BACK IN ACTION
Utah State returns from a weekend bye to start a four-match road trip. The Aggies begin at San Diego State on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. (MT), before their first repeat conference matchup at Colorado State on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m. (MT). 

LEADER OF THE PAC
Junior outside hitter Olivia Ruy ranks 10th in the Pac-12 during league play with a .331 hitting percentage and is the only player in the top 10 with more than 100 total attempts. She earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week earlier this season after leading USU with 37 total kills against Fresno State and Colorado State, including a career-high 25 kills against CSU. Ruy's 25 kills were the most in a single match by an Aggie this season and the third-most by any Pac-12 player. Ruy followed up the performance with a 20-kill outing against Boise State, becoming the first Aggie with 20-plus kills in back-to-back matches since Tatum Stall in 2022.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Utah State ranks atop the Pac-12 in several statistical categories through three weeks of league play. The Aggies sit in first place in kills per set (14.50), assists per set (13.70) and digs per set (15.00). USU is also top-four in hitting percentage (third, .257), hitting percentage allowed (fourth, .192), blocks per set (fourth, 2.53) and aces allowed per set (fourth, 1.15).

PAC'S A PUNCH
The Pac-12 ranks as the best volleyball conference in the nation among non-P4 conferences according to Massey Ratings. The league boasts six teams in the top 100 of the power ratings with Utah State ranking 83rd in the nation along with Colorado State (37th), San Diego State (69th), Boise State (73rd), Washington State (79th) and Oregon State (95th) all making the cut and Texas State (107th) narrowly missing out. 

AGGIES VS. EVERYONE
The series between Utah State and San Diego State is tied at 17-17-1 as the two sides head into their 36th all-time meeting. After a stretch in which SDSU went 11-4 to begin the pair's time as members of the Mountain West, the Aggies have now won nine-straight matches over the Aztecs, including each of the past four meetings in San Diego. Each of the past six matches has gone at least four sets.

The Aggies and Rams meet for the 58th time on Saturday, USU's second-most common opponent among Pac-12 teams behind only Boise State (59 previous meetings). The Rams lead 37-20 and won 32 straight from 1983 through 2021, but Utah State has now won six of the past 10 meetings, including two of the past three in Fort Collins. The Aggies won all three matchups against CSU last year, including a 3-0 win in the title match of the MW Tournament. The Rams took the first meeting this season, a five-setter in Logan on Oct. 3.

CAN I DIG IT? (YES YOU CAN)
Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Lily LaFlesch leads the Pac-12 with 3.84 digs per set this season. She set a career-high with 29 digs against CSU, tying for the sixth-most digs by an Aggie during the 25-point, rally-scoring era (since 2008). Her 29 digs are the second-most in a match by any Pac-12 player this season. Alongside 20-dig performances agaisnt Fresno State, Utah Valley and Weber State, LaFlesch has four 20-dig matches so far this season.

As a team, USU finished with 94 digs against the Rams, tied for the most by any Pac-12 team this season and the second-most by the Aggies during the 25-point, rally-scoring era (since 2008), trailing only USU's mark of 98 digs against Idaho in 2012.

BLOCK PARTY
USU's block has come on strong to begin Pac-12 play, recording double-digit blocks in three of four contests and ending with nine in the fourth. The Aggies recorded 12 blocks against Gonzaga, 16 against Fresno State and 10.5 against Colorado State. This was USU's first time recording double-digit blocks in three-straight matches since a streak of six-straight in 2024, while its 16 blocks against FS were the most by the Aggies since posting 17 against Weber State in 2023.

Junior middle blocker Solia Angilau has played a pivotal role in the block's ascent, making her Aggie debut against Fresno State and tying her career-high with eight blocks in the contest. Angilau now ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 1.27 blocks per set during league play.

ADVANTAGE AVA
Junior middle blocker Ava Napierski has been on fire to begin Pac-12 play and leads in the league with a .465 hitting percentage. She has recorded 23 kills on 43 attempts with only three errors. In the opening week of conference play, Napierski recorded 17 kills on 28 total attempts without registering an attacking error against Texas State and Gonzaga, 11 kills on a .611 hitting percentage against the Bulldogs, both career-highs.

SET YOUR GOALS
Sophomore setter Silina Damuni is still re-adjusting to Division I volleyball. Damuni spent her freshman year at BYU in 2023 before departing on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Fiji, only returning in March of this year. After becoming the full-time setter, Damuni was averaging over 10 assists per set before missing the past three matches due to injury, upping her average to 12.29 assists per set in USU's first week in Pac-12 play.

