Utah State women’s volleyball remained undefeated in four-set matches during the 2016 season with a 3-1 victory on the road at Air Force on Thursday night. The win was the fourth time the Aggies have played a four-set match, winning all of them, and moved the Aggies to 7-9 on the year and 2-3 in the Mountain West, while Air Force dropped to 9-10 and 0-6 in league play.
Junior middle Carly Lenzen provided both offense and defense for the Aggies during the night, recording a season-high-tying 12 kills and adding a team-best six blocks, all while hitting a career-high .611 (12-1-18). She was joined in double digits by senior outside Kaylie Kamalu-Smith with 12 kills and junior outside Lauren Anderson with 11.
Kamalu-Smith also led the team with nine digs, tying senior libero Hannah Gleason and senior defensive specialist Maddie Day-Larsen. The block, paced by Lenzen, finished with 11.0 overall, marking the fourth time in the last five matches that the Aggies have recorded double-digit blocks.
"I thought we did some nice things for long periods of time," head coach Grayson DuBose said after the match. "We were able to get kids some playing time and that is always good. You never know when you are going to need someone to play, so it is good to get people out there for some experience."
The teams played through seven ties in the first set until Utah State broke a 10-10 tie with a 5-1 run behind a kill by junior right side Kayla DeCoursey and four attacking errors by AFA, including a pair of blocks by Kamalu-Smith and Lenzen. The Falcons came back to within two, 15-13, but it was as close as the home side came throughout the set. The Aggies used back-to-back kills from DeCoursey and Lenzen to take the opening frame, 25-19.
Utah State overcame a 5-2 deficit in the second set and tied the match at 6-6, following a 4-1 run that was capped by an Air Force service error. The Aggies then began a three-point run with a kill by Anderson to take a 9-7 lead and never looked back. The margin grew to as much as five for Utah State during the set, but AFA fought back to come to within two, 24-22, before a block by sophomore setter Kassidy Johnson and Lenzen end the set, 25-22.
Utah State hit greater than .300 in the third set (.321) but missed out on a three-set sweep, committing three of its four attacking errors late in the frame. The teams played through 13 ties during the game, including deadlocks at 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23. However, an error by the Aggies gave the Falcons set point at 24-23, and a final kill by Air Force extended the match to a fourth set with the home side taking it, 25-23.
Utah State captured the first point of a set for the first time during the match in the fourth, benefitting from an AFA attacking error. The teams went back and forth from there, playing through 13 ties, leading up to a score of 17-17. The Aggies then made their move with a three-point run, behind three-consecutive blocks, to take a 20-17 lead. Air Force came back to within two, 20-18, and fought off Utah State's first match point at 24-19, before a final kill by Lenzen gave the Aggies the match, 25-20.
Johnson and senior setter Erica Moscoso shared the distribution duties during the match, with Johnson leading the Aggies with 25 assists and Moscoso just behind with 24. Overall, Utah State hit .289 (52-15-128) during the night to the Falcons' .174 (56-30-149).
USU is back in action on Saturday, facing Boise State on the road in a 2 p.m. matinee. Fans can keep up on the match online with live stat and video links.
Kyle Cottam is the Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations at Utah State University.