PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State women's volleyball fell to Utah State 3-1 Thursday night at Bohler Gym.
The Cougars (10-13, 5-8 Pac-12) finished 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.
Eliana Ti'a added 13 kills on a .444 hitting percentage and collected eight digs.
Livia Ward finished with 25 assists and 11 digs.
Naomi White recorded six kills, five total blocks and one service ace.
Utah State built 2-0 and 8-5 leads, but the Cougars pulled even at 8-8 on back-to-back Kambree Rodriguez aces. After Utah State went up 10-9, Whitney Dewicki tied it, and the Cougars scored five straight on Madyn Cervellera’s serve behind two Mary Healy kills. White, a Utah State error and Healy closed the set, 25-19.
The Cougars opened the second with four straight points, including kills from Dewicki and Healy and two blocks involving Dewicki and White, then led 12-6. Utah State scored five straight to lead 15-13 and later went up 19-14. Emerson Matthews served an ace, and Hayhurst and Ti'a had late kills, but Utah State took the last three points, 25-21.
Facing a 10-4 deficit, the Cougars worked back with kills from White, Kryssa Moerman and Hayhurst before Cervellera’s ace and another Hayhurst kill made it 18-16. Washington State scored four straight to lead 21-20 behind one Hayhurst kill and three Ti'a kills. Dewicki gave the Cougars a 25-24 edge, but Utah State answered with three kills to win 27-25.
The Cougs answered an early 2-1 deficit with kills from Moerman, Ward, Ti'a and Hayhurst to lead 6-3, then stretched it to 9-5. Utah State tied it 9-9 and later moved ahead 16-14. Hayhurst and Cervellera kept the Cougs close, and back-to-back Ti'a kills cut a 22-18 deficit to 22-21 before a Washington State error ended it, 25-23.
Notes
- Eliana Ti'a recorded a season-high hitting percentage of .444.
- Rodriguez reached 300 digs for the season, with 311 total, including 12 in the current match.
- Matthews reached 100 points for the season, including one point in the current match.
- Emerson Matthews has 452 career kills, 48 away from 500.
- Audrey Hollis has 1,476 career assists, 24 shy of 1,500.
- Eliana Ti’a has 416 career kills, 84 away from 500.
- Livia Ward has 921 career assists, 79 from 1,000.
- Naomi White has 131 blocks this season, building on her career-best mark (prev. 117 in 2025).
Up next, Washington State hosts Oregon State Saturday, Nov. 14, at noon in Pullman, Washington.
Cougar volleyball single-match and season tickets are on sale at wsucougars.com. Follow WSU volleyball on social media and stay up to date on Cougar news, on Instagram (@wsucougarvb), X (@WSUCougarVB), and Facebook (facebook.com/WSUCougarVB).