WEEKLY AGGIE UPDATE - NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Weekly Aggie Update
 
FOOTBALL          
Contact: Doug Hoffman - (435) 797-3714
 
Next Competition
TBA
• Utah State football (6-6, 5-3 MW) will play in its 10th bowl game in the past 12 seasons and 16th bowl in school history. All bowl matchups will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 4
 
Last Week
L, 23-42 --- at Boise State
• Junior quarterback Cooper Legas passed for a career-high 306 yards, while junior wide receiver Terrell Vaughn had a career-best 214 all-purpose yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in Utah State's 42-23 Mountain West loss at Boise State last weekend. After falling behind 21-0 in the second quarter, Utah State went on a 23-7 run to get within five points at 28-23 and had the ball at the BSU 15-yard line in the final two minutes of the game, but was unable to score. The Broncos then scored two touchdowns in a span of 38 seconds to close the game. Legas was 23-of-40 for 306 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions as he had career highs in completions, attempts and yards. Vaughn caught a career-high eight passes for a career-best 148 yards, including a career-long 75-yard touchdown. He also rushed for a career-high 22 yards on a career-best four carries and scored on a 3-yard run for his first-career rushing touchdown. Graduate senior running back Calvin Tyler Jr. rushed for 65 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown to give him 1,043 yards in his career, becoming just the 16th player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season for the 19th time. Graduate senior wide receiver Brian Cobbs added seven receptions for 75  yards, while senior wide receiver Justin McGriff had a career-high-tying six receptions for 76 yards. USU finished with 468 yards of total offense (306 passing, 162 rushing) – 40 more than Boise State (208 rushing, 220 passing) – and had nine more first downs (24-15). The Aggies also possessed the ball for more than 34 minutes on the day. Defensively, USU was paced by graduate senior safety Hunter Reynolds, who had 10 tackles, while senior inside linebacker AJ Vongphachanh had seven tackles. Junior defensive end Byron Vaughns added six tackles, including a career-best 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. 
 
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL       
Contact: Ashley Springer - (435) 797-5547 
 
Thur., Dec. 1 --- UTAH TECH, 7 p.m. (MWN)
Sun., Dec. 4 --- at San Francisco, 6:30 p.m. (MT) (WCC Network)
• Utah State men's basketball (5-0, 0-0 MW) continues its 2022-23 season this week with a pair of games as it hosts Utah Tech (3-4) on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m., before playing at San Francisco (6-1) on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 6:30 p.m. (MT). It will be the first meeting between the Aggies and Trailblazers, while the Dons lead the Aggies 8-3 all-time in series history. The game against Utah Tech will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network and available at www.utahstateaggies.com/watch, while the game against USF will be streamed live on the West Coast Conference Network.
 
Last Week
W, 95-85 --- ORAL ROBERTS
• Utah State posted a 95-85 home win against Oral Roberts last week. Five Aggies scored in double figures as junior guard Steven Ashworth had a career-high 30 points, graduate forward Taylor Funk had 18 points, graduate forward Dan Akin scored 12 points, senior guard Rylan Jones had 10 points and junior guard Max Shulga also had 10 points. Shulga also logged his first career double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds. Overall, USU shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field, 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from behind the arc and 78.3 percent (18-of-23) at the free throw line, while ORU shot 46.2 percent (30-of-65) from the floor, 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from behind the 3-point line and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) at the free throw line. 
 
 
VOLLEYBALL      
Contact: Ashley Springer - (435) 797-5547 
 
This Week
2022 NCAA Tournament, Eugene, Oregon
Fri., Dec. 2 --- vs. Arkansas, 5 p.m. (MT)
Sat., Dec. 3 --- vs. Loyola Marymount/Oregon, 8 p.m. (MT)
• Utah State volleyball (22-10, 11-7 MW) will make its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance all-time when it takes on sixth-seeded Arkansas (20-8, 11-7 SEC) on Friday, Dec. 2, at 5 p.m. (MT), in Eugene, Oregon. Overall, the Aggies have appeared in four NCAA Tournaments (2010, 2005, 2001, 2002), holding a 2-4 record. The Aggies and Razorbacks have met five times in program history, with Arkansas leading the all-time series 4-1. If USU wins, it will take on the winner of the Loyola Marymount vs. Oregon matchup on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 8 p.m. (MT). All-time, the Aggies are 2-3 against Lions and 3-5 against the Ducks.
 
