BACK IN ACTION
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.

FOLLOW ALONG
All Aggie matches during conference play will stream on the Mountain West Network with live stats available through UtahStateAggies.com.

PERFECTION ON THE LINE
At 16-0, Utah State has the opportunity this week to close out a perfect 18-0 season in Mountain West play. It would be only USU's second undefeated conference season in program history, following the 1979 season's 10-0 showing in the Intermountain Athletic Conference. It would also be only the sixth undefeated regular season in MW history, joining Colorado State in 2003, 2015 and 2019, Utah in 2006, and UNLV in 2020.

MARK THE MILESTONE
A pair of Aggies hit career milestones last weekend. Senior middle blocker Tierney Barlow topped the 1,000-kill plateau against Fresno State, now totaling 1,022 in her career, including 474 at Utah State. Sophomore setter Kaylie Kofe registered her 2,000th career assist against San Jose State, now totaling 2,014 for her career.

SENIOR CELEBRATIONS
Utah State will honor a pair of players for Senior Day on Saturday against Nevada. The Aggies will celebrate the careers of middle blocker Tierney Barlow and libero/defensive specialist Kendel Thompson prior to the match against the Wolf Pack.

Barlow has compiled nearly 500 kills in her two seasons at Utah State and, entering this week, is only 61 attempts from becoming USU's program record holder for career hitting percentage. Barlow has added 41 aces, 173 blocks and 102 digs during her Aggie career. Including her first two seasons at Wyoming, Barlow has cleared 1,000 kills in her career. Barlow is a three-time all-MW honoree, earning honorable mention in 2022 alongside MW Freshman of the Year honors, and being named all-MW in 2023 at Wyoming and last season at USU. She has been named the MW Offensive Player of the Week three times this season.

Thompson arrived to USU in 2022 and spent her first season as a team manager before moving to the roster in 2023. In her three seasons on the court since, Thompson has ammased over 600 digs, including a 3.42 per set average this season, alongside 73 aces and 197 assists. Thompson also has a career recpetion percentage of .945 on 1,086 total attempts. She earned her first MW Defensive Player of the Week award of her career earlier this season.

RECORD WATCH
Utah State has several single-season program and conference records in its sights. The Aggies are currently hitting .263 as a team, which would break the current record of .238 set by the 2016 squad. Senior middle blocker Tierney Barlow is also hitting .424, which would break the current record of .375 (min. 5 attempts per set) held by Denae Mohlman and set in 1997. Barlow's .424 over the full season currently ranks in a tie for fourth all-time among Mountain West players, while her .451 mark in conference ranks alone in fourth place all-time in MW history.

READY, SET, GO!
Kofe has proved vital to Utah State's success after arriving in Logan as a walk-on before last season. In fact, the Aggies have gone 25-4 over the past two seasons when Kofe tops 10.0 assists per set in a match, compared to an 9-17 record otherwise. Furthermore, USU is an undefeated 16-0 when Kofe clears 11.5 assists per set during her career.

Kofe had a career day last week at San Jose State, totaling 65 assists in a four-set win over the Spartans. Kofe's 65 assists are a career-high and the most by an Aggie in a single match since Erica Moscoso recorded 67 assists against UNLV in 2016. They are also tied for the most by any player in the nation in a four-set match this season and only one behind the top mark in the nation for any-length match this season. Kofe is the only player in the nation with multiple matches of 60+ assists and currently ranks fourth in the country with 10.98 assists per set.

YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN
Two weeks ago, Utah State clinched at least a share of the Mountain West regular season and the No. 1 overall seed at the MW Tournament with four matches remaining. The Aggies then clinched the title outright in their next match out with a win at Fresno State. This is USU's third regular season title and fourth conference title overall in the last five seasons. Utah State has now won nine regular season conference titles overall in program history, also earning titles in the WAC in 2012 and a string of five-straight titles in the Intermountain Athletic Conference from 1977-81. The Aggies can clinch an outright title with just one more victory. The Aggies have now qualified for every MW Tournament since the conference reinstated the format in 2021. 

NOT SO SCARY SEASON
Utah State went an undefeated 9-0 during the month of October. This is the second time in the past three season the Aggies have gone unbeaten during October as USU went 8-0 during the month en route to a regular season title in 2023.

