Utah State bounced back from a pair of losses on Friday to post a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-15) victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in the Aggies finale at the Texas Tech Fall Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The win is the first for the Aggies this season and improves the team to 1-2 on the year.
Utah State scored the first point of the opening frame on a ULL error, a trend that continued throughout the set as the Ragin' Cajuns committed 10 and ultimately hit -.129 (6-10-31) in the frame. The poor hitting allowed the Aggies to lead from start to finish with the set only tied twice, en route to the 25-18 win. USU closed out the set with a 5-0 run behind a pair of kills by freshman middle Lauren O'Brien, a kill by sophomore outside Rachel Gale and blocks from sophomore middle Carly Lenzen and freshman outside Simone Gibeau.
Utah State fell behind 8-6 in the second set but countered with back-to-back points behind kills by junior outside Kaylie Kamalu and Gibeau. The Aggies held the lead throughout the rest of the frame and used a six-point run at the end of the set to capture the 25-15 win. Kamalu played a large role in the finish, recording five of Utah State's final eight points via kills. The Aggie attack was also clicking well in the second set, hitting a match-high .462 (20-2-39) during the frame.
Utah State jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the third set behind strong serving from Kamalu. The third-year player for the Aggies recorded three services aces as part of the run to give the Aggies the early cushion. USU continued to build on the margin, extending the lead to nine at 10-1 behind a kill by Lenzen. The gap only closed to within six during the rest of the game as the Aggies scored the final three straight points of the set to take the match, 25-15.
"We just played better today," head coach Grayson DuBose said. "We played more consistently, had better control and didn't commit as many errors as we did yesterday."
Kamalu led all players with 14 kills and added 10 digs for her second-consecutive double-double of the season, while hitting .281 with five errors on 32 attempts. Gale and O'Brien narrowly missed double-digit kills, finishing with nine and eight, respectively, with O'Brien hitting a career-high .583 (8-1-12). Sophomore outside Chloe Cordell led Louisiana-Lafayette with six kills, followed by junior middle Chanelle Gardner and sophomore setter Keely Hayes, each with five.
Junior setter Erica Moscoso directed the Aggie attack, totaling 30 assists as the team finished the match hitting .286 with 41 kills on 98 attempts with only 13 errors. Sophomore setter Jessica Bartczyszyn led the way for ULL with 17 assists as the Ragin' Cajuns hit .011 for the match with 24 kills on 93 attempts with 23 errors.
Kamalu was one of three Aggies to log double-digit digs during the match with junior libero Hannah Gleason leading the way with 13 and freshman defensive specialist Tasia Taylor just behind with 11. O'Brien and Gibeau paced the Utah State block with three apiece as the Aggies finished with 4.0 as a team. Louisiana-Lafayette's McKenzie John led all defenders with 15 digs.
Following the match, Lenzen was named to the Texas Tech Fall Invitational all-Tournament Team, finishing the weekend with 15 kills, hitting .389 with only one error on 36 attempts. Lenzen also tallied an ace in each match and logged six digs and six blocks during the tournament.
Utah State returns to action on Tuesday hosting Utah on Kirby Court at the Wayne Estes Center at 7 p.m., in the Aggies' 2015 home opener.
Kyle Cottam is the Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations at Utah State University.