SALT LAKE CITY — Utah State stormed into Crimson Court Saturday night, beating Utah 3-1 in a competitive match to get its first win here in 20 years.
"I hope the fans appreciate this volleyball," Utah coach Beth Launier said. "There were some amazing rallies. I am not sure I have ever seen a match like that."
Launier was quick to add that she wasn't making any excuses. "They executed better than we did. But we played really, really hard."
Liz McArthur, a junior out of Snow Canyon High School, led the Aggies with 25 kills.
"We really get up for these (rivalry) games," McArthur said.
She was awarded the MVP trophy for her efforts.
The first set was hotly contested with several momentum switches, but the Utes squeezed out a 30-28 victory. Utah State took the lead three times in OT but couldn't finish it. Finally Sarah Collette smashed one off the block to seal the win for the Utes.
But Utah State was not to be denied. The Aggies owned the second set by a 25-19 score. The third set was another knock-down, drag-out affair, but this time Utah State came out on top 25-23.
In the fourth set, Utah State jumped out to a 9-4 lead and never looked back winning 25-19.
Coming off an outstanding match on Friday, Utah freshman Morgan Odale led the Utes with 18 kills. On Friday, she recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs as Utah downed UC Davis in it's opening game.
She scored the first point of this match with a tip over the block but then came alive slamming monsters smashes. Sarah Collette tallied 11 kills but the Utes couldn't muster much more help.
UTAH STATE 3, UC DAVIS 0: At Salt Lake City, junior outside hitter Liz McArthur recorded a match-high 19 kills to lead Utah State to a three-set win (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) against UC Davis.
BYU 3, SOUTH CAROLINA 2: At Champaign, Ill., in their last game of the Illini Classic, the Cougars (1-2) earned their first win of the season, defeating South Carolina (0-3) in five (21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12).
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3, BYU 1: At Champaign, Ill., Measom and Carpenter both had 12 kills each in the loss Saturday morning.
WEBER STATE DROPS 2: At Pullman, Wash., the Wildcats came up short in a pair of matches on Saturday in the 2010 season-opening Nike Cougar Invitational. Weber State opened Saturday with a 22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-13 loss to host Washington State, and then finished the day with a 25-14, 25-18, 25-23 loss to UC Irvine.
UTAH VALLEY STRUGGLES: At Columbia, Mo., the Wolverines fell to 0-3 on Saturday when they dropped two 3-0 decisions, one to the Missouri Tigers (18-25, 12-25, 21-25) and the other to the Maryland Terps (19-25, 27-29, 23-25) at the Tiger Invitational.
10 Utah Classic All-Tournament Team
Liz McArthur, Utah State
Betsy Sedlack, UC Davis
Sarah Hibbert Collette, Utah
Morgan Odale, Utah
Josselyn White, Utah State
Libero: Christina Morrill, Utah State
Most Valuable Player: Liz McArthur, Utah State
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