Utes snap Ags winning streak
In close games a couple of points can make or break a team.
Unfortunately for the No. 25 ranked Utah State University women’s volleyball team, the No. 15 ranked University of Utah Utes were able to capitalize on its chances in the second and third games en route to a 3-1 victory (22-30, 30-28, 30-27, 30-20) over the Aggies Tuesday night at Crimson Court.
With the score knotted at 28-28 in the second game and 27-27 in game three, Utah was able to capture the big points, giving the Utes (14-4 overall) the momentum and snapping USU’s seven-match winning streak.
“They [the Utes] were really good tonight,” USU head coach Burt Fuller said.
Consecutive blocks by the Utes in game two deadlocked the match at 1-1.
Like the second game, Utah seized momentum with the game on the line on a McKelle Stilson kill and Adrianne Drake service ace.
When asked what USU could have done differently to win games two and three, outside hitter Erin Cartwright said playing with more competitive fire.
Reigning Mountain West Conference player of the week Kim Turner was a thorn in the Aggies’ side for much of the night.
After hitting a dismal -.125 in the first game, Turner put the pressure on the Aggies, spiking several balls on quick sets to the middle.
Turner led a balanced Ute attack with a match-high 16 kills.
“I would say they handled us in the middle,” Fuller said. “When they have three hitters [in the middle] with that kind of size, it puts a lot of pressure on us to stop them.”
Both Fuller and Cartwright said one of the main reasons Utah was able to dictate play in the middle was the Aggies’ inability to serve the ball deep enough.
“We didn’t serve strong enough, so that allowed them to move the ball to the middle,” Cartwright said.
USU was able to keep the Utes’ big hitters on their heels in the first game, holding Utah to a miserable hitting percentage of -.025, while receiving big contributions from outside hitters Shauni Fluckiger and Lisa Borom (four kills apiece).
Game two was a battle of attrition as neither team was able to build a lead bigger than three points.
A thunderous kill by Borom gave the Aggies a 28-27 lead and what seemed to be momentum.
However, it was short-lived as Ute outside hitter Sylvia Strzinkova terminated a long rally with a kill of her own and ended the game with a solo block.
USU would respond, taking an early 6-2 lead in the pivotal third game, before the Utes knotted the score at 17-17 with four consecutive points.
Down 25-23, Utah turned to Turner, who delivered with two straight kills to tie the game at 25-25, setting the stage for the Utes to take a 2-1 lead.
Losing two straight gut-wrenching games seemed to take the wind out of the Aggies’ sails as USU fell behind 14-6 in the fourth game.
Against a team like Utah, early deficits are hard to overcome, Fuller said.
“We’re not the kind of team that’s going to get out of trouble against a big blocking team like Utah,” he said.
It proved to be correct as the Utes amassed 32 block assists and 19 team blocks in the match, including 10 by Drake.
For the Aggies, Fluckiger, Borom and Michelle Matheson finished with double-digits in kills with 13, 11 and 12, respectively.
Fluckiger also finished with a match-high 18 digs.
“We didn’t play as well against Utah [as we have been]. But we’ve played and beaten some good teams, so we still feel good about [where we’re at],” Cartwright said.
The Aggies will return to action on Friday at California Polytechnic State University. On Saturday USU will play at No. 23 University of California, Santa Barbara.