TEMPE, Arizona – Utah State volleyball fought tough to extend their season but ultimately fell short against No. 2-seeded Arizona State, 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15), in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at Desert Financial Arena.   The Aggies end the season with a 24-8 record, tied alongside the 2023 and 2010 seasons for the most wins by the program since 1982.    Set One The Aggies began the match with back-to-back kills courtesy of sophomore outside hitter Mara Štiglic and sophomore opposite side hitter Loryn Helgesen. The Sun Devils took their first lead with a 4-0 run and eventually forced a USU timeout after building a 14-9 lead. Utah State battled back, cutting the deficit to one with four-straight points out of the timeout including an ace by junior libero/defensive specialist Kendel Thompson and a block by Helgesen and senior middle blocker Tierney Barlow. The second-seeded Sun Devils took over, however, scoring on 11 of the final 13 rallies of the set to take a 1-0 lead for the match.   Set Two Arizona State continued to play to the level expected of AVCA’s No. 8-ranked team, opening up the second set with three-straight points.