By Jaden Johnson | November 6, 2016

Aggies, hitting better, fly past Air Force

The Utah State University volleyball team entered Saturday night’s match with Air Force looking to move past a three-game losing skid, and with the help of a season-best hitting effort it came out with a 3-0 win.

The Aggies, fresh off of a Thursday night loss where they had a season-low combined hitting percentage of .091, turned things around dramatically three days later in Logan. The team had a new season-high hitting percentage of .384, up from its previous season-high of .312.

The three-set sweep over Air Force (0-13, 9-17) was a welcomed change for the Aggies, who have lost their past three matches by a combined score of 9-1.

“I think that we were getting a little down, coming off a streak of losses,” said junior middle blocker Carly Lenzen. “It’s nice to have this one in the bag, and to have it be a nice sweep for us.”

Lenzen, who led the team in service aces and blocks in the match, and had a career high hitting percentage of .500 on 10 kills, said the team had to make some changes to break out of its recent slump.

“We had what we call a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting talking about what’s holding us back, and I think that helped us,” she said.

After gaining a 4-3 lead in the first set, the Falcons never led again. Utah State stayed on top throughout, leading to set victories of 25-13, 25-22 and 25-18.

Despite her team's recent slump, sophomore defensive specialist Tasia Taylor believes this match is proof of the resiliency of the Aggies.

“It shows that we’re capable of great things,” Taylor said. “We’re able to bounce back from anything, nothing can stop us.”

“We should feel good about ourselves,” said Aggie head coach Grayson DuBose. “We’re a good volleyball team when we believe it.”

The Aggies hope to build on this performance moving forward, as they head out on the road for a three-game road trip before returning home to play their final two games of the season.