Nov. 15, 2007

Final Stats |  Quotes

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Utah State volleyball's recent success streak came to a halt Thursday, as the third-seeded Aggies were upset by sixth-seeded San Jose State in five thrilling games (30-24, 28-30, 30-19, 28-30, 15-17) in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, hosted by New Mexico State at the Pan American Center.

USU had won 15 of its last 21 matches to end the regular season, including upsetting No. 10 Hawai'i in three games Saturday, dealing the Rainbow Wahine their first home WAC loss.

The Aggies have a 17-12 record after posting an 11-5 WAC record and finishing third in the standings. USU must now await a possible NCAA Tournament bid, expected to be announced on Nov. 25.

Senior opposite side hitter Amanda Nielson (West Valley City, Utah), who was tabbed a first-team all-WAC selection on Wednesday, led Utah State with a match-high 27 kills, including six in game one and seven in game two.

Junior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh (Sandy, Utah), a second-team all-WAC honoree, tallied her 14th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs, while senior outside hitter Monarisa Ale (Kahuku, Hawai'i) also posted a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs.

WAC Freshman of the Year, setter Chelsea Fowles (Hollister, Calif.) dished out 56 assists.

Fellow freshman, middle blocker Katie Astle (Sandy, Utah) had her best match as an Aggie, tallying five kills and seven blocks, both career highs.

Freshman libero Christine Morrill (Pleasant Grove, Utah) logged a match-high 19 digs, while Osterloh and sophomore middle blocker Danielle Taylor (Springville, Utah), also a second-team all-WAC honoree, both posted career-highs with four service aces each.

As a team, the Aggies tied a season-high with 10 aces on the night.

San Jose State was led by Niki Clement's 21 kills, one of four Spartans with double-digit kills while Emily Burke had 63 assists and Kelly Crow tallied 18 digs.

For the match, the Aggies hit .265 (67-23-166) while the Spartans hit .221 (74-34-181). Utah State had 61 assists, 62 digs and 16 total team blocks compared to 72 assists, 67 digs and 10 total team blocks for San Jose State.

USU hit .471 (19-3-34) in game one, while SJSU hit .250 (14-6-32), in winning, 30-24.

As warm as they two teams were in the opening stanza, they were just as cold in the second, as the Spartans hit .178 (15-7-45) while the Aggies hit .159 (15-8-44) in SJSU's 30-28 win. San Jose State had a 9-2 run to rally from an 8-6 USU lead to take a 15-10 advantage. The Aggies later countered with a 7-3 streak, getting some kills from Nielson and an ace from Osterloh to spark the run before the Spartans bounced back to take the game.

The third game saw Utah State jump out to a 10-5 lead and later had a 12-2 streak to go ahead 24-11 as the Aggies went on to win, 30-19. USU hit .296 (12-4-27) while limiting SJSU to .088 (12-9-34).

In game four, the Aggies led 26-21 before a 9-2 Spartan streak rallied SJSU for the win. USU hit .158 (12-6-38) compared to SJSU's .350 (21-7-40).

The fifth and deciding game started with a 10-5 Spartan lead before they stretched it to game and match point at 14-9. The Aggies rallied to knot the score at 14-14 but the rally came up a bit short as SJSU won, 17-15. USU hit .304 in the final game while the Spartans were .233 (12-5-30).