BACK IN ACTION
Utah State volleyball (19-7, 11-3 MW) returns to the road this week for a pair of crucial Mountain West matches. The Aggies travel to face San Jose State on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 5 p.m., before taking on Nevada on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 2 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.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Both matches will be the second time Utah State has faced San Jose State and Nevada this season after playing both at home earlier in the year. Against the Wolfpack on Sept. 30, the Aggies picked up the 3-1 victory. In their next match on Oct. 2, USU swept the Spartans, 3-0.
HIGH MARKS
Now deep into the season, the Aggies are starting to match and surpass some of the high-water marks of some of the best Utah State volleyball seasons. The 19 overall wins and 11 conference wins are the most in a season since 2013. USU's 10 home wins are the tied with that 2013 season for the fourth-most in Utah State history and the most since 1982. Additionally, USU's seven sweeps this season are the most in a season since recording 10 sweeps in 2013. The Aggies are also on pace to set a new program-record for hitting percentage having hit .240 to this point, which would top the all-time record of .238 set in 2016.
INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
With 113 total blocks this season, senior Corinne Larsen now has 419 blocks in her career, placing her third all-time at Utah State. Larsen would need another 58 blocks to tie Denae Mohlman (477) for second place. Larsen's 113 blocks this season are the second-most in the Mountain West and are tied for the 27th most nationally.
ROAD WARRIORS
Utah State is 8-4 in true road games this season. The eight wins are tied with for the fourth-most in program history and are the most since winning nine road games in 2010.
GOING FIVE
Utah State has played nine matches that have gone to five sets this season. The Aggies are 5-4 in five-set matches. The nine are the most since 2018, when USU went 3-7 in five-set contests.
NATIONAL TREASURE
Utah State currently ranks in the top 50 in the nation of several team statistics. The Aggies rank 30th in total assists (1,218), 28th in total kills (1,326), 45th in total service aces (158) and 18th in total blocks (243.5).
AGGIES VS. SPARTANS
All-time, Utah State is 23-22-1 versus San Jose State, including a 9-12 mark on the road. The Aggies have won 11 of the past 14 contests, including three of the last four. USU's last loss in the series came via a 3-0 defeat in San Jose on Nov. 2, 2019.
AGGIES VS. WOLFPACK
USU is 24-25 all-time versus Nevada, but only 5-17 in Reno. Utah State has won the past two meetings in the series, both at home. The Aggies' last victory at Nevada came in a 3-2 win on Sept. 22, 2016.
LAST WEEK'S CAREER HIGHS
Several Aggies set new career highs in last week's matches. Freshman Beatriz Rodrigues set new career highs with 15 digs versus Air Force and with 29 assists versus New Mexico. Senior Kristy Frank matched her career high of two service aces versus New Mexico, her seventh time with two aces in her career. Sophomore Inka Mehtola set new marks for kills (5) and hitting percentage (.571) versus Air Force. Mehtola also set a new career high with 10 total attempts while tying her previous mark of two digs versus New Mexico.
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
After Utah State's two-game road trip at San Jose State and Nevada, the Aggies will return home for their final two regular season matches of the season. The Aggies will play host to league-leading Colorado State on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. before celebrating Senior Day versus Wyoming on Saturday, Nov. 20, at noon.
