Volleyball drops two during California road trip
Coming off a huge win against Brigham Young University only three nights before, the Utah State volleyball team was unable to maintain its momentum, falling to No. 23 Long Beach State in three games Friday and to UC Irvine in four games on Saturday.
“It was a difficult weekend,” Utah State Head Coach Burt Fuller said. “We faced two very good teams on the road [with] not a whole not of time to prepare.”
Fuller added that both teams, but especially Irvine, had a lot of experience on their team. The Anteaters have a senior-laden squad featuring one All-American, something the Aggies found difficult to overcome.
The loss to Long Beach marked the 27th time in a row Utah State has lost to the 49ers.
“We prepared as well as we could have,” Fuller said. “We just got beat by some better teams.”
Individually, freshman Amanda Orgill had a strong weekend. She led the Aggies against the 49ers with 11 kills, hitting .250 for the match. On Saturday, she led the way with 12 kills.
“[She] is a real good athlete,” Fuller said. “When she first started, she was classified as raw talent. We are learning to use her where she can be more successful and she is getting more experience.”
Carolyn Forbush was also a key player for the offense against the Anteaters with 11 kills.
On defense, Kelsie Thoman and Erin Graybill led the way. Against Irvine, Thoman had 23 digs and Graybill led the way with five block assists.
“[Thoman] is a good defensive player,” Fuller said. “We’ve been moving her around and she has done a good job adjusting to the things we’re trying. There is talent there.”
Fuller added Thoman didn’t have the best weekend. However, he said that the talent is there and he expects her to continue to have a strong presence on the defense.
Against Long Beach, Utah State hit .222 as a team. The Aggies were also out-blocked by the 49ers, only stopping six against their 8.5.
In the first game against Irvine, the Aggies came out flat and fell 16-30 in a quick match. Irvine hit .519 in the first game.
Fuller said Irvine is a team with a unique system. The timing of their big kills is faster than what USU has been used to. Fuller said that even though the Aggies had tried to prepare for the quicker tempo, it was still difficult to work against it.
“We came out flat and Irvine was pretty strong,” Fuller said. “We didn’t adjust at first, but we got a little bit better throughout the match.
“They have a good program. I’m not disappointed with the way we played,” he said.
Despite dropping the first two games and facing an unusual system, the Aggies were able to battle back and win the third game, holding the Anteaters to a .195 hitting percentage.
For the whole match, the Aggies only hit .094 and were once again out-blocked with only eight. The Anteaters had 13 blocks.
The Aggies will next face UC Santa Barbara at home Oct. 7.
“We have to get our hitting errors down,” Fuller said of what the team needs to work on before they face Gauchos.
Fuller said he does believe the match will turn out better for the Aggies because they are more confident at home and will play more aggressively.
“Our team is very resilient,” Fuller said. “[They] always come back from weekend losses and play strong.”
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu