Volleyball off to best start since 1979

by Tyler Huskinson

The Utah State volleyball team (6-0) remains unbeaten after winning their second tournament of the season at the Arizona State Sheraton Classic over the weekend.

The Aggies 6-0 start is their best since the 1979 national runner-up team posted an 11-0 record to start the season. USU also received nine votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll, a good mark for the team ranked 32nd in the nation.

Aggie senior outside hitter Liz McArthur continued to lead the Aggies and gain early season accolades over the weekend with the Sheraton Classic MVP award.USU head coach Grayson Dubose expected a great challenge for his squad, and his Aggies passed it with flying colors. Fighting through tremendous adversity over the weekend, USU defeated the San Diego State Aztecs three sets to one and the Seattle University Redhawks three sets to two on Friday, and then took care of host Arizona State three sets to nil Saturday.

“It was nice to go down to a different gym and foreign environment,” said Dubose.

“To be able to go down to Arizona State and play well for an extended period of time was nice for us.

The first set between the Aggies and Aztecs was a see-saw battle as the two teams combined for nine ties and six lead changes, and neither team led by more than three points at any given time. USU scored the final three points of the set to secure the two-point win, while also taking advantage of the Aztecs’ five service errors. The Aggies controlled the second set, scoring four of the first five points and led by as many as 10 en route to the nine-point win. McArthur led the Aggies with six kills in the set.

    The Aztecs regrouped for a hard-fought two-point win in the third set as they rallied from an early 4-1 deficit. The two teams combined for 12 ties and seven lead changes in the third set.

The Aggies seemed to have the fourth set under control as they led 23-19 only to see the Aztecs go on a 5-1 run to tie the set at 24-all. The two teams then traded a pair of side-outs before USU scored the final two points to win the set and the match.

    In the second match of the day, McArthur recorded a match-high 22 kills to lead USU to a hard-fought five-set win. McArthur would go on to finish the tournament with 59 kills. After trailing for much of the first set, USU scored seven of the final eight points to turn a 19-18 deficit into a 25-20 win. USU dominated the second set as it led 20-6 before finishing with an 11-point win.

    Seattle controlled the third set and posted the five-point win. In the fourth set, USU jumped out to an early 8-3 lead before Seattle scored five straight points and eventually put together a 22-6 run to blow-out the Aggies, 25-14. The Aggies regrouped in the fifth and final set and never trailed as the team quickly built a 6-2 lead and was never really threatened as it posted the four-point victory to win the match in five sets. McArthur and sophomore Josselyn White each posted four kills for USU in the deciding set.

    On Saturday, McArthur recorded a match-high 17 kills to lead the Aggies to an easy three-set win (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) against Arizona State to win the tournament. The Aggies trailed early during the first set before using a 7-1 run to turn a 10-7 deficit into a 14-11 advantage. USU then used a pair of 5-0 runs to clinch the seven-point win.

    McArthur had seven more kills in set number two as USU jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead and eventually posted the three-point win. In the third and final set, the Aggies quickly built a 10-4 lead and led 20-11 before posting the eight-point win.

    The Aggies will take their perfect record to the Montana Invitational this weekend where they will face Montana on Friday then Temple and North Dakota on Saturday.

 

– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu