Wyoming Sweeps Utah State in Last Volleyball Home Game of the Year
Saturday’s matchup against the Wyoming Cowgirls marked the last home game of the Utah State volleyball season. The night ended in a loss for the Aggies as they got swept 3-0 but began with a celebration for the three USU seniors on Senior Night.
The Wayne Estes Center was brimming for the game, fans arriving well before the opening set to support their Aggies and recognize the seniors– Tasia Taylor, Lauren O’Brien, and Kassidy Johnson — with many staying afterwards as well.
Nobody saw the girls play more volleyball during their careers than Utah State head coach Grayson DuBose who said of them, “Tasia has never missed a match, she has played in every match so far in her career, and she has been steady as a rock… Lauren, nobody’s given more of her soul, pieces of her body than that kid has… Kassidy, same thing…. I love all three of those girls.”
The crowd’s energy was infectious and was a factor in a highly competitive opening set, one in which all three seniors started. Throughout the game, each team struggled to build more than a one or two point advantage over their opponent, and there were eight ties in the set. A late run by Wyoming pushed them ahead 23-20, and four plays later, the Cowgirls secured the set 25-22.
“It was a rough one. I thought we gave ourselves some chances. We had opportunities to be good at the end of game three in particular and game one,” said DuBose. “They were just a little sharper than we were at the end.”
Game two was the antithesis of the first in terms of competition with Wyoming dominating the set after a 3-3 opening, recording eight more kills than the Aggies. The Cowgirls went on a series of runs punctuated in-between by one or two USU points, leading 18-6, then 24-12, and eventually winning 25-12.
Utah State regrouped after the blowout and made game three highly contested throughout, similar to game one. The result was the same, too, however, as Wyoming won again, 25-22 on a kill by Emily Lewis on game point to take the match.
Bailey Downing and Kassidy Johnson both made big contributions for the Aggies. Downing recorded 13 kills, many of them set up by one of Johnson’s game-leading 29 assists.
“It was weird playing at home for the last time, but I thought we competed against a really good team,” said Johnson. “It just didn’t end our way.”
Of her time at USU Johnson said, “I’ve enjoyed every second that I’ve played here.”
USU is now 5-22 on the season, with their next game Wednesday in Boise, Idaho, in an in-conference matchup against Boise State.