LOGAN, Utah – Utah State volleyball was well-represented in the Mountain West postseason honors released by the conference on Tuesday. Sophomore setter Kaylie Kofe was named the MW Player of the Year while head coach Rob Neilson earned his third career Coach of the Year honor. The Aggies also placed four players on the all-MW team plus one honorable mention.

Kofe led the MW this season with 11.70 assists per set during league play, the most by any MW player since Colorado State's Katie Oleksak recorded 11.76 assists per set in 2018. Kofe recorded the most assists by a MW player this season in a three-set match (44 at New Mexico), a four-set match (65 at San Jose State) and a five-set match (62 vs Boise State). She is one of only two players in the nation with multiple matches of 60 or more assists and currently ranks fifth over the full season with 10.94 assists per set. Kofe has also added 18 service aces and 19 blocks and averaged 2.63 digs per set during MW play.

Kofe is USU's first-ever conference player of the year. USU has twice received conference freshman of the year honors previously, twice each in the WAC and Big West.

In addition to Kofe, senior middle blocker Tierney Barlow, sophomore opposite side hitter Loryn Helgesen and sophomore outside hitter Mara Štiglic were named all-MW selections while sophomore outside hitter Andrea Simovski earned honorable mention.

Barlow earned the honor for the third time in her career after leading the conference with a .471 hitting percentage in league play, ranking as the third-highest hitting percentage in MW history and the highest since 2017. Barlow recorded 11 matches during league play with a .500 hitting percentage or better, including a streak of seven-straight to end the season, while still averaging 3.0 kills per set. She led the MW with three instances of hitting over .650 with at least 12 kills; no other player in the MW recorded more than one. Barlow compiled a streak of 97 consecutive attacks without an error during MW play, the longest-known such streak in Division-I history according to available research. Barlow also averaged 0.90 blocks per set and added 21 aces during conference play.

Helgesen was the only MW player to rank in the top 10 for hitting percentage while also averaging over 3.50 kills per set. Helgesen ranked second in the league with 260 total kills during conference play and ranked second with 4.49 points per set and ninth with a .328 hitting percentage. Helgesen broke USU's program record for hitting percentage on 20 or more attempts, hitting .704 (20-1-7) against Grand Canyon. She recorded six matches during league play with a hitting percentage over .300 with at least 25 attempts.

Štiglic was named to the all-MW team after ranking seventh in kills per set (3.63) and fourth in points per set (4.27) during conference play. Štiglic also ranked sixth in the MW with 0.31 aces per set, totaling 21. She hit double-digit kills in 17 of 18 matches during MW action, totaling nine kills in her lone match not reaching the plateau. Štiglic also recorded seven matches with multiple aces.

Simovski earned honorable mention after ranking just outside the top 10 during league play both with 2.84 kills and 3.39 points per set. She also ranked third in the league with 0.36 aces per set. One of the top five passing outside hitters in the MW, Simovski recorded a .964 reception percentage on a team-high 335 total reception attempts. Simovski recorded four double-doubles during conference play, including a 19-kill, 20-dig outing against Boise State.

Neilson was named the MW Coach of the Year for the third time in the past five seasons, also receiving the award in 2021 and 2023. Neilson guided the Aggies to an 18-0 record in MW play this season, becoming just the sixth team in MW history to go undefeated in conference play.

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 Boise State and Grand Canyon. Should USU advance, the MW Championship will be on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 4 p.m. (MT).

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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