Volleyball team continues tough schedule
After playing three top-15 teams in its first six matches, things can’t get much tougher for the Utah State University women’s volleyball team.
Think again.
Following back-to-back tournaments in Colorado and Hawaii, the Aggies will open Big West Conference play on the road against the University of California at Irvine on Thursday and No. 2 ranked Long Beach State University on Friday.
The Big West Conference has however postponed all upcoming athletic events. For more information see story below.
USU enters Thursday’s match following a 1-2 finish at the Aston Imua Wahine Volleyball Challenge in Honolulu, Hawaii. In the tournament, the Aggies beat the University of Cincinnati while losing to the University of Hawaii and the University of Southern California – both top 10 squads.
“We didn’t play as well in Hawaii as we did in Colorado,” said Burt Fuller, USU head coach.
Although the Aggies didn’t play up to their potential, Fuller said he is pleased with the teams they have beat, especially last Friday’s victory over Cincinnati – a team picked to finish first in Conference USA.
“Beating those guys was a great win for us,” he said.
While the Aggies are excited to play the Niners, they are focused on picking up a much needed road win against the Anteaters first, Fuller said.
The Anteaters have only won one of their first six matches, but like the Aggies, have played a tough preseason schedule. Two of UC Irvine’s losses have come against the No. 1 ranked University of Nebraska squad and No. 6 USC.
UC Irvine is led by junior outside hitter Chanda McLeod. McLeod was recently named to the Fiesta Bowl all-tournament team, thanks in large part to her 19-kill, 17-dig performance against Radford University.
“[Irvine] is well coached,” Fuller said. “They’re always going to play hard.”
Before the start of the season, Fuller said LBSU was going to be a much improved team from last year.
So far, the Niners (5-0) are one of the hottest teams in the country.
Among the Niners five wins is a four-game victory over No. 1 Nebraska. With its victory over Nebraska, LBSU snapped the defending national champions 36-match winning streak.
“[Long Beach] is ranked number two, but probably should be ranked number one,” Fuller said.
In order to have a chance against the Niners, the Aggies must slow down middle blockers Cheryl Weaver and Tayyiba Haneef.
With Weaver and Haneef anchoring the middle, LBSU might have the best middle-blocker tandem in the country.
Weaver, a two-time All-American, leads the Niners with an astounding hitting percentage of .461. Haneef, a six-foot-seven force at the net, hits .442 and was recently named the BWC player of the week after posting 21 kills against the Cornhuskers.
“I don’t know if we really have what it takes to slow [Weaver and Haneef] down,” Fuller said.
The Aggies held a 2-0 record last season against UC Irvine and a 0-2 record against LBSU.