BACK IN ACTION
Utah State volleyball (12-6, 4-2 MW) continues its 2021 season this week with a pair of Mountain West home matches as it hosts UNLV (14-3, 5-1 MW) on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m., and San Diego State (5-13, 2-4) on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m. Both of this week's matches will be played in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both of this week's matches will be streamed live and for free via the Mountain West Network. Live stats will also be provided for both contests. Links to all options will be posted on the team's social media pages, and are all listed on the Utah State Athletics website.
AGGIE ACES
Utah State senior middle blocker Corinne Larsen tied the single-match service ace record in a four-set match with six in the Oct. 9 match at Air Force. She tied the record previously set by Amanda Nielson who tallied six aces against Eastern Washington on Aug. 25, 2007. Larsen's six aces are the most by an Aggie since Hannah Gleason had seven in a match on Sept. 8, 2016, the most in a three-set match in school history.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
Junior middle blocker Kennedi Boyd became the second Utah State player to set a program hitting record this season. In the Oct. 9 match at Air Force, Boyd hit .813, recording 13 kills with no errors on 16 attempts. The .813 hitting percentage matches the program record for 15-19 attempts set by Josselyn White on Oct. 27, 2012, against Louisiana Tech.
Boyd joins redshirt sophomore outside hitter Hailey Cuff in the record book, as Cuff hit a fiery .846 in the Aug. 28 win over Seton Hall. With her 11 kills on 13 attempts, Cuff set a program record for the best hitting percentage in a single match with 10-14 attempts.
LEADING THE LEAGUE
Junior middle blocker Kennedi Boyd is currently leading the Mountain West in individual hitting percentage. Hitting .408 (147-31-284), Boyd holds the first-place spot, with the second-place hitter attacking .395 (92-20-185). Senior middle Corinne Larsen is sitting at No. 5 in the league, hitting .360 (110-25-236). Additionally, Boyd is ranked 27th among all Division I players.
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Senior middle blocker Corinne Larsen is currently ranked fourth all-time in Utah State history with 381 total blocks and fifth in block assists with 349. She can move up to take the fourth-place spot on the block assists list with four more.
AGGIES VS. REBELS
Utah State is 4-12 all-time against UNLV, including a 2-6 record in Logan. The Aggies and Rebels played just three times prior to USU joining the Mountain West in 2013. Last season, the two teams played two matches in Logan, with the Rebels winning both, 3-0 and 3-1.
AGGIES VS. AZTECS
Utah State is 8-17-1 all-time against San Diego State, including a 3-4 home record. The two teams split the series in San Diego last season, as the Aggies swept the first match before falling in five sets in the second. The win marked USU's first-ever win in San Diego.
REUNITED IN LOGAN
Utah State junior middle blocker Kennedi Boyd will see a familiar face across the net Saturday. She and San Diego State senior setter Noa Miller both transfered to their current schools from Arizona State. The two played together in 2019, helping the Sun Devils to a 17-14 record.
HITTING INTO THE RECORD BOOK
Utah State hit .356 (57-9-135) in the Sept. 15 win at Southern Utah, setting the program record for hitting percentage in a four-set match. The new best surpasses the previous record of .347 (60-17-124) set in a match at Idaho on Oct. 6, 2010.
CORINNE FROM THE BLOCK
With her five solo blocks at San Francisco (Sept. 10), senior middle blocker Corinne Larsen set a program record for solo blocks in a three-set match. Her five individual blocks are the most by a Utah State player since Marie Motil recorded six in a contest at UC Irvine on Sept. 21, 1993.
CATCHING FIRE
Utah State hit .366 (49-15-93) as a team against Seton Hall, marking the first time an Aggie team has hit .300 or higher since the 2016 season. USU has now hit above .300 in four matches this season, hitting .356 (57-9-135) at Southern Utah, .350 (45-9-103) against San José State and .322 (54-16-118) at Air Force.
USU has hit above .200 in 13 of 18 matches this season. The Aggies have not hit that well in that many contests since the 2017 campaign. Overall, Utah State is hitting .239 (922-360-2354) on the year.
RECORD-BREAKING (DELAYED) DEBUT
Though in his second season, USU head coach Rob Neilson coached his first non-conference slate this year. The 8-4 (.667) non-conference ledger this season marks the best record by a Utah State head coach in their debut season. Prior to this season, the best non-conference record by a first-year head coach came in 1976, the first year of the Utah State program, when co-head coaches Marilyn McReavy and Mary Jo Peppler went 9-6 (.600).
UP NEXT
Utah State will split a pair of matches next week, playing one on the road and one at home. The Aggies will play at Boise State on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. The team will then host Fresno State on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m.
