BACK IN ACTION
Utah State volleyball (14-6, 6-2 MW) continues its 2021 season this week with a pair of Mountain West matches. The Aggies will play at Boise State (15-5, 4-4 MW) on Tuesday, Oct. 19, then host Fresno State (7-8, 3-4 MW) on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m.
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.
BEST OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Sophomore libero Abby Peterson was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending Oct. 17. In USU's wins over UNLV and San Diego State, Peterson recorded a team-high 34 digs, averaging 4.25 per set. Against the Rebels, she led the team with 18 digs, while adding a career-high five service aces. She closed the week with 16 digs against the Aztecs. Peterson is the first USU player to earn MW weekly accolades since Sept. 18, 2017, when Tasia Taylor earned Defensive Player of the Week honors.
LEADING THE LEAGUE
Junior middle blocker Kennedi Boyd is currently leading the Mountain West in individual hitting percentage. Hitting .423 (168-34-317), Boyd holds the first-place spot, with the second-place hitter attacking .388 (113-19-342). Additionally, Boyd is ranked 15th among all Division I players.
HAPPY AT HOME
Utah State is 8-2 in games played in Logan this season. The eight wins are the most home victories since 2016, when the Aggies went 8-5 in their home gym.
GOING FIVE
Utah State has played seven matches that have gone to five sets this season. The Aggies are 3-4 in five-set matches. The seven are the most since 2018, when USU went 3-7 in five-set contests.
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Senior middle blocker Corinne Larsen is currently ranked fourth in both block assists and total blocks, as she has tallied 358 block assists and 390 total blocks. Larsen needs 14 additional block assists and 19 total blocks to move up to third place.
AGGIES VS. BRONCOS
All-time, Utah State is 18-28 against Boise State. The Broncos have won the last six meetings, dating back to the 2017 season. USU's last win in Boise came in a four-set victory in 2013. The Broncos swept the Aggies in both contests of the spring 2021 season.
AGGIES VS. BULLDOGS
USU is 16-20 all-time against Fresno State, with a 10-5 record in matches played at home. The Aggies and Bulldogs split their two-match series last spring, with USU's win snapping a six-match win streak for Fresno State.
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.
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.
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
The second half of the Mountain West season picks up next week, as the Aggies start repeat matches against league opponents. USU will play at San Diego State on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m. (MT), then at UNLV on Saturday, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m.
