Utah State 3, San Jose State 0
Liz McArthur and Josselyn White combined for 23 kills and 11 digs to lead Utah State to a three-set win (25-22, 26-24, 25-18) against San Jose State here in a Western Athletic Conference match Thursday.
Utah State snaps its season-long two-match losing streak with the win and improves to 16-7 on the season and 4-6 in league play. San Jose State is now 8-16 overall and 3-7 in the WAC with the loss.
McArthur, a junior outside hitter from St. George, Utah finished with 12 kills and five digs for Utah State. And White, a sophomore outside hitter from Smithfield, Utah added 11 kills and six digs. Senior middle blocker Katie Astle (Sandy, Utah) had five kills and five blocks and hit .364 (5-1-11), while fellow senior middle blocker Shantell Durrant (American Fork, Utah) also had five kills and five blocks and hit .417 (5-0-12).
Hanah Blume had 12 kills and Katie Turner posted 14 digs to lead San Jose State.
San Jose State jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead to start the match and later led 9-3 before Utah State began chipping away at the deficit and eventually tied it at 15-15. USU then took its first lead at 18-17 and never trailed again as it posted the three-point win. Utah State hit .227 (13-3-44) in the opening set and San Jose State hit .114 (15-10-44). McArthur had five kills in the first set for USU and White added four.
Utah State had to battle back in the second set as well as it trailed 8-5 early on and later found itself on the wrong end of a 20-15 score before scoring five straight points. SJSU answered the Aggies run with a 4-0 spurt of its own before USU scored the final six points of the set for the improbable 26-24 win. Utah State hit .281 (13-4-32) in the second set and San Jose State hit .083 (12-9-36).
In the third and final set, Utah State jumped to a dominating 13-2 lead only to see San Jose State get within three at 20-17. The Aggies then finished the match by scoring five of the final six points for the three sets win. USU hit .189 (12-5-37) here and SJSU hit .029 (10-9-34).
Utah State finished the match by hitting .230 (38-12-113) and San Jose State hit .079 (37-28-114). USU also had 6.5 more team blocks in the match, while SJSU had 10 more digs (54-44), two more service aces (6-4) and four fewer service errors (9-5).
Nevada 3, Fresno State 1
University of Nevada (12-11, 6-4 WAC) senior Kylie Harrington's 23 kills led the Wolf Pack volleyball team to its second road win of the year as the team defeated Fresno State (10-12, 4-6 WAC) in a Western Athletic Conference match 3-1 tonight at the Save Mart Center. The Pack won the first two sets 25-19 and 27-25 before falling 25-19 in set three then rebounded to win the final set of the night 25-23.
With the win the Pack took both matches from the Bulldogs this season and improved to 12-11 and 6-4 in WAC play. FS dropped to 10-12 and 4-6 in conference action.
Nevada took control of the first set early jumping to a 12-8 lead and went on to win 25-19. Brianna Heinen served the final two points of the set including an ace to end set one. Harrington had seven kills in set one and senior middle blocker Lindsay Baldwin six. Junior setter Tatiana Santiago had 18 assists in the set. The Pack hit .292 and held FS to a .175 attack percentage.
The Wolf Pack trailed by six points at 14-8 in set two but rallied to tie the score at 24-24 and again at 25-25 before scoring the final two points to win 27-25 and take a 2-0 lead into the locker room. For the second set in a row Heinen served the final two points of the win with Baldwin's block giving the Pack the final point of the set. Harrington had six kills, Baldwin five and sophomore Janelle Batista four in set two. Santiago again had 18 assists. The Pack hit .317 and the Bulldogs .233 in set two.
FS scored early taking a 6-1 lead but Nevada tied set three at 7-7. A 5-0 Bulldog run was all they needed as they won the third set 25-19 to cut Nevada's advantage to 2-1. Harrington had seven kills and Santiago eight assists in the third set. The Bulldogs hit .306 and the Pack .154.
The Wolf Pack took the early lead in set four 7-2 but a 14-7 FS run put the Bulldogs on top 16-14. Nevada responded with a 6-1 run to move in front 20-17 on the way to the 25-23 set win and 3-1 match victory. Baldwin led the way in set four with seven kills and Santiago finished with 13 assists. Nevada hit .286 and FS .143 in the final set.
Harrington's 23 kills was the high by a Pack player this season and just two off her career-high of 25. She also hit .308 in the match and totaled eight digs. Senior middle blocker Lindsay Baldwin had a season-high 20 kills and hit .432 versus the Bulldogs. Junior setter Tatiana Santiago posted her fourth double-double of the season with her match-high 57 assists and 10 digs. Senior libero Nicole Link had 16 digs and freshman Brianna Heinen finished with a career-high 15.
Marissa Brand topped FS with 15 kills and added 11 digs to post a double-double in the match. Brianna Clarke and Korrin Wild had 12 kills each. Wild added 12 digs to post a double-double. Setters Kasey Van Grouw and Erin Stock dished out 26 and 20 assists respectively. Kelly Mason had a match-high 29 digs for the Bulldogs.
Nevada hit .264 and FS .214 in the contest. The Bulldogs won the blocking battle 11-7. Baldwin, Garvey and Grace Anxo had three blocks each for Nevada. Clarke totaled a match-high seven for FS.
Louisiana Tech 3, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0
Clara Vido recorded her third double-double of the season as the Louisiana Tech volleyball team overpowered Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a three set win (25-13, 25-14, 25-14) Thursday night at the Thomas Assembly Center.
"We've been working hard even though our last few matches haven't gone as expected," said freshman Clara Vido. "We are making sure that we work hard every day in practice and not giving up. The game today showed that we are together as a team and that we are fighting hard. We still believe that we can go on and perform well for the rest of the season."
Led by Vido's 11 kills, 15 digs and three service aces, Tech outhit UAPB .210 to -.068 while a total of six Lady Techsters notched four-plus kills on the evening. Bianca Bin hit a season-high .500 while picking up seven kills.
The Lady Techsters got off to a slow start in the first match allowing the Lady Lions to tie the game at four apiece. However, Vido's first kill of the night jumpstarted a 10-1 scoring run that silenced any UAPB attack. In dominating fashion, the Lady Techsters cruised to a 25-13 win while hitting at a .257 clip.
For the second consecutive set, UAPB forced four ties to start the game before freshman Caitlin Germany reeled off three-straight service aces to extend Tech's lead to 9-5. Tech closed out the set on a 16-9 scoring run to take a two set lead into the break.
Germany finished with four kills, three aces and four blocks.
With a comfortable lead at hand, the Lady Techsters led wire-to-wire in the third set. Racing out to an 8-2 lead behind multiple kills from Bianca Bin, the Lady Techsters controlled every aspect of the frame with a stifling defensive attack that held the Lady Lions to a -.150 hitting percentage. Tech rolled to a 25-14 set win.
The win over UAPB snaps a six-game losing streak and improves Tech's all-time record against the Lady Lions to 4-0. Tech has won all matches via sweeps.