By DAVID McGUIRT

djm028@latech.edu

 

Tech’s volleyball team suffered its fifth straight loss last Saturday, as Utah State swept the Techsters in three games with scores of 30-21, 30-21 and 30-26.

With the win, Utah State improved its record to 10-8 for the season and 3-1 in Western Athletic Conference play, while Tech’s record dropped to 5-15 overall and 0-4 in the WAC.

Despite Utah State’s hitting just .069 in the opening game, the Aggies were able to win by nine points as they held the Lady Techsters to a .000 hitting percentage. Freshman Kristen Fairbanks had four kills in the first game, but too many team attacking errors by Tech opened the door for Utah State to win the opener 30-21.

The second game saw better play from both teams as Tech was able to hit .200 behind four kills and an ace from junior Shannon Phillips, while the Aggies hit slightly better at .204. Tech held the lead once in the game, claiming a 27-26 advantage before the Aggies were able to get three kills in the last four points to take the game 30-27.

“We’re making untimely errors,” Tech head coach Heather Mazeitis said. “We’re point for point against these teams throughout the game, and then, in the last 4 or 5 points, we make the wrong plays at the wrong time.”

Tech led Utah State several times in the third game as well, but was unable to stop a 9-3 rally late in the game as the Aggies took control to win by four points.

Phillips led the Techsters, registering 11 kills and 10 digs for her seventeenth double-double of the season season. Fairbanks followed Phillips with nine kills, while junior Jenny Denton made 28 assists in the match.

Prior to the meeting with Utah State, the Techsters traveled to Reno last week to play second ranked Nevada in a match that saw Tech play down to the wire in the last two games.

The first game of the match was no contest; as the Wolf Pack took a 10-point lead at 22-12 and went on to take a 1-0 advantage in the match. Tech was held to a .061 attack percentage in the game, while Nevada had their best game of the night with .281.

The Lady Techsters played much better in the second game and were able to hit .300, while Nevada dropped to .216. Tech, however, was not able to gain a lead at all in the game and Nevada hung on, making a kill on the last point to finish 30-27.

The closest game of the night was the final one, as the teams tied the game 16 times and exchange leads eight times before Nevada was able to win the game off of Tech errors and a kill in the last three points to take the game 30-28 and the match 3-0.

A rare sight occurred in the match, as Phillips did not finish with a double-double, though she still recorded 10 kills and six digs, while freshman KC Clayton added nine kills and four blocks.

The Techsters have a tough upcoming schedule, as they play No. 24 New Mexico State in the Thomas Assembly Center tomorrow night, followed by Centenary on Tuesday and finishing up with No. 15 Hawaii next Thursday.