LOGAN, Utah – Utah State volleyball concludes its regular season with a pair of road matches at Wyoming on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 6:30 p.m., before taking on league-leading Colorado State on Saturday, Nov. 23, at noon.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
All Mountain West matches will be streamed via the Mountain West Network. Links for live stats will be available through UtahStateAggies.com.
 
AGGIES VS. EVERYONE
The Aggies and Rams will compete for the 53rd time, with CSU holding the all-time series lead, 35-17. Utah State won 14 of the first 15 matches between the two teams before the Rams won 32 consecutive matches stretching from 1983 through 2021. USU broke the streak with a 3-1 home victory on Nov. 18, 2021, and has now won three of the past five meetings, including a season sweep in 2023. The Rams won the first matchup this season, 3-2, in Logan.
 
Another long-standing series, Utah State and Wyoming will meet for the 49th time in program history. The Cowgirls lead the series, 26-22, although the Aggies have claimed five of the past six meetings, including three straight in Laramie. Wyoming did snap USU's five-game winning streak in the series with a 3-2 win in Logan earlier this year. USU's winning streak was immediately preceded by Wyoming taking 12 of 13 contests in the series. The Aggies won the first nine matches in the series, from 1976-82, before the Cowgirls won the ensuing 10, from 1983-88.

POSTSEASON ON THE HORIZON
The Aggies clinched a spot in the Mountain West Tournament with a 3-2 win over UNLV last week and cemented themselves in the running for a first-round bye with a 3-1 win over San Diego State. The top six teams in the MW standings qualify for the tournament, while the top two seeds receive a bye into the semifinals. Utah State controls its own destiny and would finish in at least a tie for first place were it to win both matches this week. The Aggies currently trail league-leading Colorado state by one game and second-place Fresno State by one-half game. USU is in a virtual tie with San Jose State after the Bulldogs defeated the Spartans on Tuesday night.
 
ONE LAST HURRAH
In her final home stand of her Aggie career, senior Kayle Ray came through in the clutch with a pair of massive outings. Ray set a career-high with 20 kills on a .395 hitting percentage against UNLV to lead the Aggies to the win. Ray hit three kills in the closing stages of the fifth set to help clinch the victory. Ray then followed up the effort by posting 14 kills on a .242 hitting percentage in USU's win over San Diego State. Ray was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts, her first such honors in her career.
 
YOUNG GUN
Freshman Kaylie Kofe also received praise from the Mountain West last week after being named the Freshman of the Week. Kofe recorded 100 assists and had two double-doubles across Utah State's pair of home wins last week. She finished with 57 assists against the Rebels, the most assists by a player in a MW match this season, and added 11 digs, two kills and one block assist. Kofe then finished with 43 assists against the Aztecs, adding 10 digs, two kills, one ace and one solo block. 
 
SWEEP OF THE WEEK
Utah State swept the weekly awards from the Mountain West after the team's pair of home wins over Nevada and Boise State. Junior Tierney Barlow was named Offensive Player of the Week after hitting .643 with 19 kills on the week, plus two aces, eight blocks and three digs. Barlow hit over .600 in both matches last week. Graduate senior Kelsey Watson was named the Defensive Player of the Week after she led the team with 11 total blocks, helping the team hold Nevada and Boise State to hitting percentages of .143 and .151, respectively. Andrea Simovski earned Freshman of the Week honors after posting a .368 hitting percentage with 29 kills, averaging 4.14 kills and 4.50 points per set for the week. Against the Wolf Pack, Simovski hit .600 with zero attack errors. Against the Broncos, Simovski finished with 20 kills against the Broncos while hitting .286 on 42 attempts, also adding four digs and two blocks. 
 
TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN
Both Barlow and Watson rank in the top four of the Mountain West for hitting percentage during conference play. Barlow ranks second in the league with a .430 hitting percentage while Watson sits in fourth with a mark of .394. The pair also rank highly in blocks per set, with Barlow and Watson sitting seventh and ninth in the conference, respectively, with 1.15 and 1.08 blocks per set during MW play. Kofe also sits near the top of the MW leaderboard in assists per set, ranking second in the league with 10.08 assists per set. As a team, the Aggies also lead the Mountain West with both 14.25 kills per set and 13.00 assists per set, and ranks second in the league with a .274 hitting percentage
 
KILLER PERFORMANCES
Simovski recorded 20 kills against the Rebels, her fourth match this season with 20 or more kills. Simovski is only the second Aggie in the MW era (since 2013) with three matches of 20+ kills in the same season, joining Lauren Anderson (2017). With Ray also reaching the 20-kill plateau in the match, it became the second time this season in which multiple Aggies have recorded 20 or more kills in the same match after Simovski and freshman Mara Štiglić did so in USU's road win at Boise State earlier this season. Prior to this season, Utah State had never recorded any such instances of multiple 20-kill performances in the same match since joining the Mountain West in 2013.
 