AGGIES VS. EVERYONE
Utah State leads the all-time series against Air Force, 15-7, all of which have come during the schools' time together in the MW. USU has won three-straight over the Falcons and also carries a four-match home winning streak in the series over the Falcons into Thursday. Air Force was the only team to defeat USU during MW play in 2023, earning a 3-2 victory in Colorado Springs, also AF's last victory in the series. 

Utah State carries a 31-26 record all-time against Nevada into Saturday's match, though the Aggies are 25-13 since the two became conference mates in the WAC beginning in 2004. The Aggies have won eight of the past nine meetings since 2021, only falling last season on the road, 3-2. USU has won five-straight at home over the Wolf Pack. 

NATURAL BORN KILLERS
USU is now averaging 15.37 kills per set during MW play, the top mark in the league and well over a full kill more than second-place Colorado State (14.18). Utah State's 15.37 kills-per-set average would rank first in the nation over the entire season. As it stands, the Aggies rank 18th nationally with 13.88 kills per set over the full season. Utah State has hit over .250 in 13 of 16 matches during MW play, including an active streak of seven-straight.

A HIGH CLIP
Utah State set a program record for hitting percentage in a three-set match, hitting .567 earlier this eason at home in the team's first matchup against Fresno State. The Aggies recorded 43 kills to only five errors on 67 total attempts to break the previous record of .550, set against VCU in 1997. USU also posted 14 aces in the match, coming within one of the program record of 15 for a three-set match. 

KILLER PERFORMANCES
With 22 kills against San Jose State, Helgesen now has four matches this season with 20+ kills. Helgesen is only the third Aggie in the MW era (since 2013) with three matches of 20+ kills in the same season, joining Andrea Simovski who achieve the feat last season and Lauren Anderson in 2017.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
Utah State head coach Rob Neilson hit the century mark for his career in the team's 3-2 win over San Diego State. Now at 107-58 for his career entering this week, Neilson is just the fourth coach in Aggie history to record 100 wins and the fastest Aggie coach to reach the 100-win plateau since Marilyn McReavy and Mary Jo Pepper in 1978. Neilson is one of only two active coaches in the MW to reach 100 career wins, joining Boise State's Shawn Garus.

ROAD WARRIORS
Utah State has gone 11-1 in true road matches this season, only falling at No. 5 Stanford. USU's road record is tied for fifth-best in the nation by winning percentage and would also be a program record for a season, topping the previous mark of .762 (16-5) set in 1977.

THREE-HEADED DRAGONS
Utah State had three players top 15 kills in the same match in three-straight games. Against San Jose State, sophomore outside hitter Mara Štiglic (17), senior middle blocker Tierney Barlow (16) and sophomore opposite side hitter Loryn Helgesen (15) reached the plateau while Štiglic (21), sophomore outside hitter Andrea Simovski (19) and Helgesen (18) then did so against Boise State. The trio of Štiglic (18), Simovski (17) and Helgesen (15) then did so against Wyoming. This is the first time USU has achieved this feat in three-straight matches in the 25-point rally-scoring era. Furthermore, the Aggies had registered only seven such games since 2010 and had only achieved three across a full season only once before when the trio of Lauren Anderson, Kayla DeCoursey and Kaylie Kamalu did so three times in 2016. 

THE WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Utah State has received a league-leading 11 weekly awards from the Mountain West this season, with six different players earning a distinction.
 - Sept. 2 – Tierney Barlow - Offensive Player of the Week
 - Sept. 22 – Mara Štiglic - Offensive Player of the Week
 - Sept. 29 – Lauren Larkin - Freshman of the Week
 - Oct. 6 – Kaylie Kofe - Offensive Player of the Week
 - Oct. 13 – Kendel Thompson - Defensive Player of the Week
 - Oct. 27 – Loryn Helgesen - Offensive Player of the Week
 - Nov. 3 – Mara Štiglic - Offensive Player of the Week
 - Nov. 10 – Lauren Larkin - Defensive Player/Freshman of the Week
 - Nov. 10 – Tierney Barlow - Offensive Player of the Week
 - Nov. 17 – Tierney Barlow - Offensive Player of the Week

CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN
Utah State is at the top of the Mountain West in numerous categories in conference play. The Aggies currently lead the league in hitting percentage (.301), assists per set (14.37), kills per set (15.37) and aces per set (2.00), and ranks second in hitting percentage allowed (.195). USU also owns the top single-match performance during conference play for aces (14 vs Fresno State) and the top four performances for hitting percentage (.567 vs Fresno State, .462 at Colorado State, .414 at Grand Canyon, .390 at UNLV).

