RENO, Nev. – The Nevada volleyball team welcomes the Utah State Aggies to Virginia Street Gym on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m PT before the Pack hits the road again, this time a four game swing.
The Wolf Pack (7-7, 0-3) will look to bounce back after falling in three straight sets to Mountain West opponent, Boise State. Utah State comes to Reno 3-11, 1-2 in conference play after taking the win over San Jose State, 3-1, on Thursday evening.
In the match against the Broncos sophomore Kayla Afoa led the team with eight kills but some changes to the rotation allowed Shiloh Peleras to make her first Mountain West start of the year. The junior transfer recorded four kills for herself.
Another junior transfer that has entered the starting rotation and made an impact is defensive specialist Ryan Blackwood. The Roseville, Calif. native has consistently been a presence on the floor with six service aces in the last four matches including three against Colorado State.
Offensively the Aggies lean on the sophomore Bailey Downing who leads the team in kills with 149 but the senior veteran Lauren O'Brien is more efficient with a .367 hitting percentage on 108 kills.
Nevada and Utah State are both sporting senior liberos. For the Pack, Mo Maluotoga has 210 digs in 49 sets for a 4.69 average and for the Aggies is Tasia Taylor. Taylor has 243 digs on the year in 57 sets for an average of 4.26.
Utah State is currently ranked fourth in conference for blocks averaging 2.54 a set where Nevada is ranked 11th with 1.27 set. However, the Pack maintains a top of the rankings in digs with 16.73 a set while the Aggies are seventh with 13.40.
The match will be streamed on the Mountain West Network with play by play by TJ Sarbacker. The broadcast will be available through WatchStadium.com, Mountain West Network and NevadaWolfPack.tv. Live stats are available as well as updates through Twitter with @PackVB.
Following this match, the Pack hits the road for four straight matches. First up is New Mexico on Oct. 4 with first serve at 6 p.m. PT.
