Utah State will open the month of October with a pair of home matches this week, hosting Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m., followed by a match against San Diego State on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 1 p.m.

Scouting the Bulldogs
Fresno State enters the match on Thursday night with an overall mark of 11-5, and a Mountain West-leading 3-0 ledger in league play.

The Bulldogs are hitting .234 (837-320-2,207) on the year to rank fourth in the Mountain West. Individually, senior outside Taylor Slover leads Fresno State with 3.56 kills per set to rank fifth in the league. Senior middle Haile Watson is the most efficient hitter for the Bulldogs, hitting .359 (145-38-298) to rank second in the MW. Junior setter Madelyn Halteman directs the attack, totaling 596 assists and averaging 9.31 per set to rank third in the league.

Defensively, sophomore libero Reagan Leonard leads the Mountain West with 4.92 digs per set, totaling 315 on the year. Sophomore middle Montez Uigaese leads the Bulldog block, totaling 62 on the year and averaging 1.11 per set. Opponents are hitting .190 (765-332-2,284) against Fresno State this season.

Head coach Jonathan Winder is in his first year at the helm in Fresno, joining the Bulldogs after serving as a an assistant coach at Washington the past three seasons.

Scouting the Aztecs
San Diego State will play at Boise State before facing the Aggies on Saturday afternoon. The Aztecs are currently 2-14 on the year and 1-3 in the Mountain West after snapping a 13-match losing streak with a five-set victory over Wyoming last Saturday.

SDSU is hitting .193 (823-402-2,181) on the year and led individually by junior outside Ashlynn Dunbar with 3.15 kills per set. Senior middle Deja Harris is the most efficient hitter for the Aztecs, hitting .345 (201-64-397) to rank fifth in the Mountain West. Sophomore setter Gabi Peoples has directed the SDSU attack since the conference season has started, leading the team with 9.62 assists per set.

Harris is also the top blocker for the Aztecs, totaling 78 on the year and averaging 1.20 per set to rank sixth in the Mountain West.  Redshirt sophomore Sam McGrath leads the SDSU back row with 170 digs, averaging 2.74 per set. Opponents are hitting .235 (835-322-2,186) against San Diego State this season.

Head coach Deitre Collins-Parker is in her 10th season at the helm in San Diego.

Double-Double Leader
Senior setter Kassidy Johnson leads the Aggies this season with eight double-doubles. Johnson leads every current USU player on the roster with 17 career double-doubles and is fourth among active players in the MW.

Double-Double Streak
Johnson has recorded a double-double in four of the last six matches, including each of the last three.

Setter Digs
Johnson's career-high 21 digs in her double-double effort at San José State (9/27) marked the first time a setter has led the Aggies in digs in a single match since the 2014 season.

Kill Streak
Sophomore outside Bailey Downing has recorded double-digit kills in seven of the last eight matches.

Kill Leader
Downing's streak includes a 19-kill performance at Nevada, the most by an Aggie in a single match this season.

Speaking of Leading the Attack
Downing recorded 57 attempts against Loyola (9/7), marking the most attempts by an Aggie in a single match this season. The match also featured a season-high 183 attempts from the team.

Speaking of Leading the Attack - Part II
The duo of sophomore outsides Bailey Downing and Gabbi Shumway have recorded the most attempts in every match for the Aggies this season. Downing has led the team in six matches, while Shumway has led the Aggies nine times.

Dig Streak
Taylor has recorded double-digit digs in each of the last nine matches.

Current Blocking Leader
Freshman middle Corinne Larsen leads the USU block with 82 on the year, averaging 1.34 per set.

Pacing the Block
Larsen has led the Aggies in blocks in six of the last seven matches.

Freshman Blocking Prowess
Larsen is the first Aggie freshman to average more than one block per set since Hannah Smith averaged 1.36 per set as a freshman during the 2014 season.