LOGAN, Utah - Utah State head volleyball coach Rob Neilson announced the promotion of Chloe Hirst to associate head coach on Monday.
 
"Chloe has been invaluable to our program during our three years here," Neilson said. "As the recruiting coordinator, she has changed the narrative about Aggie volleyball throughout the country. As a mentor of young people, she has created rich relationships with our athletes. She is a great coach and a great friend. We are thrilled to keep her in Logan for the great things that are coming. We are still on the rise."
 
Hirst is entering her fourth season with USU after joining the program in February, 2020. She has helped lead the Aggies to a pair of Mountain West championships and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a decade.
 
During the 2022 campaign, Hirst helped lead Utah State to its first-ever Mountain West Tournament Championship and first NCAA Tournament berth since 2010, and just the program's fifth-ever appearance. The Aggies finished the campaign with a 22-11 overall record which was the first time USU has recorded at least 22 wins in back-to-back seasons since 1982.
 
Prior to the start of the 2022 season, Hirst was named a 2022 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 award winner. The awards program, created in 2009, honors up-and-coming coaches at all levels of volleyball — college, high school and club — and the recipients serve in a range of roles, from head coach to volunteer assistant to club director. Nominees had to be younger than 30 years old in 2021 to qualify for the award.
 
In 2021, Hirst helped lead the Aggies to a share of the Mountain West regular season title. USU finished the year with a 22-9 record, the most wins since 2010. Utah State posted 14 MW wins, the most since 2012, and 12 home victories, the most since 1979.
 
Playing a condensed spring season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Aggies posted a 5-10 record in the first year under the new coaching staff.
 
Prior to joining the Utah State staff, Hirst worked as the director of volleyball operations at two in-state schools. She spent the 2019 season at Utah and the 2018 campaign at Weber State. At Utah, she held the same position for both the indoor and beach volleyball teams. In her operations roles, Hirst served as day-to-day support for each coaching staff, while running the statistics and scouting programs in practices and matches. She also helped coordinate special events at Weber State and oversaw team travel at Utah.
 
Hirst's previous coaching experience came at the club level, where she served as a head coach with Club V. She has also worked as a lead court coach for volleyball camps at Idaho State, Weber State and Utah. As a player, Hirst competed at Idaho State from 2013-17. She earned all-Big Sky honors as a junior and senior, and was on the all-academic team each year of her career. An outside hitter, Hirst finished her career with 1,110 kills, which ranks 11th all-time at ISU.
 
Hirst graduated from Idaho State with both her bachelor's (2016) and master's degrees in physical education (2017). A local product, Hirst grew up in Bountiful, Utah, where she prepped at Woods Cross High School.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie volleyball program on Twitter, @USUVolleyball, on Facebook at /USUVolleyball or on Instagram, @usuvolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
 
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