BACK IN ACTION
Utah State volleyball (2-20, 2-8 MW) continues its 2019 season this week with a pair of Mountain West road matches, playing at Nevada (14-8, 4-6 MW) on Thursday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. (MT), and at San José State (7-14, 2-8 MW) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 3 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
All 2019 Mountain West matches, along with all of Utah State's home matches, will be broadcast as a USU Athletics Production on the Mountain West Network. All video feeds will be available live and in archive form at utahstateaggies.com/watch. Live stats will also be provided by SIDEARM for all home games, while road contests will also have live stats available. Links to each option will be available online prior to every match. In-match updates will also be provided through the team's social media outlets.
HIS OLD SAN JOSE HOME
With the trip to San José State this weekend, Utah State assistant coach Craig Choate returns to his former school. Choate was the head coach at SJSU from 1993-2006, where he posted an overall record of 244-191. He is both the longest-tenured and winningest head coach at San José State. Saturday is SJSU's Alumni Day, and the program will recognize Choate before the match.
ROUND II
This week marks the start of the second half of the conference season. At the midpoint of league play, Colorado State leads the way with a perfect 10-0 record. The Aggies are currently tied with San José State for ninth place, with New Mexico rounding out the standings. Both of Utah State's wins this season have come in conference play, against the Spartans and Lobos.
LONGTIME FOES
The series with the Spartans and the Wolf Pack both date back to the early years of USU volleyball. The Aggies have met Nevada on the court since 1978, while the San José State series goes back to 1979. Additionally, the three teams have overlapped in three conferences. Utah State played in the Big West with the Spartans from 1990-95 and the Wolf Pack from 1992-99. All three teams moved to the WAC in 1995, playing together there until Nevada left for the Mountain West prior to the 2012 season. USU and SJSU followed the Wolf Pack, moving to the MW in 2013.
AGGIES FROM THE BLOCK
Utah State continues to be a strong blocking team, averaging 2.48 blocks per set this season. In all, the Aggies have tallied 201 blocks, ranking third in the Mountain West and 35th among all NCAA teams. Junior opposite side hitter Bailey Downing leads the team with 89 blocks on the season, while sophomore middle blocker Autumn Spafford averages a team-high 1.24 per set.
COMEBACK KIDS
Both of Utah State's 2019 wins have been reverse sweeps. The Aggies started down 0-2 against San José State and at New Mexico before coming back to win the five-set matches.
IT'S A RECORD, YOU DIG?
Freshman libero Grace DuBay is the new record holder for digs in a three-set match, tallying 27 in the Sept. 21 match at Weber State. Her total surpasses the previous three-set best of 25 by Tasia Taylor against UNLV in 2017.
DOUBLED UP
Utah State players have recorded 10 double-doubles this season. Senior setter Heidi Carpenter leads the team with six, as she had a double-double in each of the first three matches of the season, as well as in three conference contests. Sophomore outside hitter Whitney Solosabal (Eastern Michigan - 11 kills, 10 digs), freshman outside hitter Madi Brunatti (Portland - 12 kills, 14 digs) and freshman outside hitter Hailey Cuff (Air Force - 16 kills, 12 digs) have each had one double-double. Freshman setter Kalena Vaivai also had a double-double against the Lobos, recording 21 assists and 11 digs.
BLOCKING OUT THE HATERS
As a team, Utah State tallied 22 total blocks in the home win over San José State. With 40 block assists, the Aggies set a program record for block assists in a match. The new best topped a 32-year-old record, when USU recorded 39 block assists against Utah on Nov. 7, 1987. Sophomore middle blocker Autumn Spafford led the team with 12 blocks, the most by an Aggie in a single match this season. The 22 blocks are the most by an Aggie team in a single match since 2014, when the team also put up 22 in a five-set loss at Fresno State. The team single-match block record is 34, set at UNLV in 1984.
CALLING ON KELEE
Junior middle blocker Kelee Call saw her first significant action of the season and her USU career in the home match against Wyoming. Against the Cowgirls, Call led the Aggies in blocks, tallying eight block assists. She also recorded two kills on three attempts and added three digs in the five-set loss.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah State posted an 0-2 Mountain West road record last week with a pair of 3-0 losses at Fresno State and at San Diego State. Against the Bulldogs, the Aggies hit .059 (21-17-68), while Fresno State hit .232 (42-19-99). USU was led by junior opposite side hitter Bailey Downing, who hit .333 (6-2-12), while adding five blocks. Against the Aztecs, the Aggies hit .223 (31-10-94) to SDSU's .240 (46-21-104). Sophomore middle blocker Corrine Larsen led the attack at .429 (7-1-14) and tallied six blocks.
UP NEXT
The Aggies return home next week for a pair of Mountain West matches. Utah State will host New Mexico on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m., then welcome UNLV for a 1 p.m. match on Saturday, Nov. 9.
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.
