LOGAN, Utah – Utah State volleyball remained perfect in Mountain West play, moving to 16-0 with a 3-1 (32-30, 25-16, 28-30, 25-17) win over San José State on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Gym. 

The Aggies also extended their overall winning streak to 17 matches, the program's longest winning streak since 1979 and the fourth-longest streak in program history overall, trailing only a streak of 18 games in 1977, a 23-game streak spanning the team's 1978 national title season and 1979, and a program-record 26-game streak in 1978.

Set One
After USU opened the match with a kill by sophomore opposite side hitter Loryn Helgesen, the Spartans took control of the opening set with an 8-0 run. The Aggies responded with three-straight points off kills from Helgesen, sophomore outside hitter Andrea Simovski and senior middle blocker Tierney Barlow but were unable to cut the lead below three points for much of the set. A pair of Helgesen kills began a 4-1 spurt by the Aggies to claw back within 22-20 before back-to-back Spartan kills put SJSU at set point with a 24-20 lead. Utah State then fought off four-straight set points to extend the frame. Barlow recorded two kills while Helgesen added a kill and ace to erase the deficit. In a back-and-forth affair late, the Aggies fought off an additional two set points from the Spartans before rattling off a 4-1 run to steal the opening set, 32-30. Sophomore outside hitter Mara Štiglic kicked off the final run with a kill before sealing the set with an ace from the service line. 

Sophomore setter Kaylie Kofe recorded 22 assists in the opening set, a season-high for a single set, while the Aggies hit .311 with 26 kills. Both Helgesen and Barlow recorded eight kills in the opening frame.

Set Two
After the marathon opening in set one, the Aggies took immediate control of the second set with a 6-0 run out of the gates. Štiglic and Helgesen both recorded solo blocks while Kofe added an ace to give USU the early advantage. After the Spartans crawled back within three points midway through the set, Utah State pieced together another 6-0 run to effectively shut the door. Štiglic led the way with four kills during the decisive run while redshirt freshman middle blocker Lauren Larkin added a kill and a block alongside Kofe, allowing USU to eventually take the 25-16 win to go up 2-0 in the match.

Set Three
USU again jumped out early, using a 5-1 run featuring aces from Štiglic and junior libero/defensive specialist Kendel Thompson. The Spartans rallied with an 11-4 stretch to take the lead before the sides traded 3-0 runs midway through the set. Utah State erased another late deficit to extend the set, fighting off two set points after trailing 24-22 with Barlow and Helgesen providing the heroics via a kill and ace, respectively. This time, however, the Spartans would use a 4-1 run to ultimately take the third set, 30-28, and force the match into a fourth frame.

Set Four
Once again, Utah State took an early lead in the fourth set, jumping out to a 5-1 advantage with Helgesen leading the way with a pair of kills. Another pair of Helgesen kills anchored a later 4-1 run to give the Aggies at 15-8 lead and forcing a Spartan timeout. San Jose State would not come within five points of the lead for the remainder of the match. Helgesen recorded eight kills in the fourth set, her second frame of the match doing so, before Simovski took over late, clinching the match with a kill and ace to give USU a 25-17 win in the set.

Quick Notes

• Utah State hit .297 for the match, their 13th match of MW play with over a .250 hitting percentage, including an active streak of seven-straight. The Aggies are now hitting .263 on the season, a mark which would break the current program record of .238 set in 2016.
• USU is now averaging 15.37 kills per set during MW play, the top mark in the league and over a full kill more than second-place Colorado State (14.09). Utah State's 15.37 kills-per-set average would rank first in the nation over the entire season. As it stands, the Aggies are tied for 13th nationally with 14.10 kills per set.
• Kofe set a career-high with 65 assists, the most by an Aggie in any match since Erica Moscoso recorded 67 assists against UNLV in 2016 and the most by an Aggie in a four-set match during the 25-point, rally-scoring era.
• Kofe's 65 assists are tied for the most by any player in the nation this season in a four-set match and tied for the second-most in any match regardless of length. Kofe is now the only player in the nation with multiple matches of 60+ assists this season. 
• Helgesen led USU with 22 kills, her fourth match this season clearing 20 kills, joining Simovski as two of the only three Aggies to record four matches of 20 kills or more during the MW era (since 2013).
• Barlow added a season-high 17 kills on a .654 hitting percentage.
• Both Simovski and Štiglic recorded double-doubles with each recording 13 kills and 12 and 14 digs, respectively. Štiglic also led the Aggies with a career-high-tying four aces.
• Larkin set a career-high with 10 kills on a .769 hitting percentage, also tying with Barlow and Helgesen for the team lead with two blocks apiece.
• Thompson led USU with 19 digs, her fourth-straight match with double-digit digs.

Up Next
The Aggies return to Club Estes for the final time this season to host Air Force on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m., before concluding the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m., versus Nevada, when Utah State will also celebrate Senior Day.

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.

 - USU -