DE-FENSE
The Aggie defense was rolling in recent wins against Boise State and Nevada. The Aggies held the Wolf Pack to a .143 hitting percentage and followed up the defensive showing by holding the Broncos to a .151 hitting percentage, their fourth-lowest mark this season. The two opponent hitting percentages are among the four lowest that USU has allowed this season. The only two-game stretch this season in which Utah State has allowed a lower hitting percentage was in USU's first two games against New Mexico and Air Force.

NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN
Both Simovski and Barlow entirely avoided attack errors in Utah State's win against the Wolf Pack. Barlow recorded zero attack errors across 10 attempts, finishing with six kills on a .600 hitting percentage with one ace and three blocks. Simovski avoided any attack errors on her 15 attempts, finishing with nine kills on a .600 hitting percentage.
 
HITTER'S PARADISE
Utah State hit an even .500 at home against Nevada, finishing with 40 kills and only five attack errors on 70 attempts. It is USU's first time hitting at least .500 since setting the program record of .550 against VCU in 1997. The Aggies' five attack errors were also the fewest by the team since that same match. It was also USU's third consecutive match hitting over .300, tying for their longest such streak since joining the Mountain West in 2013, previously doing so in 2023 and spanning the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
 
SHATTERED RECORDS
In Utah State's first match against the Broncos, the Aggies set a new program record for hitting percentage in a five-set match. USU hit .371 in the 3-2 win against the Broncos, breaking the previous record of .361 against Alaska-Fairbanks in 1997 and ranking third in the nation this season for hitting percentage in a five-set match. Utah State was led by Simovski, who finished with a 28 kills on a .510 hitting percentage. Simovski's 28 kills are tied for the fourth-most by a freshman in the nation this season and are tied for the third-most by anyone in the MW this season. Freshman Mara Stiglic also finished with career-highs of 20 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. This is the first time that multiple Aggies have finished with 20 or more kills in the same match since joining the MW.
 
DOUBLE DOWN
Kofe has now recorded a double-double in five straight matches and leads the Aggies with 11 over the full season. Simovski ranks second on the team with eight double-doubles this season, lincluding three in the last four matches. The Aggies have recorded multiple double-doubles in the same game eight times this season. Kofe and Simovski have done so seven times, including when USU recorded three double-doubles in the season opener against Green Bay as freshman Olivia Tukuafu recorded her first double-double alongside Kofe and Simovski. Kofe and Štiglić also posted double-doubles together versus Weber State. All told, the Aggies have recorded 21 double-doubles this season.
 
THE HARDEST ROAD
Utah State challenged itself in nonconference play, facing off against three AVCA-ranked teams and six teams which rank in the top-50 of the KPI. Deep into conference play, USU's schedule still ranks as the 56th-toughest in the nation by opponent winning percentage, and the second-toughest among Mountain West teams.
 
GOING THE DISTANCE
The Aggies played seven consecutive matches which went a full five sets, beginning with the team's win over Ohio and ending with USU's comeback win at San Diego State. According to available sources and research, this is the longest known streak of five-set matches in women's volleyball history at the Division-I level. USU has now played in 12 five-set matches this season, going 6-6 in those contests.
 
UNSTOPPABLE FORCES
In USU's 3-0 sweep of Fresno State, Mehmedovic recorded a new career-high hitting percentage of .640, avoiding any attack errors to record a line of 16-0-25. Mehmedovic's percentage is the highest of any Aggie this season while recording 10 or more kills. Freshman Loryn Helgesen led the Aggie attack agaoinst No. 8 Purdue with 12 kills on only 19 attempts, finishing with a .526 hitting percentage. Barlow also topped the .500-plateau against Nevada, hitting .583 to record 15 kills. Simovski joined the .500+ club with a mark of .600 against Fresno State.

DO YOU REQUIRE ASSISTANCE?
Against UNLV, Kofe finished with a career-high 57 assists, the most assists by an Aggie in a single match since Erica Moscoso recorded 67 assists against the Rebels in 2016. Kofe's 57 assists are also the most by any Mountain West player in the conference match this season. Kofe now owns the top assist totals for both a three-, four- and five-set match among MW players during conference play, totaling 41, 52 and 57 assists, respectively, in those matches.
 
WELL TRAVELED
Utah State boasts four international players on its roster, all freshmen, in Andrea Simovski (Belgrade, Serbia), Jagoda Bialek (Opole, Poland), Kate Lijić (Split, Croatia) and Mara Štiglić (Rijeka, Croatia).
 
