Volleyball swept by No. 5 ranked Warriors for only second loss of season
Trips to Hawaii are filled with good times and happy memories for most, but for the Utah State Volleyball team, last Thursday’s trip wasn’t quite so happy. The Aggies began their conference season with a 3-0 loss against the No. 5 Rainbow Warriors, dropping the Aggies to 12-2 overall and 0-1 in Western Athletic (WAC) conference play. The Aggies were led by junior outside hitter Liz McArthur, who posted her third straight double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, but it was not enough to counter the balanced attack of Hawaii.
“We served tough,” said head coach Grayson DuBose, in his fifth season leading the Aggies, “but we received serves not quite as well as we could have. We were a little bit off and that’s the difference when you play a good team like Hawaii.”
In the first set, Hawaii jumped out to an early 16-9 lead, but the Aggies stormed back with eight straight points to give them a 17-16 edge.
“We defended a little bit. We blocked a few balls, we dug a few balls that we turned for points and that all starts with our serving,” DuBose said.
USU continued to play tough and neither team could gain an advantage until Hawaii pulled away and won the set 26-24.
The second set started much the same way as the first. The Rainbow Warriors jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and never trailed as they cruised to a 25-17 win. Hawaii hit .273 (14-5-33) in the set and despite Liz McArthur’s six kills, the Aggies only hit .194 (10-4-31).
“We hadn’t seen a team quite that physical in our preseason,” DuBose said. “That will be the challenge for us, is the next time we see them, to be prepared for that and make sure we’re ready. I think it will be a more even match.”
The third and final set started on a positive note for USU with an ace by McArthur, but the set went downhill from there as Hawaii opened up a 14-5 lead and never looked back, winning again, 25-17.
Going into the game, USU had high hopes. Through the first 12 games of the season, the Aggies were one of the hottest teams in the country, reeling off 12 wins in their first 12 games. They suffered their first loss on Sept. 17 against Utah Valley and hoped to get back on the winning track against a very good Hawaii team.
“We can serve the ball tough,” DuBose said, “and one of our strengths has always been our ball control, our ability to receive serves, and we thought if (we could) do those two things we’d give ourselves the best opportunity to win.”
The Aggies now look to rebound from back to back tough losses as they continue into their conference schedule. Despite an impressive start to the season, DuBose said he realizes there is always room for change.
“We feel like we have a nice team in place and I think our record kind of proves that,” DuBose said. “(But) we have to continue to make little adjustments here and there.”
Utah State returns to Logan for a two-game home stand where they will face Fresno State on Sept. 30 and San Jose State Oct. 2.
“Our goal is to compete and do well in conference (play),” DuBose said. “We want to for sure finish higher than we were picked to finish and we think we can.”
The Aggies also look forward to coming home because of the raucous home crowd that always helps them out. “We always have this wonderful home crowd,” DuBose said. “When all the students come out, it really gives us a homecourt advantage.”
– mark.israelsen@aggiemail.usu.edu