Washington State Women's Volleyball Loses to Utah State 3-1

Washington State women’s volleyball fell to Utah State 3-1 Thursday night at Bohler Gym in Pullman, Washington.

The Cougars finished the match with 56 kills and a .272 hitting percentage, while holding a 7-2 edge in blocks. Kate Hayhurst led the Cougs with 14 kills while hitting .478, and Eliana Ti’a added 13 kills on a .444 hitting percentage alongside eight digs.

Utah State built early momentum by taking 2-0 and 8-5 leads in the opening set. The Cougars pulled even at 8-8 on back-to-back Kambree Rodriguez aces, and after Utah State moved ahead 10-9, Whitney Dewicki tied it before a five-point run on Madyn Cervellera’s serve pushed Washington State forward.

The Cougars opened the second set with four straight points, including kills from Dewicki and Healy and two blocks involving Dewicki and White, reaching a 12-6 advantage. Utah State responded with five unanswered points to narrow the gap to 15-13 before taking the set 25-21.

WOMEN'S Volleyball: Washington State vs. Utah State — Pac-12

Facing a 10-4 deficit in the third set, Washington State worked back through kills from White, Kryssa Moerman, and Hayhurst. Cervellera’s ace and another Hayhurst kill closed the gap to 18-16, and four straight points put the Cougars up 21-20. Dewicki secured a 25-24 edge, but Utah State answered with three kills to claim the set 27-25.

The fourth set saw the Cougars answer an early 2-1 deficit with kills from Moerman, Ward, Ti’a, and Hayhurst to lead 6-3. Utah State rallied to tie it 9-9 and moved ahead 16-14, eventually closing out the match 25-23 following a Washington State error.

Livia Ward finished the contest with 25 assists and 11 digs, while Naomi White recorded six kills, five total blocks, and one service ace. Ti’a’s .444 hitting percentage marked a season high, and Rodriguez collected 12 digs to push her season total to 311. Emerson Matthews added one point to reach 100 points for the season, leaving her 48 away from 500 career kills.

Washington State hosts Oregon State Saturday, Nov. 14, at noon in Pullman, Washington.