CAN I DIG IT?
Redshirt sophomore Kendel Thompson accrued a career-high 23 digs in Utah State's match versus Wyoming. Thompson's 23 digs were the most by a Utah State player in a single match since former Aggie Jordi Holdaway recorded 25 digs against Air Force in 2022. During MW play, Thompson ranks eighth in the conference with 3.24 digs per set.  Additionally, Simovski ranks third in the MW this season for digs in a three-set match after recording 17 digs in USU's 3-0 sweep at UNLV.
 
TOP COMPETITION
Utah State welcomed No. 8 Purdue to the Wayne Estes Center on Sept. 7 but fell in a 3-0 sweep. It was the first the Aggies have faced a team ranked in the top-10 of the AVCA rankings since 2014 when the team hosted then-No. 7 Colorado State.
 
TAKING TURNS
Five different Aggie hitters have led the team in kills in this season. Senior Adna Mehmedovic has led the Aggies in kills a team-high 10 times. Simovski ranks second on the team with six times leading USU in kills, with Helgesen close behind with five such instances. Ray has now led the team in kills three times this season after doing so in both of USU's wins last week, while Štiglić has also led the team thrice this season. Barlow and Lawson have each led the Aggies in kills once this season.
 
ACES WILD
Freshman Andrea Simovski recorded five service aces in USU's 3-2 win over Ohio. The five aces are tied for the most by a Utah State player since former Aggie Beatriz Rodrigues recorded six aces against Fresno State on Nov. 3, 2022. As a team, the Aggies recorded 12 service aces against Weber State, their second match with 10 or more aces this season. The 12 aces were the most by USU in a match since recording 13 at New Mexico last season. 
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Utah State boasts the third-youngest roster by age in the nation. The Aggies' average age of 19.6 is only bested by Stephen F. Austin (18.5) and Army (19.0). USU has a total of 11 true freshmen on the team in 2024, plus one redshirt freshman (Rachel Reed). In total, the Aggies bring in 13 newcomers to the 2024 roster and return only four letterwinners in Kelsey Watson, Mehmedovic, Kaylie Ray and Kendel Thompson. 
 
TAKING STOCK OF THE CONFERENCE
The Aggies were picked to finish second in the Mountain West this season as voted in the MW preseason coaches poll. Utah State received a total of 84 points and two first-place votes in the poll, finishing behind Colorado State's 98 points and eight first-place votes. Boise State, Fresno State and UNLV rounded out the top-five of the poll, with UNLV also receiving the final first-place vote.
 
A YEAR TO REMEMBER
In 2023, Utah State won its third-straight Mountain West title as the Aggies became the outright MW regular season champions after finishing league play 17-1, the most conference wins in program history. USU earned its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking its second-straight and sixth-ever appearance at the Tournament.
 
AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN
Utah State won the outright Mountain West regular season title in 2023, making it three-straight MW championships under head coach Rob Neilson. The Aggies also shared the MW regular season title in 2021 before winning the MW tournament in 2022. USU has won eight 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.
 
FROM MANAGER TO UNIFORM
Utah State freshman defensive specialist Kendel Thompson was part of the 2022 Utah State volleyball team as a manager before officially joining the roster before the 2023 season.
 
BRING ON THE ACCOLADES
Utah State was represented by a pair of athletes on the all-MW preseason team. Mehmedovic and incoming juinor transfer Tierney Barlow each earned the honor after both were named to the all-MW team in 2023.  Mehmedovic was named to the all-MW team in 2023 after totaling 295 kills, averaging 2.68 per set, while adding 103 blocks, 69 digs and 10 assists. She was named the MW Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending Oct. 30 after posting back-to-back totals of 14 kills in wins over Colorado State and Wyoming, hitting .444 (28-4-54) during the two matches. Barlow was named all-Mountain West in 2023 while playing at Wyoming, recording 324 kills, averaging 2.97 per set, and added 124 total blocks, averaging 1.14 per set. She also had 77 digs, 31 service aces and six assists during the season. Barlow was also named the MW Freshman of the Year in 2022, also earning honorable mention all-MW the same season. Head coach Rob Neilson was also named the MW Coach of the Year in 2023, his second time receiving the honor after also earning the award in 2021.
 
KILLER QUEEN KELSEY
Graduate senior middle blocker Kelsey Watson is the only Aggie to ever hit 100 percent while logging at least 10 kills, doing so in last year's regular season finale at Nevada (Nov. 18, 2023). She now holds the school hitting percentage record for between 10-14 attempts as she was a perfect 10-for-10 against the Wolf Pack. 
 
UP NEXT
Utah State prepares for the Mountain West Tournament to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday through Saturday, Nov. 27-30.
  
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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