LOGAN, Utah – Utah State begins in earnest their Mountain West title defense, beginning conference play with a pair of home matches. The Aggies will host preseason-favorite Colorado State on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m., before concluding the week against Wyoming on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m.
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 52nd time, with CSU holding the all-time series lead, 34-17. 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 four meetings, including a season sweep in 2023 as the Aggies won at home, 3-1, and in Fort Collins, 3-2. Additionally, this is the third-consecutive season in which at least one of USU or CSU has been tabbed the MW preseason favorite.
Another long-standing series, Utah State and Wyoming will meet for the 48th time in program history. The Cowgirls lead the series, 25-22, although the Aggies have claimed each of the past five meetings, including three straight in Laramie. USU's current five-game 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.
ICYMI
The Aggies went 1-2 against a trio of in-state foes last week, going five sets in all three matches. Utah State took sets one and four before falling at No. 19 BYU in the final set. The following day, USU celebrated Spectrum Magic Night against Utah Valley, winning the second and third sets before the Wolverines rallied to win in five. In the team's final in-state showdown, the Aggies fell down 0-2 to Weber State before rallying in dominant fashion for the reverse sweep.
GOING THE DISTANCE
The Aggies have played four consecutive matches which have gone the full five sets. Utah State defeated Ohio, 3-2, before falling to both BYU and Utah Valley in five sets. USU then staged an impressive comeback to win in five sets against Weber State. This is only the second time in program history that Utah State has played in four or more five-set matches in a row. The Aggies last did so in 1989 when USU played five consecutive five-set matches.
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 the season opener against Green Bay, freshman
Andrea Simovski led the Aggies with 21 kills, recording a .439 hitting percentage.
Simovski's 21 kills rank as the most by an Aggie freshman since at least 2014 (prior records are not immediately available).
Against Weber State, freshman
Kaylie Kofe finished with a career-high 41 assists as the Aggies shifted from a two-setter to single-setter approach. Kofe's 41 assists were the most by a Utah State player since former Aggie Kaleni Vaivai recorded 46 assists at New Mexico on April 3, 2021.
A freshman leads the Aggies this season in digs (
Jagoda Bialek, 97), assists (
Kaylie Kofe, 190) and aces (
Simovski, 15).
ANSWERING THE CALL
After being thrust into the starting lineup due to injury, freshman
Ava Napierski responded with a pair of strong performances last week against Utah Valley and Weber State. Against the Wolverines,
Napierski recorded three blocks and four digs to go along with four kills on a .444 hitting percentage.
Napierski followed up the effort by recording eight kills while hitting .500 alongside six blocks, all career-highs.
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 five times, while
Helgesen has done so on three occasions.
Simovski began the season with 21 kills against Green Bay before
Lawson led USU against Utah with 13 kills. Junior
Kaylie Ray led USU in kills for the first time this season with 16 against Weber State.
ACES WILD
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.
WELCOME TO CLUB ESTES
Utah State has won 31 of its last 38 matches at home and is 35-8 in the last 43 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.
In the team's Spectrum Magic Night against Utah Valley, held in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, the Aggies set a program record with 2,559 fans in attendance.
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).
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 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 heads on the road for the first time in conference play to take on San Diego State on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m., before facing UNLV on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 2 p.m.
TICKETS
Utah State volleyball 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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