Utah Tech volleyball didn't go down without a fight Thursday night in a five set loss to WAC leader UTRGV.
What Head Coach Camilla Hafoka said: "If we are going to lose, I want us to lose like that, competing. We competed with the current top team in the WAC. I'm proud of the way our girls fought. It was a tough environment to play in and we played well. I thought our pin hitters performed really well tonight."
How it happened: Utah Tech started the first set off with an 8-3 jump on UTRGV. UT maintained the lead for most of that first set but UTRGV tied the set up at 18-18. The Vaqueros pushed on to take the first set 25-21.
UTRGV maintained the lead for the majority of the second set. However, a kill by Whitnee Nihipali tied the set up at 23-23. A Vaqueros kill brought it to set point but they followed that up with an error to keep the Trailblazers in the set with a 24-24 score. The two teams went on to match each other point-for-point keeping things tied up and forcing extra points. UTRGV ended up taking the second set 33-31 thanks to a Vaqueros kill followed by a Trailblazer error.
With the 2-0 overall match lead, UTRGV needed one more set to make a clean sweep of Utah Tech but the Trailblazers didn't go down without a fight.
In the third set, the point-for-point pattern continued by both teams with things tied up at 8-8. Utah Tech then went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-9 lead. That run captured the momentum in favor of the Trailblazers as they pushed on for a 20-12 lead. UT captured the final three points of the set thanks to a kill by Chayse Daugherty, a service ace by Kate Hardy and a Vaqueros attack error. With a 25-15 third set win, Utah Tech kept the match alive sending things into a fourth set.
The Trailblazers dominated the fourth set. It started with Utah Tech pushing out for a 12-4 lead and the Trailblazers never looked back. UT kept a double digit lead the entire fourth set eventually going on a 4-0 run to take the fourth set 25-9 forcing the match into a fifth.
The Vaqueros jumped early in the fifth set for a 4-1 lead. UT made a surge to bring the score within one but could never push past to tie things up or take the lead. UTRGV ended the match by taking the fifth set with a score of 15-11
Killin' It: Bridget Talia led UT with a career high of 22 kills. Talia ended the night with 46 attacks and a .370 hitting percentage. Daughtery also posted double digit kills with 15 from 41 attacks with two errors for a .317 on the night. Nihipali was the last Trailblazer to break double figures in kills with 14 with two errors from 37 attacks for a .324.
Taela Laufiso was just one shy of double digit kills posting nine on the night from 18 attacks with just one error for an impressive .444 percentage. Laufiso also led UT in assists recording 45 on the night.
In total, UT had 70 kills from 169 attacks with 13 errors for a .337 percentage.
Diggin' it: Mykenna Nelson led UT in digs with 22 in the match.
Emma Ricks added 13 digs for the Trailblazers while Daugherty posted a double-double with her 13 digs and double figure kills. In total, Utah tech posted 65 total digs.
Notes to know: Utah Tech is now 6-6 overall on the season and 0-3 in WAC action. Daugherty has tied the team high with five double-doubles on the season.
Next Up: The Trailblazers will stay on the road to take on New Mexico State Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1:00 p.m. before returning home to host Tarleton State on Oct. 6 and Abilene Christian on Oct. 8.
