Win over BYU takes the cake
A barn burner of a finish, in a big-match setting, against a team that eliminated the Aggies from the NCAA Tournament the previous year.
These three things were manifest in the Utah State University women’s volleyball team’s 30-26, 29-31, 30-23, 27-30, 16-14 victory over No. 19 BYU in the first round of the NCAA’s women’s volleyball tournament, Nov. 29, 2001 in Salt Lake City.
For this reason USU’s match against BYU was recognized by the sports staff of The Utah Statesman as the event of the year for the 2001-2002 academic year.
“It was important for our program and important for our kids to beat a really good team,” Aggie Head Coach Burt Fuller said.
In a match that lasted nearly two and one-half hours, it was the Aggies who were able to string together two straight points with the score deadlocked at 14-14 in the fifth and decisive game.
Tied at 14-14, senior setter Chelsi Neves gave the Aggies their first match point on a well-disguised dump. Sophomore Erin Cartwright provided the knock-out blow, coming up with a solo block of Cougar Jackie Bundy to give USU the 3-2 victory.
“I knew it was going to come down to someone having to put two plays together,” Fuller said when asked about the fifth game. “I mean, it was 14-14 in the fifth game. How much closer can it get [than that]?”
Playing a team USU had beaten earlier in the season in Provo – Utah State’s first road victory over the Cougars in 20 years – the Aggies and Cougars matched each other shot for shot throughout the course of the match.
It was a match that was tantalizingly close in nearly every statistical category as USU finished with one more team block than BYU and was out-hit by the Cougars by the slimmest of margins (.182 to .181).
“It was two good teams playing,” Fuller said. “It was a toss up, and it was just a fun match to watch.”
Like they had the entire season, the Aggies relied on a balanced attack on both sides of the net to pick up the win. Five USU players finished the match with 10 or more kills, with five players collecting double-digit figures in digs.
Undersized at every position against a BYU team that has advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament every year since 1991, the Aggies were able to avenge last season’s loss to the Cougars in the NCAAs. BYU defeated USU 3-0 (15-9, 15-10, 15-10) in the second round of the 2000 tourney.
“Looking back at the match, I realize what a great accomplishment it was for our team to beat a very good BYU team and make it to the second round,” Fuller said. “It was a pretty special win for us.”
As important of a victory it was to the players, Fuller said a NCAA tourney win over a team like BYU transcends well beyond the actual match. Recognition on a national scale is attained as well, he said.
“This victory gave us a little notoriety,” he said. “It put us in a position in the top 25 that [potential recruits] probably look at and go, ‘Man, they’re one of the top 25 schools in the country.'”
Ranked in the top 25 they were as the win propelled the Aggies into the No. 21 spot in the final USU Today/AVCA coaches poll.
With USU qualifying for and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons, Fuller said it is time for the program to roll with the momentum.
“What we need to do now is take it to the next level,” he said.