Sophomore setter Kaylie Kofe sits atop the conference during MW play with 11.85 assists per set and is one of only two players averaging more than 11.00 assists per set (CSU's Erin Debiec - 11.07). Barlow also leads the league with a .451 hitting percentage during conference play and is the only player hitting over .400 against MW competition. Helgesen ranks fifth in the league with a .346 hitting percentage and is the only player in the top 10 with over 185 kills, totaling 249, second-most in the conference. Helgesen and Štiglic rank second and seventh, respectively, with 4.15 and 3.62 kills per set. The duo also sit in second and fifth, respectively, with 4.78 and 4.30 points per set. Junior libero/defensive specialist Kendel Thompson leads the league with 0.40 aces per set and ranks sixth with 3.73 digs per set during conference play. Štiglic and sophomore outside hitter Andrea Simovski also rank second and sixth, respectively, with 0.35 and 0.32 aces per set, respectively. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Lauren Larkin also ranks 10th during league play with 1.13 blocks per set.

BLESS MY SOUL, AGS ARE ON A ROLL
Utah State has won 17 straight matches overall, the sixth-longest active streak in the nation, and is now 16-0 to begin conference play for the first time in program history. USU's current 17-match streak is the fourth-longest in program history according to available records, trailing only the following:
 • 18-game streak to begin 1977
 • 23-game streak bridging national title run in 1978 and start of 1979
 • 26-game streak to begin 1978

The streak also featured three-straight sweeps over Weber State, New Mexico and Grand Canyon, a feat the team has accomplished only four times during the 25-point rally-scoring era (since 2008) and not since a three-game streak spanning the 2016 and 2017 seasons. 

A KILLER STRETCH
The Aggies posted hitting percentages of .300 or higher in three-straight matches against Colorado State, Fresno State and Boise State, a feat the team also achieved last season. USU began the stretch with a then-season high .462 hitting percentage against the Rams before immediatley topping it with a program-record mark of .567 against Fresno State. Tthe Aggies hit .336 in a 3-1 win at Boise State. 

DIFFICULT TERRAIN
Utah State now ranks 34th and 39th in the RPI  and KPI rankings, respectively, the only MW team in the top 55 of either. USU's strength of schedule is a large reason why as the Aggies' season schedule to this point ranks as the toughest in the Mountain West and 44th-toughest nationally by opponent winning percentage (.591). Grand Canyon holds the second-toughest schedule in the MW to this point with an opponent winning percentage of .567, ranking 64th in the nation.

SMASHING PERFORMANCE
Helgesen rewrote the record books against Grand Canyon. The product of Kaysville, Utah, hit .704 while recording 20 kills with only one error on 27 attempts, setting a program record for hitting percentage of 20-plus attempts. Helgesen's performnace also ranks as the highest hitting percentage by a non-senior in a conference match in MW history (min. 10 kills). 

The Aggies came out on fire in the first set against the Lopes, hitting a blistering .741 as a team for the set as the team recorded 20 kills, a season-high for a single set, and recorded no attacking errors on 27 attempts. USU nearly matched the blistering pace in the opening set at Colorado State, hitting .731 on 20 kills with one error on 26 attempts.

DRAWING A CROWD
Utah State set a new program record in home attendance earlier this season against BYU. Playing in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, the Aggies drew 4,932 fans, shattering the previous program attendance record of 2,559, set last season in the Spectrum versus Utah Valley.

BATTERING RAMS
Earlier this season, Utah State won at Colorado State for only the second time since 1982. The Aggies previously 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. This was also the first time USU has swept the Rams in either Fort Collins or Logan since 1982. USU's .462 hitting percentage is the highest hitting percentage allowed by CSU since 2022.  Last week, USU completed the regular season series sweep against Colorado State for only the second time since 1982. USU also won both regular season matches versus CSU in 2023.

TOP MARKS AGAINST TOP COMPETITION
Despite falling in three sets to then-No. 16 BYU, Utah State hit .258 as a team versus the Cougars, the program's highest hitting percentage against a top-25 team since hitting .301 to win the WAC Tournament title against then-No. 3 Hawai'i in 2010. Barlow posted 11 kills on a .733 hitting percentage, the highest-ever hitting percentage by an Aggie against a top-25 squad according to available records.

IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL A BLOCK CHAIN?
Napierski recorded nine total rejections against Marquette, including one solo block, shattering her previous career-high of six total blocks last season against Weber State. Napierski's nine blocks are tied for the seventh-most by any MW player so far this season.

In her first extended action of the seaosn, freshman middle blocker Ava Martin recorded 10 blocks in the team's 3-2 home win against San Diego State, tied for the most by an Aggie freshman since Hannah Smith had 13 blocks against Fresno State in 2014.

ISLAND LIVING
Utah State defeated Hawaii, 3-0, last weekend as part of the Rainbow Wahine Volleyball Classic. The win was the program's first road win over Hawaii since 2007 and only the fourth time in program history the Aggies have defeated the Rainbow Wahine on the road. Utah State and Hawaii were previously conference mates in the Big West from 1990-95 and the WAC from 2005-11.

BACK FOR MORE
The Aggies boast a pair of players who received preseason all-Mountain West recognition this season, making Utah State the only team in the conference with multiple selectees. Barlow and Kofe each earned the honor. Both also earned all-MW honors last season, as Barlow was named to the all-MW team for the second time in her career, first earning the award in 2023 while at Wyoming. Kofe earned all-MW honorable mention last season, one of only three freshmen to receive all-MW honors from the conference last year. 

EARNED RESPECT
The Aggies enter the 2025 campaign as preseason favorites to win the Mountain West title according the conference's preseason coaches poll. Utah State received seven of 12 first-place votes and 114 total points, finishing ahead of second-place Colorado State with 106 points and three first-place votes. San Diego State received the final two first-place votes and placed third with 96 points. This is the second time in the past three seasons the Aggies have been picked to win the conference after also entering the 2023 season as preseason favorites. It is also the fourth-straight year USU has been picked in the top two entering the season after heading into 2022 and 2024 picked second in the preseason poll.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
This year, Utah State's roster still leans young as the Aggies field only one senior (Barlow) and two juniors (Kendel Thompson and Olivia Tukuafu). Seven sophomores and two redshirt freshmen return from last season's roster in addition to two sophomore transfers (Cala Cooper and Ava Nakai) joining USU. The Aggies also bring in three true freshmen for 2025 (Ava Martin, Hailey Spencer and Sadie Warren).

USU boasted the third-youngest roster by age in the nation last season, fielding 12 freshmen out of 18 rostered players. 

WELL TRAVELED
Utah State has three international players on its roster in sophomores outside hitter Andrea Simovski (Belgrade, Serbia), libero/defensive specialist Jagoda Bialek (Opole, Poland) and outside hitter Mara Štiglić (Rijeka, Croatia). USU's 2025 roster also features eight different U.S. states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Texas, Utah and Washington). 

BEEN HERE BEFORE
Utah State lost only three letterwinners from the 2024 squad, needing only to replace graduated seniors Adna Mehmedovic, Kelsey Watson and Kaylie Ray. The Aggies return eight letterwinners from last year, including seven players who appeared in over 20 matches and four players who appeared in all 29 matches last season. Barlow, redshirt junior Kendel Thompson and freshmen outside hitters Andrea Simovski and Delaney Lawson all saw action in every match of 2024, with Barlow also starting every match. Kofe appeared in 28 matches, while sophomore libero/defensive specialist Jagoda Bialek, sophomore right side hitter Loryn Helgesen and sophomore outside hitter Mara Stiglic appeared in 27, 22 and 15 matches, respectively. Additionally, sophomore middlbe blocker Ava Napierski and junior setter Olivia Tukuafu appeared in 11 and 10 matches, respectively, during the 2024 season.

GOING THE DISTANCE
Last year, 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 played in 12 five-set matches last season, going 6-6 in those contests.

SHATTERED RECORDS
In Utah State's first match against the Broncos in 2024, 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 last season for hitting percentage in a five-set match. 

DOUBLE TWENTIES
Last season, Simovski and Štiglić each topped 20 kills against Boise State, while Simovski and former Aggie Kaylie Ray also achieved the feat against UNLV. Prior to 2024, Utah State had never recorded any such instances of multiple 20-kill performances in the same match since joining the Mountain West in 2013.

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.

UP NEXT
The Aggies prepare for the Mountain West Tournament held at the Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. Utah State enters as the No. 1 overall seed and will begin its run in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 28, at 2 p.m. (MT), against the winner between the No. 4 and 5 seeds. Should USU advance, the MW Championship will be on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 4 p.m. (MT).

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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