BACK IN ACTION
Utah State volleyball (6-3, 0-0 MW) wraps up non-conference play this week by facing a pair of in-state rivals. First, USU plays at Utah Valley (3-5) on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m., in a game broadcast on ESPN+. USU then hosts No. 12 BYU (8-1) on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m., in a game broadcast via the Mountain West Network and available at www.utahstateaggies.com.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The match at Utah Valley will be broadcast on ESPN+, while the BYU match will be on the Mountain West Network. Live stats will be available via Sidearm and StatBroadcast. Links to all options will be posted on the team's social media pages and listed on the Utah State Athletics website.
 
AGGIES VS RANKED OPPONENTS 
BYU will be  the second Top 25 opponent USU has faced this season as Utah State opened its campaign by facing then-No. 5 Nebraska. Utah State defeated No. 12 UCLA at the 2022 season-opening Utah State Invitational as the Aggies earned a 3-1 home victory on Aug. 26, 2022. Prior to the win over the Bruins, USU's last win over a ranked opponent was a 3-0 victory over No. 3 Hawai'i to win the WAC Tournament Championship on Nov. 24, 2010.
 
AGGIES IN THE POLL
Utah State has received votes in the AVCA coaches poll for two-straight weeks, earning 11 votes on Sept. 4, and eight on Sept. 11.
 
AGGIE BLOCK PARTY

• Utah State ranks 20th in the nation in total blocks with 88.0 this season, averaging 2.75 blocks per set to rank 22nd nationally. 
• USU is holding its opponents to a .157 hitting percentage to rank 45th in the nation.
• Three Aggies rank in the top 10 in the Mountain West in blocks as senior middle blocker Kelsey Watson is third with 1.26 blocks per set, graduate middle Kennedi Boyd ranks sixth with 1.16 per set and junior opposite side hitter Adna Mehmedovic is ninth with 1.06 per set.

 
WELCOME TO CLUB ESTES

• Utah State has won 22 of its last 25 matches at home and is 26-4 in the last 30 matches played in Logan.
• USU sold out the Estes in its match against Utah with 1,488 fans in attendance on Aug. 30. It was the first time Utah State has sold out the Estes since its match against Utah on Sept. 1, 2015.
• The Aggies drew 1,000-plus fans in six matches last season, including 1,716 fans when Utah State hosted Colorado State for Spectrum Magic Night inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Oct. 22, 2022. The CSU match was the highest attended home USU volleyball match since the Aggies sold out the Estes against Utah on Sept. 1, 2015. 

 
EXTRA, EXTRA

• Utah State is 4-0 this season in matches that go past three sets, defeating SMU, Lipscomb and Weber State 3-1, while posting a 3-2 victory against LMU.
• Utah State was 12-6 last season in matches that go past three sets, posting 3-1 victories over No. 12 UCLA (Aug. 26), Cal Poly (Aug. 26), Portland State (Sept. 9), Fresno State (Oct. 8), Wyoming (Oct. 20), Boise State (Oct. 25), San Diego State (Nov. 5) and against San José State in the MW Championship (Nov. 25), and 3-2 wins against Utah Valley (Sept. 13), Weber State (Sept. 17), Air Force (Sept. 22), Boise State (Oct. 11) and San José State (Nov. 10).

 
STAYING NEUTRAL

• Utah State is 3-1 this season in neutral-site matches, defeating UNI 3-0 and both SMU and Lipscomb 3-1.
• Utah State was 6-2 last season in neutral-site matches and has won each of its last six contests on a neutral court. USU first lost to then-No. 10 Pittsburgh 3-0, before defeating Cincinnati (3-0), Portland State (3-1), Portland (3-0), New Mexico (3-0), UNLV (3-0) and San José State (3-1). Furthermore, in their six neutral-site victories, the Aggies dropped just one set, going 18-2 in the stretch. 

 
1,000 CLUB

• Graduate outside hitter Shelby Capllonch surpassed 1,000 career kills after logging eight against Utah (Aug. 30). She currently has 1,041 career hammers. Capllonch joined the 1,000 career dig club last season as she currently has recorded 1,416 in her collegiate career.
• Senior outside hitter Tatum Stall is nearing 1,000 career kills as she currently has 913.
• Graduate outside hitter Jill Schneggenburger is nearing 1,000 career digs as she is currently at 836. 

 
HITTING THE MARK
The Aggies had their best offensive performance of the season in their 3-0 victory aginst UNI (Sept. 9) as USU hit a season-best .293 (37-10-92). The effort was led by senior middle blocker Kelsey Watson who hit a career-best .750 (6-0-8), along with sophomore opposite side hitter Kaylie Ray with a career-high .636 (7-0-11).
 
