Women’s volleyball falls to Pacific on the road
After running over California State University, Northridge 3-0 Thursday, the Utah State University women’s volleyball team was tripped up by the University of the Pacific, 0-3 Saturday night, ending a four-match winning streak.
Earlier this season the Aggies swept Northridge and were able to do it again Thursday, winning 30-18, 30-16 and 30-21.
Utah State hit .309 in the match while holding Northridge to a .034 hitting percentage. The Aggies also out-dug Northridge 52-40, and out-blocked the Matadors 7-6.
“I thought it was a good effort,” USU Head Coach Burt Fuller said.
The Aggies were led by outside hitter Lisa Borom, who recorded nine kills while hitting .286, and middle blocker Michelle Matheson, who had eight kills and hit .294.
Setter Chelsi Neves also had a strong match, hitting .750 with six kills and recording 31 assists.
“It was an important match and we played well,” Fuller said.
Saturday, the Aggies faced No. 17 Pacific in Stockton, Calif. In the first meeting between the teams on Oct. 11 in Logan, the Aggies were able to pull out the victory over the Tigers.
The win gave the Aggies their first victory over Pacific in 20 years, but Saturday night the Aggies were unable to duplicate the feat on Pacific’s home court.
Behind the strong play of outside hitter Jamie Hamm, who hit .581 and had 19 kills, the Tigers defeated the Aggies in three close games, 30-26, 30-26, 30-24.
“Pacific is one of the top teams in the country,” Fuller said. “They made plays when they had to. If we make two different plays, the game is tied at 28. They just made a couple of more plays.”
In regards to Hamm, Fuller said, “She played strong. Their setter put balls were she needed to, out to Hamm.”
Though the Aggies out-dug Pacific 53-27, Pacific hit .352 to Utah State’s .240 and had seven service aces to the Aggies four.
“We didn’t pass well,” Fuller said. “They happened to get us in trouble with their serve. A lot of their success was off our inability to pass.”
For the Aggies, outside hitters Shauni Fluckiger and Borom led the team, recording 11 kills apiece. Matheson also turned in another strong match, hitting .476 with 10 kills and no errors.
“I thought we attacked the ball well,” Fuller said.
“We played really well against Northridge in all aspects,” Fuller said. “Pacific is one of the top teams and they play well at home. Road wins are tough and they [Pacific] played better. We didn’t have the ability to beat Pacific with an 80 percent match.”
The Aggies will be back in action Tuesday night when they travel to Pocatello, Idaho to meet Idaho State University before returning home to play No. 1 ranked Long Beach State University on Thursday.
“It makes for a difficult week playing on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,” Fuller said. “There is not a lot of time to prepare but it gives us an opportunity to keep sharp match-wise.
“We need to focus on making sure we don’t stub our toe at Idaho State and then come home and do prep work for Thursday’s match,” he said.