New Mexico State 3, Fresno State 1
New Mexico State volleyball takes its second victory over Fresno State defeating the Bulldogs 3-1 at the Pan American Center, Thursday, Nov. 4.
The Aggies started out slow in the first set with Fresno holding NM State 3-3, but the Aggies quickly pulled ahead of the Bulldogs with a kill by Whitney Woods bringing the NM State into a 7-4 lead.
Six consecutive points for NM State brought them into a strong lead half way through the first set at 15-9. The Aggies continued that lead with the assistance of Kayleigh Giddens and Amanda Tonga both having five kills for NM State. The Aggies finished the first set 25-20.
NM State started strong leading the Bulldogs 4-1 at the start of the second set. The Aggies cooled off allowing Fresno State to jump ahead 7-5 during the set. Junior middle hitter Kelsey Brennan with the kill turned the set around for the Aggies making a kill that helped bring the NM State back up to 7-7.
The Aggies continued to trail close behind the Bulldogs throughout the beginning of the second set tying again at 15-15 midway through the set but were unable to gain a lead falling 22-25.
NM State pulled ahead of the Bulldogs 12-10 in the third set after continuous tying throughout the beginning of the set. Kills by Ellen Miks and Brennan brought the Aggies into a strong lead for NM State at 20-14. The Aggies sustained a strong lead finishing the third set 25-15.
The Aggies trailed the Bulldogs 7-4 at the start of the fourth set. Outside hitter Whitney Woods with consecutive kills for the Aggies pulled them close behind the Bulldogs at 14-12 halfway through the set. NM State exploded after winning the set 25- 21 with Giddens posting a match-high 23 kills for the set making it her seventh match this season where she tallied more than 20 kills.
Eight total blocks from Woods posted the highest number of blocks for any Aggies this season.
Utah State 3, Boise State 0
Senior libero Christine Morrill set a school record for digs in a three-set match with 24 to help Utah State sweep Boise State (25-18, 25-22, 25-23) here Thursday in a Western Athletic Conference match.
Utah State, who has won three straight matches after dropping four of its previous five, improve to 18-7 on the season and 6-6 in WAC play with the win. Boise State falls to 17-11 overall and 4-8 in league play with the loss.
Morrill (Neola, Utah) broke her own record for digs in a three-set match as she had 20 last year in a sweep of Louisiana Tech. Overall, it is the 10th time this year and 27th time in her career she has notched at least 20 digs in a match.
Utah State also got outstanding performances from a pair of sophomores as opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen (North Ogden, Utah) had 10 kills and a career-high six blocks, while outside hitter Josselyn White (Smithfield, Utah) had eight kills and a career-high tying 13 digs. Junior outside hitter Liz McArthur (St. George, Utah) also played well as she finished the match with 11 kills and eight digs, while senior middle blocker Katie Astle (Sandy, Utah) had eight kills and five blocks and hit a robust .800 (8-0-10).
Two more Aggies made solid contributions Thursday in senior setter Chelsea Fowles (Holister, Calif.) who had nine digs and three kills, and senior middle blocker Shantell Durrant (American Fork, Utah) who had six kills and six blocks.
Fiona Jones and Alisha Young each had nine kills for Boise State.
Boise State jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead in the first set before Utah State scored seven of the next nine points. BSU later led by three at 13-10 before USU scored six straight points to take control of the set en route to the seven-point win as the Aggies scored six of the final seven points. USU hit .122 (12-7-41) in the opening set and held BSU to a negative .024 (7-8-41) hitting percentage.
Utah State raced out to the early lead in the second set and was up big at 14-6 and later 20-12 before Boise State went on a 9-3 run to get within two at 23-21. USU then got a pair of kills from McArthur and White to post the three-point win. Utah State hit .333 (19-4-45) in the second set and Boise State hit .239 (16-5-46).
There were 10 ties and four lead changes in the third set as Boise State scored three of the first four points. USU eventually took a three point lead at 10-7 and later led 16-14 before the Broncos went on a 6-1 run to lead 20-17. USU then went on a 5-0 run to lead 22-20 and then finished the match by scoring three of the final four points. The Aggies hit .237 (15-6-38) in the final set and the Broncos hit .128 (15-9-47).
Utah State finished the match with a .234 (46-17-124) hitting percentage and Boise State hit .119 (38-22-134). USU also had four more digs (62-58) and three more blocks (11-8), while BSU had one more service ace (3-2).
Louisiana Tech 3, San Jose State 1
Kassia Pinto and Clara Vido both picked up double-doubles while Kara Jones recorded a season-high seven blocks as the Louisiana Tech volleyball team knocked off San Jose State in four sets (25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23) Thursday night at the Thomas Assembly Center.
"We've been working hard all season and we finally broke through tonight," said Vido.
The Lady Techsters hit at a season-high .209 clip against conference opponents while setter Bianca Bin turned in her second 40-plus dig performance of the season as she directed an explosive Tech attack. Clara Vido had a career-high 15 kills while picking up 11 digs and Kassia Pinto established a new career-high with 20 digs in addition to her 12 kills.
