Weber State University’s women’s volleyball team fell short in their comeback against Utah State University, losing 3–2 on Sept. 17 at Swenson Gym in Ogden.

Both teams came out with energy in the first set, going back and forth till the Aggies ended 30–28.

Going into the second set, Utah State made a strong impression early, going on a 5–0 run. The Aggies ended up taking that set 25–20, making the match 2–0.

In the third set, the Wildcats started to fight back, coming in with energy. Weber State’s outside hitter Ashley Gneiting said the team cleaned up their serving and blocking.

“I think we need to improve on those first two games,” Gneiting said. “We started off a little slow. Those little things that we couldn’t fix right away we have to fix faster, and we can work on fighting earlier in the game.”

The Wildcats went up early in the set with a 4–0 run and then a 3–0 run making the score 9–2. Weber State didn’t look back and went on to win the set 25–19, making the game 2–1.

“We were definitely the aggressor,” Wildcat middle blocker Baylee Bodily said. “We were aggressive with them. Sure, they had some good points on us. They had some kills and some really good plays. We didn’t let that affect our game.”

Going into the fourth set early, both teams were neck-and-neck until the Wildcats pulled away late, going on a 5–0 run. They again ended up winning the set 25–19, tying the game 2–2 with one set left.

Both teams came into the fifth set ready to end the match as the Wildcats and Aggies battled till the last point. Utah State delivered the final blow to win the match 15–13.

“It was a tough loss, but we competed the whole time,” Bodily said.

The match ended with 35 total ties and 16 lead changes. Bodily had 23.5 points for the Wildcats, and setter Kate Standifird had 49 assists.

Weber State will travel to Oregon for their next game against Portland State University on Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.