LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head volleyball coach Keith Smith announced six signings on Wednesday for National Signing Day. The Aggies will welcome in Lila Ellsworth (Gilbert, Arizona/Highland HS), Macy Melville (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS), Dakota Richard (Little Elm, Texas/Legacy Christian Academy), Estelle Slaney (Lehi, Utah/Skyridge HS), Leah Thomas (Idaho Falls, Idaho/Idaho Falls HS) and Audrey White (North Logan, Utah/Green Canyon HS).

"There are three main things I love about this class," coach Smith said. "It is full of awesome humans, people who want to bring championships to Cache Valley, and people who love Logan and want to be here. We are bringing in a high-level setter, a high-level libero and multiple high-level pin hitters with the expectations of pushing us consistently to the top of the Pac-12." 

Lila Ellsworth, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter, comes to Logan from Gilbert, Arizona, where she was a four-year letterwinner for Highland High School. She has amassed over 1,142 kills in her career for the Hawks alongside 656 digs, 155 aces and 70 blocks. During her senior season, Ellsworth has hit over .300 while accruing 375 kills alongside 229 digs, 42 aces and 22 blocks before the state playoffs. She was named to the 6A All-Conference Second-Team as a junior and twice has been named First-Team All-Region, also earning Fiesta Offensive Region Player of the Year. Ellsworth played at the club level for Arizona Sorm Elite 17 Thunder where she helped the team to four runner-up open finishes.

Macy Melville, a 6-0 outside hitter, comes to USU from American Fork, Utah, where she was a four-year letterwinner at American Fork High School. She was thrice named first-team all-region and twice earned all-state recognition for the Cavemen while tallying nearly 1,200 kills with 841 digs, 154 aces, and 89 blocks. Melville helped the team to a fourth-place finish at the state championship this season, the first time American Fork HS reached the semifinals in a decade, and recorded 404 kills, 338 digs plus 56 aces and 89 blocks. Melville was rated as the15th-highest recruit in Utah by Prep Dig. She played at the Club Level for Elevate 17 Nike, earning all-tournament team honors in the freedom division at the USAV Nationals in 2025 and helping the team to a USAV Intermountain Region title and the Open Champs Arizona Triple Crown Summer NIT.

Dakota Richard, a 5-9 setter, joins the Aggies from Little Elm, Texas, where she was a four-year letterwinner at Legacy Christian Academy. In her career for the Eagles, she amassed over 1,800 kills and 1,100 digs, twice earning all-state recognition, once honorable mention and once on the second team. She helped the team to a district title as a freshman in 2023 while recording 309 kills, 248 digs, 99 aces and 19 blocks. This past season as a senior, Richard posted 586 kills with 231 digs. She played at the club level for Madfrog where she helped the team to a pair of national titles, including the 2025 USAV GJNC Open Division.

Estelle Slaney, a 5-7 libero and defensive specialist, comes to Logan from Lehi, Utah, where she played for Skyridge High School. She has totaled 946 digs in her career alongside 100 aces and 639 received serves. She helped the Falcons to runner-up finishes in the state tournament during her freshman, junior and senior seasons. She posted 445 digs, 53 aces, 94 assists and 324 received serves during her senior season. As a junior, she earned 6A Region 3 First-Team honors and was named to the all-state second team. Slaney was rated the sixth-highest recruit in Utah by Prep Dig and was named to the Utah 6A Watchlist. Slaney played at the club level for Club V 17 Prodigy Reed where she helped the team to a fifth-place national finish in the open division plus titles at the Salt Lake City Showdown, the West Coast Qualifier and the open at the Red Rock Rave.

Leah Thomas, a 6-1 outside hitter from Idaho Falls, Idaho, joins USU from Idaho Falls High School where she was a four-year letterwinner for the Tigers and a first-team all-conference and all-state honoree as a sophomore and junior while helping the team to a district title and a third-place finish at the state championship. Thomas led the team to a state title this year as a senior after posting nearly 600 kills on a .332 hitting percentage and registering 260 digs, 41 aces and 58 blocks. For her career, she has tallied 1,623 kills along with 195 aces, 193 blocks and 907 digs. Thomas played at the club level both for Idaho Crush and Idaho Peak.

Audrey White, a 6-2 outside hitter is the lone representative from Cache Valley in the 2026 signing day class as she hails from North Logan, Utah, where she was a four-year letterwinner and three-time all-state honoree at Green Canyon High School. White has 1,359 kills during her career for the Wolves, also posting 610 digs, 184 aces and 79 blocks. During her senior year, White has 512 kills on a .367 hitting percentage and has 228 digs, 86 aces and 26 blocks while leading Green Canyon to a runner-up finish at the 4A State Championship while being named to the All-State Second Team. As a sophomore in 2024, White earned All-State First Team and was named the Herald Journal Player of the Year after posting 472 kills on a .319 hitting percentage alongside 219 digs and 61 aces while helping the team to the state semifinals. White also played at the club level for Mountain Peak Volleyball, helping the team to first-place finishes at the Triple Crown West Coast Invitational, the PNQ and the New Orleans Qualifier. White was ranked the ninth-highest recruit in the state of Utah by Prep Dig.

Up Next
Utah State is back on the road this week with a pair of matches on back-to-back days in the Evergreen State. The Aggies first take on Washington State on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. (MT), before facing Gonzaga on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. (MT).

Tickets
Single-game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased through the USU online ticket office.
 
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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