The Weber State University volleyball team went head-to-head with three separate teams during the weekend of Aug. 28: Seton Hall University, the University of North Dakota and Utah State University. The Wildcats walked away with three wins.
To kick off the weekend, the Wildcats hosted the Seton Hall Pirates on Aug. 27 and took them down 3–0.
The starting lineup included the familiar faces of outside hitters Rylin Adams and Dani Nay, libero Makayla Sorensen, opposite hitter Emma Mangum, middle blockers Sam Schiess and Liana Woodley and setter Ashlyn Power.
Nay led the squad with 7 service aces, Power tallied 39 assists and Mangum led the squad with 14 kills, while Schiess and Adams trailed close behind with 10 kills each.
The Wildcats closed out the match against Seton Hall Pirates 25–20, 25–17 and 25–20.
Following the win against Seton Hall, the Wildcats also hosted the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and again won 3–0 like the day prior.
North Dakota opened the contest with 6 points against a slower Weber State, who tallied 1 point before they were able to pick up the pace.
“It’s the beginning of the season; there’s obviously a lot of things we’re working on,” Nay said. “I like where we’re at. I like that there’s a lot that we can get better at.”
Schiess, Adams and Nay held over 10 kills each while Nay collected 13 digs for a double-double, and Power tallied 28 assists.
The ‘Cats scratched past the Fighting Hawks with scores of 25–16, 25–13 and 25–14.
After collecting the 2 wins, the Wildcats were able to extend their winning streak at home to a record breaking 18 wins.
The Aggies opened the Northern Utah Classic and their season against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in a four-set match.
On Aug. 27, the Aggies went 3–1, winning the first set 25–19, losing the second 25–23 and winning the third and fourth sets 25–20 and 25–9. This was the first time in three years that the Aggies were able to secure a season-opening win.
Their double header came on Aug. 28, when USU started the day with a 3–0 win against Seton Hall with scores of 25–11, 26–24 and 25–19.
On the evening of Aug. 28, the ‘Cats hit the road for an in-state match against the Aggies.
This hour-long drive brought the Wildcat faithful to an already packed Wayne Estes Center full of USU fans.
USU opened the game with a close 25–23 victory, but didn’t have a chance to catch their breath before the Wildcats responded with a 25–14 victory for the second set.
With a win under both of their belts, the Wildcats were ready to establish their lead and pulled through with a score of 25–21 in the third set.
The Aggies weren’t done yet and rallied in the fourth set 25–20. However, their efforts weren’t enough to pass the Wildcats after Weber secured the fifth set 15–10.
Adams led the squad with 23 kills, 3 aces and one block, Nay secured her second double-double after tallying 15 kills and 5 aces, Emma Mangum collected 15 kills and three blocks and Sam Schiess finished out with 7 kills.
After their performance, Adams won the Big Sky Offensive Player of the week and Mangum was named MVP of the Northern Utah Classic.
