LOGAN, Utah – Utah State volleyball head coach Rob Neilson announced the signing of eight players to the 2024 roster on Wednesday.

The incoming freshmen include Sophie Danielson (Auburn, Washington/Auburn Riverside High School), Loryn Helgesen (Layton, Utah/Davis High School), Kaylie Kofe (Idaho Falls, Idaho/Bonneville High School), Lauren Larkin (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills High School), Delaney Lawson (Fort Wayne, Indiana/Bellmont High School), Kate Lijić (Split, Croatia/5th Gymnasium Vladimir Nabor), Ava Napierski (Provo, Utah/Orem High School) and Emersyn Robbins (Fairfield, Illinois/Fairfield Community High School).

"We are so excited about our 2024 class," Neilson said. "They are great volleyball players, great athletes, bring high-level experience, and, most importantly, are really great people. We have a solid mix of athletes from the intermountain region, mixed with others from around the country and world. We can't wait to get them here to start training with this next wave of outstanding Aggie volleyballers. The HURD and our volleyball community will absolutely love cheering for these strong, tough, ambitious, skilled, powerful, disciplined and amazing women."

Danielson, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, was a four-year letterwinner at Auburn (Washington) Riverside High School. During her senior season, she has logged 136 kills, 54 digs, 11 service aces and seven blocks. She was first-team all-league as a junior in 2022 and was second team as a sophomore in 2021. She helped lead Auburn Riverside HS to league titles all four years of her career, while placing second at districts in 2021 and fourth in state in 2021. She is also a two-year letterwinner in track & field. Danielson played club volleyball with Dakine, helping lead the team to a first-place finish at the St. Louis Tournament.

Helgesen, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter/opposite, prepped at Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah, where she hit .300 during her senior season. She has also logged 305 kills, 148 digs, 40 blocks, 19 aces and four assists this season. For her career, she is hitting .328 with 642 kills, 206 digs, 174 blocks and 81 aces. Helgesen earned first-team all-region as a junior. She played club volleyball with Club V, helping the team win the Big South Tournament this year.

Kofe, a 5-foot-6 setter, was a four-year lettwinner at Bonneville High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho. She leads the state of Idaho with 1,159 assists during her senior year, while ranking second in the state with 104 aces. She has also added 389 digs, 232 kills and 65 blocks. Kofe has led Idaho in assists in all four years of her high school career with 1,080 as a junior, 1,145 as a sophomore and 1,091 as a freshman. Kofe was the 2022 Player of the Year in her conference, while earning first-team all-state honors as a junior and a sophomore. She was first-team all-conference as a sophomore and second-team all-conference as a junior. Kofe was also a three-year letterwinner in basketball. She played club volleyball with Bonneville for 12 years.

Larkin, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, prepped at Desert Hills High School in St. George, Utah. She was named a 2023 AVCA Girls High School all-Region recipient, hitting .484 and logging 2.1 blocks per match during the campaign. Larkin played club volleyball for RR Heat, hitting .398 in 2021 and .413 in 2022. 

Lawson, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, was a four-year letterwinner at Bellmont High School in Decatur, Indiana. As a senior, she's logged 412 kills. She's totaled 1,374 kills in her high school career, including 433 as a junior, 330 as a sophomore and 199 as a freshman. She's a two-time all-state and all-conference honoree. Lawson helped lead Bellmont HS to a pair of state runner-up finishes. She played club volleyball for Munciana where she was a 16 year All-American. She helped lead Munciana to a AAU 18 national title in 2023, while the team was the national runner up at 14.

Lijić, a 6-foot setter, prepped at 5th Gymnasium Vladimir Nabor in Split, Croatia. She led the Croatian U-19 National Team to a fifth-place finish at the 2023 World Championships. She helped lead the team to a pair of gold medals at the Croatian high school championships in 2022 and 2023, place seventh at the world high school championships in Brazil in 2022 and finish fourth at the world high school beach volleyball championships in Israel in 2023. Lijić played club volleyball for Split for 10 years. She was named the Best Setter at the 2022 and 2023 Croatian U20 championships, the 2021 and 2022 Croatian U18 championships and the 2020 Croatian U16 champions. She helped lead the team to first-place finishes at the Croatian U16 championship in 2020, U18 in 2021 and 2022, and U20 in 2022 and 2023. Lijić helped the team earn a silver medal at the U16 championship in 2018. As part of the Croatian national team, she was a part of the U19 squad who earned bronze at the Middle European Championship in 2021 and the U17 team who earned silver in 2020. At the 2022 European Championship, the team placed sixth, and EYOI in 2023. 

Napierski, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker, prepped at Orem (Utah) High School. As a senior, she has logged 218 kills, 43 blocks, 29 digs, 15 aces and seven assists, while earning seven Player of the Match honors. Napierski is a three-time state champion, earning two titles with Timpview HS (2020 and 2022) and one with Orem HS (2023). Her high school teams have been region champs in all four years of her career. Napierski played club volleyball with Club V, where she was named all-tournament at the 2021 Nationals. She helped Club V earn the national title in 2021 in the U15 American Division. Club V was the 2023 Big South Champions and played in the open division nationals in 2022 and 2023.

Robbins, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, was a four-year letterwinner at Fairfield (Illinois) High School. As a senior, she logged 617 kills, hitting .375, while adding 333 digs, 40 aces and 33 blocks. For her career, Robbins totaled 1,878 kills, hitting .346, while adding 864 digs, 135 aces and 121 blocks. The 1,878 kills rank second in Illinois High School Association history. Robbins was a two-time Southern Illinois Player of the Year (2022 and 2023) and was named IVCA first-team all-state. She ranked sixth in IHSA history for kills in a season and tied for 13th in IHSA history for kills in a single match (31). She also was a four-year track letterwinner. Robbins played club volleyball at Evansville United where she was named to both the JVA Ultra Ankle and AVCA Phenom Watchlists twice, and she was a member of the SPVB all-tournament team. Robbins helped Evansville United be a two-time Cincinnati Grand Prix champion, as well as a USAV qualifier.

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