back-to-back second-place finishes in the Utah State and San Diego State Invitationals. The Aggies will remain on the road for the Kansas State Invitational Sept. 7-8, their final tournament before conference play begins Sept 13.
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @curtislundstrom