USU Tournament Notes

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State volleyball returns to Logan this weekend to host the Utah State Invitational. Kirby Court at the Wayne Estes Center will serve as the venue for six matches on Friday, Aug. 31, and Saturday, Sept. 1. The Aggies will host UTRGV, Loyola Marymount and Cal Poly with matches at 10 a.m., noon, 4:30 p.m., and 7 p.m., on Friday, and noon and 2 p.m., on Saturday.

How to Watch
All of the matches will have a live stat feed that will be available online at utahstateaggies.com. All of the Utah State matches will be streamed live online at www.utahstateaggies.com/watch.

Scouting the Field
Utah State will open the tournament on Friday, Aug. 31, facing UTRGV at noon. The Aggies are 1-0 against the Vaqueros, with the victory coming against then-Texas Pan American, 3-1, during the 2005 season.

The Aggies will then face Loyola Marymount that night at 7 o'clock, looking to break a series that is tied 2-2. The two teams last met during the 2016 season when the Lions posted a three-set sweep at the Pioneer Invitational in Denver, Colo. USU posted a five-set victory over LMU the last time the two teams played in Logan during the 2010 season.

Utah State wraps up the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 1, hosting Cal Poly, with the Mustangs leading the all-time series 10-7. USU and CP are former Big West foes with Utah State winning three of the last four, including back-to-back victories in Logan.

Utah State in Tournaments
Utah State is 46-52 in non-conference tournaments under head coach Grayson DuBose.

Hornet Invitational All-Tournament
Senior middle Lauren O'Brien was named to the Hornet Invitational all-tournament team after proving to be the Aggies' most efficient hitter over the course of three matches. O'Brien hit over .400 in all three matches, averaging .453 (30-6-53), and finished second on the team with 14.0 blocks, averaging 1.08 per set.

Mountain West Leaders
Utah State is ranked among the top five in the Mountain West in digs per set (14.79, 4th) and blocks per set (2.50, 4th).

Individually, senior middle Lauren O'Brien leads the MW with a .453 hitting percentage (30-6-53). Senior libero Tasia Taylor is second in the league in digs per set, averaging 4.93. Senior setter Kassidy Johnson is fourth in assists per set (9.21), while freshman middle Corinne Larsen is sixth in blocks per set (1.43).

First Set Wonderkids
Utah State has not lost a first set this season.

Double Double-Double
Utah State had two players log double-doubles in the season opener against Sacramento State. Sophomore outside Gabbi Shumway recorded 12 kills and 13 digs, while senior setter Kassidy Johnson tallied 33 assists and 15 digs.

Marathon Aggies
Utah State has already played as many five-set matches this season (two) over the course of three contests as the Aggies played in the entire 2017 season.

Dig Leader
Senior libero Tasia Taylor led Utah State last season with 525 digs, the fourth-most in a single season in USU history, and finished second in the Mountain West with 4.87 per set.

Going the Distance
Taylor has appeared in every match and every set for the Aggies over the course of her three-year career at Utah State.

Rising in the Record Book
Taylor entered the year ranked No. 9 in digs in Utah State history with 930 over the course of her career and could finish as high as fourth on the all-time record books.

Utah State career digs (5-9)
5. Zuzana Cernianska 1,053 (2002-05)
6. Paige Neves 1,030 (2011-14)
7. Niki Conner 1,024 (1995-98)
8. Tasia Taylor 999 (2015- )
9. Heather Olmstead 981 (1998-01)

Dig Streak
Taylor has recorded double-digit digs in 16 consecutive matches and in 22 of the last 23.

Dig'n 20 Plus
Taylor's streak of double-digit digs includes 20 or more in each of the last three and five of the last six. In all, Taylor has recorded 20 or more digs in a match 14 times during her career.

Service Streak
Redshirt junior outside Ally Packard has recorded at least one service ace in every match for the Aggies this season.

Kill Streak
Utah State outsides Gabbi Shumway and Bailey Downing have each logged double-digit kills in every match for the Aggies this season.

High Five
Utah State had five players record double-digit kills in its victory over CSUN on Aug. 25, marking the first time that five Aggies have had double-digit kills in the same match since Nov. 11, 2006, against Nevada.