Last Week
2022 Mountain West Tournament, Fort Collins, Colorado
W, 3-0 --- vs. #5 New Mexico
W, 3-0 --- vs. #1 UNLV
W, 3-1 --- vs. #2 San José State
• Utah State won its first-ever Mountain West Tournament Championship after sweeping both No. 5 New Mexico and No. 1 UNLV, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before defeating No. 2 San Josè State 3-1 in the championship match. Against the Lobos, USU hit .293 (46-17-of-99), while UNM hit .132 (28-14-106). A trio of Aggies hit over .400 in the match as senior outside hitter Shelby Capllonch had a match-high 18 kills, hitting .424. Junior outside hitter Tatum Stall had 11 kills, hitting .409 and senior middle blocker Kennedi Boyd hit .545 with seven kills. Sophomore setter Beatriz Rodrigues had a match-high 22 assists, followed by freshman setter Leah Wilton-LaBoy with 20. Five Aggies served an ace in the match, led by Capllonch with three. Defensively, redshirt sophomore libero Jordi Holdaway led the way with 12 digs, while Boyd and graduate middle blocker Myrthe Maring led the squad with two blocks each. Against the Rebels, USU hit .305 (48-16-105), while holding UNLV to a .178 (36-18-101) mark. Capllonch had a match-high-tying 13 kills, while hitting .423 against her former team. Sophomore opposite side hitter Adna Mehmedovic added 11 kills, while Boyd hit .615 (8-0-13). Wilton-LaBoy led the squad with 23 assists, followed closely by Rodrigues with 22. Wilton-LaBoy, along with Stall, led USU with two service aces. Defensively, Maring led the Aggies with six blocks, while Holdaway led with 12 digs. Against the Spartans, USU hit .274 (58-21-135), while SJSU hit .106 (43-28-142). Stall led the way with a match-high 17 kills, hitting .342, while Mehmedovic added 13 kills, hitting .348. Maring hit a season-high .800 with a season-best eight kills. Wilton-LaBoy had a match-high 21 assists, while Rodrigues logged 18. Holdaway had nine assists to go along with a match-best 12 digs. Defensively, Boyd and senior opposite Kylee Stokes each recorded a match-high six blocks.
 
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL               
Contact: Ajay Salvesen - (435) 797-2066 
 
This Week
Thur., Dec. 1 --- at Weber State, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sat., Dec. 3 --- UTAH VALLEY, 2 p.m. (MWN)
• Utah State's women's basketball (1-5, 0-0 MW) continues its 2022-23 season this week as it plays at Weber State (3-3) on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m., and hosts Utah Valley (1-4) on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 2 p.m. USU is 16-23 all-time against the Wildcats and 9-6 all-time against the Wolverines. USU's road game at Weber State is available via ESPN+, while all home games will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network and available at www.utahstateaggies.com/watch. 
 
Last Week
L, 55-80 --- BALL STATE
L, 48-79 --- at USC
• Utah State posted an 0-2 record last week with an 80-55 home loss to Ball State and a 79-48 loss at USC. Against the Cardinals, graduate guard Mayson Kimball led USU with 21 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while junior guard Olivia Wikstrom added 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. For the game, USU shot 32.1 percent (18-of-56) from the field, including 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from 3-point range, and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the free throw line. BSU shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the field, 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from the arc, and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) at the free throw line. Against the Trojans, junior guard Tamiah Robinson led the Aggies with a season-high 16 points and four assists, while fellow junior guard Olivia Wikstrom added 12 points and three steals. USU shot 31.7 percent (20-of-63) from the field, 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from the arc, and 75.0 percent (3-of-4) from the free throw line. USC shot 55.8 percent (29-of-52) from the field, 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from three, and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the charity stripe.