COLLECTING THE AWARDS
Two Aggies have earned America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week accolades this season as graduate outside hitter Shelby Capllonch earned the first honor of the 2023-24 campaign on Aug. 28, while junior opposite side hitter Adna Mehmedovic followed suit earning the honor the following week on Sept. 4.
 
AT THE PEAK
Utah State was picked tied for first in the annual Mountain West preseason coaches poll, while seniors outside hitter Tatum Stall and libero Jordi Holdaway earned a spot on the all-MW Preseason Team.
 
Rob Neilson is in his fourth season at the helm of the program after leading the Aggies to back-to-back Mountain West championship titles. In 2022, USU won its first-ever Mountain West Tournament Championship and made its 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. 
 
MOUNTAIN PEAK 
Utah State dropped just one set in its run at the 2022 Mountain West Volleyball Championships as USU won its first conference tournament since winning the 2010 WAC Championship. The fourth-seeded Aggies swept both No. 5 New Mexico and No. 1 UNLV before defeating No. 2 San Josè State 3-1 in the championship match. Four Aggies were named to the all-tournament team in outside hitter Shelby Capllonch (MVP), senior middle blocker Kennedi Boyd, outside Tatum Stall and opposite side hitter Adna Mehmedovic. Prior to the championship run, Boyd and Stall were each named all-Mountain West. 
 
MOUNTAIN PEAK - PART II
With wins over Colorado State and Wyoming to close the 2021 regular season, the Aggies clinched a share of the Mountain West regular season title for the first time in program history. USU has won seven regular season conference titles in program history, including the WAC in 2012 and five consecutive titles in the Intermountain Athletic Conference from 1977 through 1981. 
 
CAPLLONCH NAMED MVP
Outside hitter Shelby Capllonch was named the Mountain West Tournament MVP after leading the Aggies to their first MW Tournament title with wins against fifth-seeded New Mexico (3-0) in the quarterfinals, top-seeded UNLV (3-0) in the semifinals and second-seeded San José State (3-1) in the championship match. Against the Lobos, the native of Honolulu, Hawaii,  hit .424 (18-4-33) with 18 kills, while adding eight digs, three service aces and one block. Against the Rebels, she hit .423 (13-2-26) with 13 kills, while adding five digs, one service ace and one assist. And against the Spartans, she had eight kills and eight digs, while adding one assist. For the week, Capllonch hit .303 (39-12-89) and averaged 3.90 kills per set. She also recorded 21 digs, four service aces, two assists and one block, and averaged 4.35 points per set.
 
BACK-TO-BACK 20 WIN SEASONS
Utah State logged 22 wins in both its 2022 and 2021 campaigns, marking USU's first back-to-back 20-win seasons since the 2012 and 2013 campaigns. Furthermore, the 22 wins last season mark the 14th time in program history the Aggies have crossed the 20-win plateau.
 
FAMILIAR FACES
Utah State returns nine letterwinners, including five starters and its starting libero. The Aggie returning starters include graduate middle blocker Kennedi Boyd, graduate outside hitter Shelby Capllonch, senior outside Tatum Stall, senior libero Jordi Holdaway, sophomore middle Bella Wooden and sophomore setter Leah Wilton-LaBoy.
 
The Aggies also return senior middle Inka Mehtola, junior outside Adna Mehmedovic, junior setter Beatriz Rodrigues, junior opposite side hitter Katie Swensen and sophomore outside Kaylie Ray from its 2022 roster.
 
WELCOME TO THE FAM
Utah State welcomes six newcomers to the 2023 squad, including graduate outside Jill Schneggenburger, a Colorado transfer, senior middle Kelsey Watson, a Loyola Chicago transfer, and four freshmen in setter Kaylin Scott and liberos/defensive specialists Kendel Hone, Rachel Reed and Kambree Rodriguez. 
 
INTERNATIONAL CONNECTION
Utah State has two international players on its 2023 roster in senior middle blocker Inka Mehtola (Raahe, Finland) and junior setter Beatriz Rodrigues (Lisbon, Portugal).
 
WEDDING BELLS RINGING 
Junior opposite side hitter Katie Swensen married her husband, Preston, in December, 2022.  Senior outside hitter Tatum Stall is engaged to current USU quarterback Levi Williams.
 
ALL IN THE FAMILY 
Sophomore setter Leah Wilton-LaBoy is the granddaughter of USU volunteer assistant coach Mike Wilton. Her mother, Melissa, played volleyball for the Aggies in 2001, while her uncle, Travis, was a member of the USU football team. However, Wilton-LaBoy isn't the only Aggie with familial connections to USU. Senior outside hitter Tatum Stall's brother, Klay, played on the men's basketball team from 2017-20, and sophomore outside hitter Kaylie Ray's father, Brennan, was on the men's basketball roster from 1999-2002.
 
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