Head of the Block Party Committee
Freshman middle Corinne Larsen has led the team in blocks in each of the opening three matches this season. Larsen has totaled 20.0 blocks this season, averaging 1.43 per set.

Aggie Block Party
Utah State recorded double-digit blocks in back-to-back matches against Arizona (11.0) and CSUN (15.0) over the weekend. The Aggies accomplished that feat just four times during the 2017 season.

Blocking Leader
Senior middle Lauren O'Brien has led the Aggies in blocking each of the past two seasons, totaling 108 as a junior and 105 as a sophomore.

Assist Leader
Senior setter Kassidy Johnson led Utah State in assists last season, totaling 777 and finishing third in the Mountain West with 10.36 per set. 

What the Aggies Bring Back
Utah State saw most of its attack depart through graduation last season, but returns its leader in digs in Tasia Taylor, blocks in Lauren O'Brien and assists in Kassidy Johnson. Also notable, Taylor finished second on the team in 2017 with 25 service aces. Below is the percentage that the Aggies return in 2018.

Kills: 23.2% (311/1,343)
Attempts: 21.4% (807/3,778)
Assists: 67.6% (873/1,291)
Aces: 40.8% (62/152)
Digs: 55.4% (883/1,593)
Blocks: 89.0% (222.0/249.5)

Tenured Helmsman
Head coach Grayson DuBose is the longest-tenured head coach in USU volleyball history, beginning his 13th year in 2018. Furthermore, DuBose is the second-longest tenured head coach in the Mountain West, second only to Tom Hilbert at Colorado State.

Leap Year of Aggie Volleyball
DuBose coached his 366th match with the Aggies when Utah State came away with a 3-2 victory over CSUN in the Hornet Invitational.

Father/Daughter
DuBose will have a unique opportunity this season as his daughter Cassandra DuBose is a freshman defensive specialist for the Aggies.

Wedding Bells are Ringing
Utah State had two players on its roster tie the knot during the offseason as Madi Olson-Shepherd was married in March, while Izzie Hinton-Belnap was married in May.

Summer in Europe
Utah State had two players that traveled with the Mountain West All-Stars during the summer of 2018 to the World Volleyball Challenge in Pula, Croatia. Senior libero Tasia Taylor and sophomore middle/outside Bailey Downing helped the team to a second-place finish at the event.

From Career Highs to Career Aggie
USU junior transfer Izzie Hinton-Belnap was a two-year starter at Utah Valley the past two seasons on the right side and logged a pair of career highs against the Aggies during her time as a Wolverine. Hinton-Belnap hit a career-high .556 (10-0-18) in a match against the Aggies as a freshman in 2016 and then tallied nine digs against Utah State during her sophomore year in 2017.

Homegrown Aggies
Six members of the Utah State roster are from the state of Utah, including senior Tasia Taylor (Taylorsville), redshirt junior Ally Packard (Bountiful), sophomores Madi Olson-Shepherd (Cedar Hills) and Gabbi Shumway (South Jordan), and freshmen Cassandra DuBose (Smithfield) and Corinne Larsen (Sandy).

Strong Aggie Ties Among Coaches
Both assistant coaches (Taubi Palmer and Sammi Stuart) are Utah State alums and played on the volleyball (2002-03) and women's basketball teams (2003-05), respectively. Stuart's mother, Cindy, was the women's basketball head coach at USU from 1978-1982.

Strong Aggie Ties Among Players
Freshman outside Whitney Solosabal's parents both graduated from Utah State and have ties to Aggie athletics. Whitney's father, Joe, played football at Utah State from (1997-2002), while her mother, Joni, was the manager for the softball team.

Home Sweet Home
Utah State has had a winning season at home in 11 of the 12 years under head coach Grayson DuBose.

Departed Senior Class
Utah State's 2017 senior class of Lauren Anderson, Rachel Gale-Hammond, Kayla DeCoursey and Carly Lenzen combined to play in more than 1,100 sets and totaled more than 1,700 kills, 1,100 digs, 650 blocks and close to 150 service aces over the course of their careers.

Follow Along
Fans can follow the Aggie volleyball program on Twitter @USUVolleyball, on Facebook at USUVolleyball or on Instagram at @usuvolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at @USUAthletics, on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on Instagram at @USUAthletics.