Boxscore:
Logan, Utah - The University of Nevada(15-12, 9-5 WAC) lost a five-game Western Athletic Conference match to Utah State(13-16, 6-8 WAC) at the Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah on Saturday night by scores of 30-28, 30-28, 25-30, 27-30, and 15-17. The Wolf Pack led the match two games to none before the Aggies scored victories in the final three games to take the match 3-2. With the loss the Pack are now 15-12 on the season and 9-5 in WAC action while USU improved to 13-16 overall and 6-8 in conference play.
Utah State won game four 30-27 to force a fifth and deciding game in which they prevailed 17-15. The final game was tied 10 times and there were five lead changes before the Aggies claimed the victory. With the score tied at 15-15 Pack freshman KatiJo Matthews served an error to put USU up 16-15. An attack error by Nevada senior Carly Sorensen gave the Aggies the victory 17-15. Nevada hit negative .043 in the final game and USU hit .045.
With game one tied for the ninth and final time at 23-23 the Pack scored the next two points and never trailed the rest of the way in winning 30-28. Senior Brianne Hall ended the game with a kill off an assist from fellow senior Tristin Johnson. Nevada hit .289 in game one and USU .156.
Game two was tied eight times and there were three lead changes before the Pack scored an identical victory as the first game 30-28. The final tie came at 27-27 but Nevada closed out the game with a 3-1 run to take the game and head to the locker room with what seemed to be a commanding two games to none advantage. Two of the final three points including the final point of the game were scored by junior Teal Ericson. Both teams hit well in game two with the Pack holding a slight advantage .325 to .316.
In game three USU used a 7-1 run to break a 22-22 tie to take control of the game 29-23 on the way to the 30-25 victory. With the win the Aggies had closed to within a game in the match at 2-1. The Pack hit well at .333 but the Aggies were outstanding at .474.
Needing a victory in game four to force a deciding fifth game USU scored three unanswered points to break at 14-14 tie to go on top for good. The Pack closed within a point at 17-16 but could get no closer as USU won the game 30-27 to even the match at two games apiece. USU took the deciding fifth game 17-15 as the Aggies had rallied from a two games to none deficit to win the match 3-2. The Wolf Pack hit .117 in the fifth game and USU .176.
Ericson led Nevada with a match-high 23 kills on the night. Sorensen and Karly Sipherd totaled 17 and 16 kills respectively while Hall finished with 10. Johnson posted a double-double with a match-high 65 assists and 12 digs. Freshman Lauren Kelly recorded a career and match-high with 23 digs while sophomore Allison Hernandez tallied 10.
USU had five players reach double figures in kills led by Beth Hodge’s 20. Hailey Jeppson(19), Melissa Larson(14), Danielle Taylor(11), and Amanda Nielsen(11) also reached double figures in kills. Jeppson, Hodge, and Nielson had 12, 11, and 10 digs respectively as the trio all posted double-doubles. Setter Heather Hillier also posted a double-double with 57 assists and 11 digs. Kelsi Peterson topped all Aggies with 20 digs in the match.
USU hit .242 and Nevada .217 in the match. The Aggies won the blocking battled 13.5 to 7. Taylor topped USU with seven blocks and Sipherd totaled four on the night for the Pack.
Next action for Nevada is Wednesday at Idaho at 7:00 p.m. PT. followed by a 6:00 p.m. MT match at Boise State on Saturday evening. The Idaho match will be carried live on CSTV.
