Utah State volleyball continues its Mountain West-opening homestand, hosting Fresno State on Saturday. The Aggies are looking for their fourth-consecutive win and to start conference play 2-0 for the first time since 2013.
USU opened the weekend with a 3-1 victory over San Diego State as senior outside Lauren Anderson recorded a career-high-tying 23 kills and four Aggies logged double-digit digs. Anderson joined junior setter Kassidy Johnson with a double-double as the duo recorded 12 digs apiece, and Johnson logged 49 assists, one shy of her season high. The match was Johnson’s first appearance in almost a month after nursing an injury.
Anderson leads the Utah State offense this season, totaling 199 kills and averaging 4.23 per set. Overall, USU is hitting .223 (612-231-1,707), and Johnson leads the team with 11.29 assists per set, just ahead of redshirt freshman Jaysa Funk with 10.71 assists per set in nine appearances.
Junior libero Tasia Taylor has recorded double-digit digs in all but one match for Utah State this season and paces the back row with 233 on the year, averaging 4.96 per set, second in the Mountain West.
Fresno State enters the match having lost five of its last six matches, including its Mountain West opener at Boise State on Thursday night, 3-0. Junior outside Taylor Slover leads the Bulldog attack with 156 kills, averaging 3.25 per set, as FS is hitting .203 (574-252-1,587) on the year. Sophomore setter Madelyn Halteman directs the attack with a team-best 439 assists, averaging 9.76 per set.
Defensively, senior libero Jacque Hutcheson leads the back row with 192 digs, averaging 4.00 per set, and junior middle Haile Watson leads the FS block with 56, averaging 1.17 per set. The Bulldogs have performed well at the net and behind the service line this season, ranking third in both blocks per set and service aces per set in the Mountain West with 2.54 and 1.35, respectively.
The Utah State-Fresno State series is tied 14-14 all-time, with the Bulldogs winning the last four matches, including a 3-1 victory in the last meeting in Logan during the 2015 season. The teams only faced once during the 2016 campaign, a 3-1 win for Fresno State in California.
The match with the Bulldogs gets underway at 1 p.m., on Saturday. Fans are encouraged to stay after the match for a post-match autograph session with the Aggies.
Kyle Cottam is the Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations at Utah State University.