Utah State volleyball player Leah Wilton-LaBoy. Photo by Clint Allen
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State volleyball (19-5, 12-1 Mountain West) has won nine-straight matches after sweeping Air Force at home on Thursday night. The victory officially secured the Aggies’ spot in the 2023 Mountain West Volleyball Championships.
“It’s been a month since we played a Thursday night match here,” head coach Rob Neilson said. “It’s so great to be back in here. We love the energy. That’s a really good team and really well coached. They work hard and they’re scrappy and they cause some real problems with some of the things they do offensively. That was a really complete match from our team. I’m really proud of our group. We’re finding our level and now it’s can we sustain it and find some consistency with the way we’re playing?”
Both Aggie outside hitters logged double-digit kills in the win as senior Tatum Stall had a match-best 14, while graduate senior Shelby Capllonch had 10. Junior setter Beatriz Rodrigues led USU with 21 assists, followed closely by sophomore setter Leah Wilton-LaBoy with 18.
Defensively, Capllonch and freshman libero Kambree Rodriguez led the Aggies with nine digs apiece. Senior middle blocker Kelsey Watson and junior opposite side hitter Adna Mehmedovic led USU with four blocks each.
“That was our only loss of the conference season,” Capllonch said about losing at Air Force on Sept. 30. “We wanted to show who’s top dog. They’re a really good team. Air Force is so scrappy. I always get scared playing them because they’re so good. But, we prepared for probably the last two weeks. That’s all we could talk about. All we could think about was, ‘That was our one loss. We have to win this game.’”
An early 6-0 run, highlighted by a Watson and Mehmedovic block, service ace by graduate senior middle blocker Kennedi Boyd and a Stall kill, gave Utah State the 7-2 advantage in set one. The teams went back and forth until a 4-0 Aggie spurt, capped by a kill from graduate senior opposite Jill Schneggenburger, gave USU a 22-14 edge. Back-to-back hammers from Capllonch and Mehmedovic later gave the Aggies set point before a Boyd kill secured the 25-17 win.
The score stayed tight to start off the second set, but an 8-1 Aggie run, featuring kills from Boyd, Mehmedovic and Stall, blocks from Watson and Mehmedovic, and a service ace from senior defensive specialist Jordi Holdaway, put Utah State on top 20-13. The Falcons responded with a 6-1 run of their own to trim the deficit to 21-19. USU maintained its lead, though, as an Air Force attack error gave USU set point before Mehmedovic clinched the 25-21 victory with a kill.
The teams stayed close once against to start off set three, but a 6-1 USU run, bookended by kills from sophomore middle blocker Bella Wooden and Stall, gave Utah State the 12-7 lead. Air Force then turned around with a 7-0 run of its own for the 14-12 edge. It was then the Aggies’ turn for a run as USU used an 8-2 spurt to take a 20-15 advantage. The Falcons would trim the lead to three at 23-20, but back-to-back Schneggenburger and Mehmedovic kills secured the 25-20 win and match sweep.
Overall, USU hit .381 (50-10-105), while Air Force hit .229 (40-16-105).
The Aggies will look to earn at least a share of the Mountain West regular season title when they host New Mexico (17-7, 9-4 MW) on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m.
Tickets for the 2023 Utah State volleyball season are on sale now.
Fans can follow the Aggie volleyball program on Twitter, @USUVolleyball, on Facebook at /USUVolleyball or on Instagram, @usuvolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