With her 13 kills and a season-high seven blocks, senior Kara Jones becomes only the seventh active WAC student-athlete with 1,000-plus career points.
"There was a lot of excitement tonight," said Jones. "We have been waiting for this part of the season for a long time and as long as we can keep starting fast, we can finish strong."
With some adjustments made in the starting rotation, Tech raced out to a 9-2 lead in the first set behind kills from Jones and Bin. However, the Spartans cut the deficit to three points courtesy of three consecutive attack errors on Tech. Leading 9-7, Tech responded by taking four of the next five points.
Riddled by unforced errors, San Jose State climbed back into the set tying the score at 16 points apiece before Tech answered with kills from Jennifer Goodwin and Vido forcing a Spartan timeout. Out of the timeout Tech was able to maintain their lead as Pinto closed out the first set, 25-22, with her second kill of the night.
"Everyone brought the energy tonight," said Pinto after picking up her fifth double-double of the season. "We played with confidence tonight and that is what we really needed."
Tech started out quickly in the second set with a 6-2 lead but San Jose State was able to force a tie at eight points apiece. After a questionable call that would have extended Tech's lead, the Techsters were able to regain their composure and build an 18-14 lead over the Spartans. However, trailing by four points, San Jose State was able to string together an 11-5 scoring run to capture the second set and even the match at one set apiece.
Out of the break San Jose State scored three of the first four points to force a Tech timeout. Refocusing after the stoppage, Jones answered in a big way with a kill and an assisted block to swing the momentum into Tech's favor. However, with an intense frame that saw four lead changes and 12 ties, the Lady Techsters were relentless down the stretch as they closed out the third set on a 7-2 scoring run.
With a high level of intensity and momentum on the Lady Techsters side after taking a 2-1 lead in the match, the fourth set was just as much of a battle as the third. San Jose State picked up an early 5-2 lead before Tech evened things at 10 apiece following a kill from Goodwin that spearheaded a scoring run that eventually put the Techsters up 17-11, forcing a Spartan timeout.
As per status quo of the match, the Spartans responded to eventually take a 20-19 lead over Tech. However, Tech refused to fold. With the score tied at 23, Kara Jones silenced the Spartans as the team leader reeled off her 13th kill of the night before teaming up with Bin to wrap up the match with an assisted block.
Idaho 3, Nevada 2
It was a hard fought match, and in the end, the Idaho volleyball team got its first five-set win in conference play, as the Vandals beat Nevada in a marathon match by a score of 23-25; 25-23; 35-37; 25-22; 15-8 in Reno, Nev. The match saw 238 total points.
The win lifts Idaho to 11-11 overall and 6-5 in the Western Athletic Conference, while Nevada drops to 13-12, and 7-5 in WAC play. The Vandals completed the season sweep of Nevada, after beating the Wolf Pack in Moscow earlier this season.
The win also helps Idaho’s bid for a berth into the WAC tournament, as the Vandals entered the match in fourth place in the WAC standings, a game and a half behind Nevada and a half game ahead of Utah State. The Vandals travel to Logan, Utah to face Utah State on Saturday. The top six teams in the final WAC standings advance to the tournament.
“It’s huge for us being in that middle spot with teams right behind us,” Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. “We have to secure a spot in the WAC tournament.”
The Vandals often found themselves in deep holes early in the first three games, trailing 16-7 before pushing the Wolf Pack to the limit in the first set. Idaho fell behind 5-1 to open the second set before battling back to claim a 25-23 win of its own and tie the match 1-1.
“If there is one thing we did during the match it’s that we gave up those huge runs,” Buchanan said. “Those were the longest streaks of points we’ve given up maybe all season. The crazy thing with this match is we would give up a run of seven, then we would turn around and get a run of six.”
Idaho fell behind again in the third game, trailing 6-0 to start the set. The Vandals battled all the way back and had game point on six occasions, but couldn’t find a way to close the door on the pesky Wolf Pack.
“The third game we were right there, that was a battle,” Buchanan said. “Both teams were siding out. It wasn’t where they were making it easy on us or vice versa. It was a great match, our kids hung in there and fought”
Idaho led of the way throughout the fourth set, and jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the match-clinching fifth set victory.
The last time the Vandals were in a set that saw 72 total points was Oct. 26, 2006, when sets went up to 30 points. The Vandals beat Boise State 37-35 during a four-set Idaho win that night.
Alicia Milo celebrated her birthday Thursday night, and she led the Vandals with 22 kills, eight digs, five aces and three blocks. Allison Walker also had 22 kills for the Vandals, and she added four digs and three blocks. Alex Sele finished with 13 kills and seven blocks for the Vandals. Jenny Feicht notched her 1,000th career assist in the match, as she entered the night with 976 and tallied a career-high 64 assists in the match. Cassie Hamilton notched a career-high 29 digs.
The Vandals had their second-most efficient offensive match during the WAC season, as they hit .257 as a team with a season-high 72 kills and 28 errors on 171 attempts.