LOGAN, Utah – Utah State volleyball remained perfect in Mountain West play and did so in dominant fashion, scoring a 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-9) sweep at Colorado State on Saturday afternoon at Moby Arena. The Aggies hit a season-high .462 while holding the Rams to only .135 hitting. USU had four players reach double figures in kills for only the second time this season and the first time in a match going fewer than five sets. 
 
Head coach Rob Neilson 
"We came out focused and prepared to face a really tough Colorado State team. To put together that type of performance in Moby Arena speaks volumes about the competitive toughness of our team. I'm proud of our group and excited to get back in the gym to keep getting better!"
 
Set One
The Aggies immediately staked their claim to the match, answering an opening point from the Rams with a 6-0 run. Senior middle blocker Tierney Barlow scored a pair of kills to key the run while redshirt freshman middle blocker Lauren Larkin and sophomore outside hitter Andrea Simovski also joined in to begin what would become a highly-efficient outing by the Aggie offense. After CSU managed to draw back within three points at 11-8, Utah State emphatically shut the door, winning 14 of the final 18 points of the set, including a 9-1 run to clinch the 25-12 win. Sophomore outside hitter Mara Štiglic scored six kills over the closeout run, including three-straight kills to finish out the opening set. Barlow finished the opening frame with five kills on an .833 hitting percentage while Štiglic went for seven kills while hitting .875. As a team, USU hit .731, their second-highest hitting percentage for a single set this season, and finished with 20 kills on only 26 attempts.
 
Set Two
In the second set, USU again jumped ahead early courtesy of a 5-0 burst. Štiglic continued right where she left off in the first set, recording three-straight kills to key the Aggie run. This time, however, the Rams battled back to ultimately tie the set at 13 all. A combined block by Barlow and sophomore setter Kaylie Kofe highlighted a 3-0 spurt by the Aggies to retain momentum, though Colorado State again responded to draw even at 18-18. Utah State again countered the Rams with 6-1 burst to arrive at set point. Kofe continued to lead a balanced attack as sophomore opposite side hitter Loryn Helgesen, Larkin, Simovski and Kofe herself all registered kills during the stretch while Barlow and Helgesen also contributed with a block. Following a 3-0 desperation rally from the Rams, Simovski provided the clinching kill out of a timeout to hand USU a 25-22 win and 2-0 advantage in the match.
 
Set Three
Utah State quickly deterred any notion of a comeback, opening the third set on an 8-1 run as the Aggie offense continued to spread the ball around with Helgesen, Simovski, Barlow and Kofe all scoring kills in the early going. The Rams only managed to trim the deficit to five points before the Aggies fully closed the door with an 11-1 onslaught to reach match point. Junior libero/defensive specialist Kendel Thompson began the run from the service line, scoring an ace and allowing the Aggie defense to hold the Rams to only .077 hitting in the frame. Barlow, Helgesen and Simovski all registered multiple kills in the match-clinching run before Barlow ultimately provided the final kill for the 25-9 win, USU's first set holding an opponent to single digits this season. 
 
Quick Notes

• Utah State is now 6-0 to begin conference play for the first time since 1980 when the Aggies also opened play with six-straight wins in the IAC.
• USU's .462 hitting percentage tops the team's previous season-high of .414 at Grand Canyon and the team's highest mark since hitting an even .500 against Nevada last season.
• Barlow and Simovski tied for the team lead with 12 kills apiece while Helgesen and Štiglic added 11 kills each. All four attackers hit over .300 with Barlow leading the way with a .706 hitting percentage, also leading USU with five blocks on the afternoon. Štiglic and Helgesen both hit .450, marking a new career-high for Štiglic. Simovski also set a new season-high mark with a .308 hitting percentage.
• Kofe finished with 42 assists, ranking as the second-most assists by a MW player in a three-set match this season behind Kofe's own 44-assist performance at New Mexico.
• Thompson finished with 14 a team-best 14 digs, marking five-straight matches Thompson has reached the double-digit plateau in digs. 
• Utah State won at Colorado State for only the second time since 1982. The Aggies snapped a 16-game road skid versus the Rams in 2023 and have now won two of the past three meetings against CSU in Fort Collins.
• USU's current seven-game win streak is now the team's second-longest since 2010 behind only Utah State's 14-game winning streak in 2023.
• At 6-0 in conference play, the Aggies remain tied for first place in the MW standings alongside San Diego State.

 
Up Next
The Aggies face a split week of competition, first hosting Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m. (MT), before returning to the road to take on Boise State on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 5:30 p.m. (MT).
 
Season tickets, mini-plans, and single-game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here or by contacting the USU Ticket Office at 435-797-0305.
 
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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