Trailing 13-12 against the Spartans, Aggies setter Chelsea
Fowles delivered a back-set to teammate Emily Kortsen on the right
side, who promptly swatted a kill past any and all San Jose State
defenders.
The two Aggies, formerly the two Lady Balers who helped lead San
Benito to a section title in 2006, both have started for the Utah
State women’s volleyball team the last two seasons.
SAN JOSE
It didn’t come until the second set of last Thursday’s volleyball match at San Jose State, but the small, pro-Utah State crowd knew what had transpired.
Trailing 13-12 against the Spartans, Aggies setter Chelsea Fowles delivered a back-set to teammate Emily Kortsen on the right side, who promptly swatted a kill past any and all San Jose State defenders.
Just like old times.
The two Aggies, formerly the two Lady Balers who helped lead San Benito to a section title in 2006, both have started for the Utah State women’s volleyball team the last two seasons.
But finding that setter-to-hitter chemistry, which was second nature in high school and wreaked havoc on the opposition, was difficult to come by early on last year when Kortsen followed Fowles to the Logan, Utah campus.
“It’s not because of her or me, but just because the whole college level is way different,” said Kortsen, a 2008 graduate of SBHS. “It was definitely a wake-up call for me.
“In high school it’s a lot easier — the blockers aren’t always there. But the block is huge in college and that was a big adjustment. It’s definitely been a lot different and it’s taken awhile to develop.”
That’s not to say Kortsen and Fowles haven’t found their footing at the next level, though. The sophomore Kortsen is currently second on the Aggies in kills with 222 and second on the team in blocks with 259.
“She hits for a good percentage, night in and night out,” Utah State head coach Grayson DuBose said. “She’s kind of this nice, calm influence on the team. When we get frantic, she calms us down.”
The junior Fowles, meanwhile, who graduated from SBHS in 2007, eclipsed 1,000 assists for the third straight year against San Jose State last Thursday.
“She continues to kind of lead us,” DuBose said.
Fowles has compiled 1,045 assists, 183 digs and 34 service aces to date, the latter of which is first on the team.
“I have played with Emily forever, and I was really excited when she decided to come out to Utah State,” Fowles said. “The year between us, when I was a freshman and she wasn’t here yet, we had an amazing right side hitter who I got to set all the time — Amanda Nielson. When [Kortsen] came back, it was just setting the right side all over again.
“It was hard, since I hadn’t set her in a year, so that always takes time. But I think we’re doing pretty good.”
Fowles had 38 assists and Kortsen contributed eight kills last Thursday, while Utah State defeated San Jose State in four sets (25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 25-23) at Spartan Gym, the Aggies’ (14-13, 5-9 WAC) first conference road win this season.
“We’ve been struggling on the road,” said Kortsen, noting Utah State’s youthful, senior-less makeup. “We have a lot talent … but we haven’t been playing together that long.”
But Spartan Gym may have acted as a home away from home last Thursday night, where the Aggies were able to pick up a key conference win over the Spartans. Playing on the road, which has been anything but forgiving this season, Utah State was welcomed by a vocal, yet outnumbered, cheering section made up of parents and friends of Fowles and Kortsen.
“I love coming here,” Fowles said. “We almost had as much of a crowd as they did.”
Said Kortsen, “I try to focus on the game, but it’s really nice afterward to see everyone and all the faces I haven’t seen forever.
“This particular game is one of the last ones of the season, so we we’re just trying to wrap it up on a high note.”
With just two matches remaining, Utah State finds itself in a tough spot. With only the top six teams advancing to the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament, the 5-9 Aggies are positioned in seventh place behind 5-8 Fresno State.
Utah State will wrap up its regular season with undefeated Hawaii Friday and fourth-place Nevada on Monday, and will likely need some help from Fresno State in order to advance to the WAC Tournament.
“This whole season we’ve been talking about our skill level and potential and expectations,” Kortsen said. “We definitely haven’t quite met them like we expected to at the beginning of the season. But now it’s kind of understanding because we are really young.”
So young, in fact, that the full team, Kortsen and Fowles included, will return next year.
“We’re gonna be so good next year,” Fowles said. “We were excited about this year, knowing that we have a lot of talent, but right now it’s raw talent and it’s not put together enough yet.
“Going through the spring, and having all that time to come together and just another year behind them, it’s gonna help a lot more.”
And another year should only help redevelop that setter-to-hitter chemistry between Fowles and Kortsen that was evident last Thursday night.
“They run some stuff and I’m like, ‘Wow, I don’t know where that play came from,” DuBose said. “They do kind of click with each other and it’s fun to watch.”