With Damuni out due to injury, senior setter Olivia Tukuafu has stepped up with a career-best stretch. Tukuafu has set numerous career-highs recently, including 53 assists and nine kills against Colorado State and 16 digs and three blocks against Boise State. Tukuafu has posted double-doubles in each of the past three matches, the longest streak of her career.

WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED
The Aggies have eight players averaging at least one kill per set during conference play. Junior outside hitters Olivia Ruy, Sami Blackett and Ava Nakai rank third, fourth and 10th in the league, respectively, with 4.00, 3.60 and 3.00 kills per set, respectively. Junior middle blocker Ava Napierski has posted 2.09 kills per set, sophomore outside hitter Addy Cook is adding 1.75, and graduate middle blocker Sophie Scott has 1.32 kills per set to begin Pac-12 play. Stepping up due to injuries, senior setter Olivia Tukuafu and junior middle blocker Solia Angilau are averaging 1.31 and 1.00 kills per set.

EARLY TESTS
Utah State's nonconference schedule was one of the toughest in the nation as the Aggies faced the 23rd-toughest schedule according to Massey Ratings, tops in the Pac-12 and sixth among all non-P4 programs. In all, seven of USU's 10 nonconference opponents made the NCAA Tournament in 2025.

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE
This year's Aggie roster features 10 players from the Beehive State, tied for the most for the team since having 11 Utahns on the roster in 2007. USU also had 10 players from Utah in 2008 and 2009. Last year's squad featured only five Utahns.

CONNECTIONS ACROSS SPORTS
Sophomore outside hitter Addy Cook is cousins with Utah State starting quarterback Grady Brosterhous.

A WHOLE NEW CREW
The Aggies welcome in 12 new players for the 2026 campaign, including nine transfers and three freshmen. Lauren Bodily (West Virginia), Silina Damuni (BYU), Olivia Ruy (Maryland) and Sophie Scott (Cal) join Utah State from P4 programs while USU also adds a plethora of experience with Solia Angilau (New Mexico), Sami Blackett (Utah Valley), Addy Cook (Wyoming) and Lily LaFlesch (Wyoming) joining the Aggies. Justýna Nováková joins as a junior following several years playing in her native Czechia while AC Gibbs, Taytum Nelson and Madi Rich arrive to USU as freshmen in 2026.

PAST MEETS PRESENT
A number of Aggies have previous connections prior to arriving in Logan. Both Addy Cook and Lily LaFleschplayed at Wyoming last season with each ranking third on the team in kills and digs per set, respectively. Juniors Sami Blackett and Ava Napierski also played together in high school with both playing their senior seasons at Orem HS as the duo finished top-two on the team in kills en route to a state title in 2023. Before Orem HS, Napierski played at Timpview HS alongside sophomore Silina Damuni where the pair won state titles in both 2020 and 2022. Senior Lauren Bodily and junior Olivia Ruy also shared the court while at Woods Cross HS, capping off their time together with a state semifinal run in 2021.

AGGIE CONNECTION
Taytum Nelson is continuing a family tradition of playing at Utah State. Her grandfather, Alan Parish, played three seasons for USU men's basketball in the 1960s, including the 1964-65 season with All-American and home court namesake Wayne Estes.

SUPER NOVAKOVA
Despite playing as an outside hitter, junior Justyna Novakova has ample experience as a libero, having played libero for the Czechia U20 through U22 national teams and also playing the position at the club level for VK Dukla Liberec.

NEW IN TOWN
Keith Smith was hired as the 12th head coach in Utah State volleyball history in January. Smith brings extensive experience working within the USA Volleyball pipeline and most recently served as an assistant coach at TCU in 2025, helping the Horned Frogs in a 21-11 record and an opening round win in the NCAA Tournament. He also has previous coaching stops at Auburn and Grand Canyon. Smith also played for the Lopes, ending his career as the school record holder with 4,484 assists.

Smith's time with Team USA has seen him working with the women's U21 national team at the 2025 NORCECA Pan American Cup, helping Team USA capture a gold medal in Costa Rica. This offseason, Smithalso served as the U18/U19 group leader at the National Team Development Program (NTDP).

FRESH INK IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Utah State ended the 2025 campaign with a .274 hitting percentage as a team, breaking the previous record of .238 set by the 2016 squad. The Aggies also hit .301 during conference play, ranking fifth all-time in Mountain West history. Middle blocker Tierney Barlow also set the single-season record for an individual, hitting .444 to top the previous mark of .375 (min. 5 attempts per set) held by Denae Mohlman and set in 1997. Barlow's hitting percentage over the full season ranks in a tie for third all-time among Mountain West players, while her .471 mark in conference ranks alone in third place all-time in MW history.

UP NEXT
USU continues its four-match road trip next week at Boise State on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m. (MT), and at Oregon State on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 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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