LOGAN, Utah – Utah State volleyball takes on a trio of in-state rivals, first facing No. 19 BYU in Provo on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m. The Aggies will then host Utah Valley at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m., before playing at Weber State on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both matches at BYU and Weber State will be streamed on ESPN+, while Thursday's home contest versus Utah Valley will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
AGGIES VS. EVERYONE
The Aggies will face the Cougars for the 60th time in program history. BYU holds the all-time edge, 43-16. Utah State snapped a 29-match losing streak to the Cougars in 2000, beginning a balanced stretch in the series where USU has gone 7-8 against BYU. The Cougars have won the past three matches.
USU is 13-10 all-time against Utah Valley and has won each of the past two meetings. The Aggies won each of the first six matches of the series before UVU won 10 of the next 15 meetings, with the last victory coming in 2021. Utah State is 8-4 against the Wolverines in Logan.
The Aggies hold a 39-22 edge over Weber State all-time, including a 16-11 mark in Ogden, and have won 20 of the past 24 meetings overall. The Wildcats won three straight in the series ('18, '19, '21) before USU regained control of the series with victories in each of the past two meetings.
ICYMI
The Aggies went 1-2 in a trio of matches in Los Angeles last week. USU fell to then-No.23 USC and LMU in a pair of road matches before concluding the weekend with a 3-2 neutral-court win over Ohio. USU trailed in the fifth set, 7-1 and 14-10, before reeling off six straight points to claim the improbable victory.
TOUGH STRETCH
The Aggies are facing an AVCA-ranked opponent for the third time in five matches. USU fell to both Purdue and USC, ranked No. 6 and No. 21 in the most recent poll, respectively. Utah State has played a total of 216 matches against AVCA-ranked teams since the polls began in 1982, scoring a total of 13 victories. USU's last victory over a ranked squad came against then-No. 12 UCLA on Aug. 26, 2022.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS
When Utah State welcomed No. 8 Purdue to the Wayne Estes Center, the first top-10 opponent to come to Logan since 2014, freshman
Loryn Helgesen led the Aggie attack with 12 kills on only 19 attempts.
Helgesen's hitting percentage of .526 in the match was the highest by an Aggie this season with at least 10 kills.
In USU's season opener against Green Bay, freshman
Andrea Simovski led the Aggies with 21 kills, recording a .439 hitting percentage. Both marks are currently season-highs for individual Aggies this season.
Simovski's 21 kills also rank as the most by an Aggie freshman since at least 2014 (prior records are not immediately available).
Three true freshmen have appeared in all 30 sets of the season so far in
Simovski, Delaney Lawson, and
Jagoda Bialek.
TAKING TURNS
Four different Aggie hitters have led the team in kills in this season.
Simovski began the season with 21 kills against Green Bay before
Lawson led USU against Utah with 13 kills. Senior
Adna Mehmedovic and
Helgesen have each led the team in kills a total of three times apiece.
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.
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 Hone.
WELL TRAVELED
Utah State boasts four international players on its 2024 roster, all freshmen, in
Andrea Simovski (Belgrade, Serbia),
Jagoda Bialek (Opole, Poland),
Kate Lijić (Split, Croatia) and
Mara Štiglić (Rijeka, Croatia).
WELCOME TO CLUB ESTES
Utah State has won 31 of its last 37 matches at home and is 35-7 in the last 42 matches played in Logan. The Aggies played in front of three sold-out crowds of 1,488 fans last season, first doing so against Utah on Aug. 30, 2023, to register the program's first sellout since 2015. USU then reached capacity against then-No. 12 BYU (Sept. 16) and San José State (Nov.9). Last year was the first season in which USU sold out the Estes on multiple occasions.
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.
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.
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 Hone 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
Senior middle blocker
Kelsey Watson became the first Aggie to ever hit 100 percent while logging at least 10 kills 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 is set to begin Mountain West play next week against Colorado State on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. at the Wayne Estes Center. The Rams were picked first in the MW preseason poll, receiving eight of 11 first-place votes. The Aggies will then play host to Wyoming on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m. to conclude their first week of conference action.
Season and single-game tickets are available and can be purchased
here.
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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