BACK IN ACTION
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).

AGGIES VS. EVERYONE
The Aggies and Cougars meet for the nine time in history on Thursday, including the fourth time in Pullman. Utah State won the first meeting between the teams this season, a five-set thriller in Logan which snapped a five-game skid to the Cougars dating back to 1985. Prior to the Aggie win, WSU had won in 1985, 1992, 2000, 2007 and most recently in 2019. USU claimed wins in the first two matches in the series in 1977 and 1980.

The Aggies face off against Gonzaga for the just the second time since 2009 and only the sixth time ever. Utah State holds a 4-2 lead in the all-time series after picking up a four-set win in the first meeting this season in Logan. USU also won in 1986, 1990 and 2000 while Gonzaga took the win in the most recent matchup before this season in 2009 and won in the only previous match in Spokane, taking a 3-0 win in 1994.

LEADERS OF THE PAC
Utah State picked up a pair of weekly awards from the Pac-12 this week as junior outside hitter Olivia Ruywas named the Offensive Player of the Week while sophomore setter Silina Damuni earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. Ruy posted a team-high .356 hitting percentage, accruing 34 kills on the week, including a 21-kill outing against Texas State. Damuni led the team with 30 digs, posting 15 in each match against the Bobcats and Beavers, and added six blocks on the week.

TWO-HEADED MONSTER
Junior outside hitters Olivia Ruy and Sami Blackett both rank in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in kills per set this season as Utah State is one of only three teams in the league with multiple top-10 killers alongside Boise State and San Diego State. Blackett averages 3.39 kills per set while Ruy adds 3.00 per frame, ranking fifth and ninth in the Pac-12, respectively.

Against Colorado State, Ruy posted a career-high 25 kills, the most in a single match by an Aggie this season and tied for 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. Blackett recorded a season-high 23 kills against Washington State, Her 23 kills are the second-most by an Aggie this season and the sixth-most among all Pac-12 players. They were Blackett's most kills in a match since recording 27 kills in back-to-back matches as a freshman at Utah Valley in 2024.

Both players cleared the 20-kill plateau again against Texas State, giving both players three such matches on the season. They are the first Aggie duo with three matches each of 20-plus kills since 2003.

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. During Pac-12 action, Damuni has established herself as one of the league's premier setters, ranking third in the league with a mark of 10.31 assists per set and ranking fourth with 3.26 digs per set, the highest mark for a non-defensive specialist player in the league.

With Damuni out due to injury for several weeks during Pac-12 play, senior setter Olivia Tukuafu stepped up with a career-best stretch. Tukuafu set numerous career-highs, including 53 assists and nine kills against Colorado State and 16 digs and three blocks against Boise State. Tukuafu posted double-doubles in three straight matches, the longest streak of her career, and posted a 10.50 assists-per-set average against Pac-12 foes.

CAN I DIG IT? (YES YOU CAN)
The Aggies lead the Pac-12 during conference play with 14.49 digs per set, leading Boise State's second-place mark of 14.13 digs per frame. Both sophomores defensive specialist Lily LaFlesch and setter Silina Damuni rank in the top 10 during league play in digs per set as the Aggies are one of only two teams with two players in the top 10 alongside Boise State. Damuni ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 3.26 digs per set while LaFlesch sits in eighth with 3.08 digs per set. Damuni is one of only two non-libero/defensive specialists in the top 10, joining Boise State OH Sydney Dreves. Junior outside hitter Justyna Novakova has donned the libero jersey in the past five matches and has responded with double-digit digs in four out of five contests.

LaFlesch 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 by any Pac-12 player this season. 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.

RIGHT UP THE MIDDLE
Middle blockers Ava Napierski and Sophie Scott led the Aggie attack during the team's win over Washington State, combining for 25 kills on a 5.00-per-set average. Scott set a career-high with 12 kills on a team-best .409 hitting percentage while Napierski tied her career-high with 13 kills. Napierski also led the team in blocks and aces with five and two, respectively, while Scott added three blocks in the contest.

BLOCK PARTY
Utah State ranks third in the Pac-12 during league play with 2.50 blocks per set. The Aggies have recorded double-digit blocks in six games during league play, including an 18-block outing against Texas State, tied for the most by the program since a 21-block outing against San Diego State in 2019.

JOSTLING FOR POSITION
With only four match days left, the Aggies are only 1.5 games back in the standings for the fourth and final spot in the Pac-12 Tournament. USU trails Boise State and needs to finish one game ahead of the Broncos in order to make the conference tournament. Utah State faces a final stretch of road games at Washington State, Gonzaga and Fresno State plus a regular season finale at home against San Diego State. Boise State, meanwhile, has a bye before a final home contest against Fresno State before closing out the regular season on the road next week at Washington State and Oregon State. The Aggies could also catch the Beavers who sit three games ahead in third place and close the season with games against Gonzaga and Washington State on the road plus San Diego State and Boise State at home.

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 86th in the nation along with Colorado State (30th), San Diego State (69th), Boise State (77th), Washington State (84th) and Oregon State (91st) all making the cut. 

MILLENNIUM MILESTONE
Junior outside hitter Sami Blackett eclipsed 1,000 career kills. The product of Orem, Utah, reached the plateau in USU's road match against Oregon State and now has 1,068 kills in her career after totaling 771 in two seasons at Utah Valley and posting 297 so far this season at Utah State.

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).

UP NEXT
The Aggies head into the final week of the regular season with a split of home and away matches. Utah State first concludes its road schedule at Fresno State on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. (MT), before celebrating Senior Night on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. (MT) against San Diego State.

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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