Volleyball loses to BSU in fifth set
Boise State senior middle blocker Alisha Young had 17 kills Saturday to lead her Broncos to victory over the Utah State Aggies in five sets (24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 15-7). Despite the loss, Aggie junior outside hitter Liz McArthur posted her seventh double-double of the season as she finished with a match-high 20 kills and 11 digs to lead the Aggies. With the loss, USU falls to 14-4 on the season and 2-3 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Broncos improve to 16-5 overall and 3-3 in the WAC.
Both teams played the first four sets to the wire until the Broncos broke free in the fifth set, and according to Aggie head coach Grayson DuBose, the final result could have gone either way.
“It was two great teams playing volleyball for a long period of time and we just ran out of time,” DuBose said.
The Aggies and Broncos went neck and neck in the first set that saw seven lead changes and 16 ties. The Broncos started to pull away after sophomore outside hitter Fiona Jones pounded a kill and Aggie senior setter Chelsea Fowles committed an attack error. The Aggies called a timeout to regroup and went on to score four of the next five points to take the match. Sophomore outside hitter Josselyn White logged the kill to give the Aggies the first set victory.
The second set followed the same storyline as set number one as there were 11 ties and nine lead changes. However, this time the Broncos rallied to come out on top. With the score knotted at 18 apiece, redshirt sophomore outside hitter Liz Harden pounded a kill to spur a 7-3 run which led to the Broncos set victory.
The Broncos carried their momentum from the second set through the third set. With a slim two-point lead, Young killed a point to spark a 6-2 Bronco run. Sophomore outside hitter Cailin Fellows logged one of her 11 kills to notch the set point.
The Aggies were able to regroup in the fourth set and even the match at two sets apiece. USU jumped out to an early 17-12 lead but the Broncos stormed back scoring four straight. McArthur killed the Bronco run and sparked a 5-1 Aggie run as USU coasted to a four point victory.
In the fifth set it was the Broncos who struck first, scoring the first two points and never trailing the rest of the way. Senior middle blocker Shantell Durrant came up with one of her 11 kills to cut the Bronco lead to 9-6, but the Broncos responded with a 6-1 run to win the set and match.
“I thought we were making a run in the fifth set, but we ran out of time. Going to fifteen is pretty short,” DuBose said.
The Ags finished the match with a .161 hitting percentage. Sophomore opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen had 13 kills, while Durrant had eight block assists to go with her 11 kills. The Aggie back row also played solid as senior libero Christine Morrill posted 20 digs and sophomore libero Laurel Bodily had 13 digs.
“So far this year I’ve thought we’ve competed pretty well on the road,” DuBose said. “Winning on the road is hard.”
The Aggies will look to bounce back as they finish their road trip on Friday against the Nevada Wolf Pack at 8 p.m. (MT).
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu