The smell of another upset by the Utah State Aggies was flowing through the air, as they dominated the University of Utah volleyball team in the first game of Tuesday’s match.
The Aggies came into this match looking to break Utah’s 10-match home streak, a week after ending BYU’s 20-match home win streak in Provo in a three-game sweep, and subsequently break into the top 25 for the first time this season.
It never happened, as Utah prevailed with a 22-30, 30-28, 30-27, 30-20 victory, but that doesn’t mean the Utes weren’t scared.
After the first game Tuesday night, the thought of the upset at Crimson Court was slowly turning into reality.
?We played horrible, and I was very worried,? said Ute coach Beth Launiere.
Utah State held the Utes to a killing percentage of ?.025 in the first game.
?After playing BYU, I knew the team would come out flat, because they were mentally tired,? Launiere said.
The Utes turned the match around in the second game, though, as Mountain West Player of the Week Kim Turner and Sylva Strzinkov notched 6 kills each and won the game 30-28.
The quick passes to the setters were a huge key in games three and four, which gave the Utes a chance to utilize their size advantage.
USU coach Burt Fuller knew how important it was for his team to serve well, and how much it impacted the Aggies when they didn’t.
?We weren?t serving as well as we did in the first game and it killed us because of our lack of size. They had more options because of the quick passes they had off our bad serves.?
Utah’s McKelle Stilson caught fire in the third and fourth games, as she had 9 kills in those two games alone, 15 total kills for the match, and also recorded a match-high killing percentage of .367 .
?I told [setter] Kelsie [Kartchner] to set McKelle the ball every time she was on the front row because of the mismatch between McKelle and [Shauni] Fluckiger,? Launiere said.
Great defensive play also aided the Utes in their victory, as Adrianne Bradley?Drake had a match-high 5 solo blocks, and the Utes totaled 19 blocks as a team.
?We are not going to get out of trouble if they are setting up their blocks well,? Fuller said.
Turner had the match-high in kills, with 16, and was dominant in all the games.
?They could not stop Kim because she was so much more physical than any of their middle blockers,? Launiere said.
The Aggies were led by Fluckiger, Michelle Matheson and Lisa Borom, as the three recorded a combined 36 kills; however, all three were largely ineffective after game two.
The win improves the Utes’ record to 14-4, while Utah State drops to 11-5.
?You have to give Utah credit. They passed very well and played better than BYU when we went down to Provo,? Fuller said.