BACK IN ACTION
The Aggies faces a trio of in-state opponents in one week. Utah State begins on the road at Weber State on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. (MT), before hosting Utah Valley in Club Estes on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. (MT). USU will then head south for a matchup against former head coach Rob Neilson and No. 25 BYU on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. (MT).

AGGIES VS. EVERYONE
Utah State and Weber State will face off for the 64th time on Tuesday, USU's third-most common opponent behind Utah (77) and New Mexico State (68). The Aggies lead the series 41-22, including a 17-11 mark in Ogden. Utah State has won four-straight in the series and the last two on the road, both five-set wins in 2022 and 2024.

The Aggies and Wolverines meet for the 26th time in history with USU holding a 14-11 edge all-time. Utah State is 8-5 at home against Utah Valley but lost the most recent home match in five sets in 2024. The Aggies exacted revenge with a five-set win on the road in Orem last year and have won three of the last four meetings overall.

BYU is USU's fourth-most common opponents as the two sides will play for the 62nd time on Saturday. The Cougars hold a 45-16 edge in the series overall but just a 10-7 lead since 2000. Utah State is 5-25 all-time against BYU in Provo and has won only twice there since 1981, recording a 3-0 win in 2001 and a five-set thriller in 2010.

EARLY TESTS
Utah State's nonconference schedule is one of the toughest in the nation as the Aggies have faced the 20th-toughest schedule in the country according to Massey Ratings, and is sixth among non-P4 programs. In all, seven of USU's 10 nonconference opponents made the NCAA Tournament in 2025.

IT'S JUST A FLESH WOUND
The Aggies still rate third-highest in the Pac-12 according to the Massey Power Ratings despite an 0-7 start to the season. Utah State ranks 73rd in the nation, trailing only Washington State (69th) and Colorado State (42nd) in the conference.

A REACQUAINTANCE 
Junior outside hitter Sami Blackett faces off against her former team when the Aggies face Utah Valley on Thursday. Blackett earned back-to-back first team All-WAC honors for the Wolverines while leading the team to back-to-back postseason appearances, earning an NIVC invite in 2024 before winning the 2025 WAC Tournament to reach the program's third-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

ALL AROUND ME ARE FAMILIAR FACES
Utah State will go up against a few familiar faces at BYU. Setter Kaylie Kofe played her first two seasons at USU, earning all-Mountain West honorable mention as a freshman before being named the MW Player of the Year as a sophomore last season, also earning AVCA All-Region honors and All-American honorable mention. Kofe raks eighth all-time for assists at Utah State and owns the program's single-season assists record during the 25-point, rally-scoring era (since 2008) with 1,330 assists last year.

On the sidelines, the Aggies go up against former head coach Rob Neilson. Neilson won 112 games over six seasons with the Aggies, winning five conference tournaments, reaching the NCAA Tournament three times and scoring the program's first tournament win since 2001. Also on the Cougar sidelines are former Aggie assistant coaches Chloe Hirst, Torre Glasker and Kennedi Hansen. Hansen, formerly Boyd, also played at USU under Neilson from 2021-23, earning all-MW honors in 2022.

EXPECT AN IMPACT
Utah State had three players named to Pac-12 Preseason Impact List in juniors Sami Blackett, Ava Napierski and Olivia Ruy. Outside hitter Sami Blackett comes to Utah State after earning back-to-back First Team All-WAC honors for Utah Valley in her first two collegiate seasons. Middle blocker Ava Napierski returns as one of USU's most veteran players with 16 matches played, including 10 starts, over her first two seasons in Logan. Outside hitter Olivia Ruy joins the Aggies after spending 2025 at Maryland, playing in 24 matches and averaging over 2.0 kills per set for the Terrapins.

THE DISRESPECT HAS BEEN NOTED
Utah State was picked to finish sixth out of nine teams in the Pac-12 preseason poll as voted by the league's coaches. The Aggies finished no lower than fourth in their last five seasons in the Mountain West and claimed regular season crowns in 2021, 2023 and 2025. This is the first season since 2021 in which USU has not been picked to finish top-two in the conference preseason poll.

TAKE THE (TROPHY) AND RUN
In its final season in the Mountain West, Utah State dominated from start to finish, posting a perfect 18-0 record before also claiming the MW Tournament championship, becoming only the second team in MW history to go undefeated in conference play and win the tournament title, joining fellow Pac-12 newcomer Colorado State who do so in 2003. It was only the second perfect conference record for USU and first since a 10-0 run through the Intermountain Athletic Conference in 1979. USU pulled off a reverse sweep of Boise State in the MW semifinal round to reach the championship match where the Aggies set a MW title match record against the Rams, hitting .420 in a three-set sweep to claim the crown.

FIVE FOR FIVE
Utah State has won five conference titles over the past five seasons, culminating in Mountain West regular season and tournament titles last season. USU also won the MW regular season title in 2021 and 2023 and won the tournament crown in 2022. USU has won nine 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.

SECOND ROUND BOUND
Last season was Utah State's seventh all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament with the Aggies compiling a 3-7 record in those appearances. Utah State defeated seventh-seeded Tennessee in five sets in the opening round before falling to tournament-site host and second-seeded Arizona State in the second round. This was USU's third tournament showing in the last four seasons and first victory since winning first round matches in back-to-back seasons in 2000 and 2001. 

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.

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.

RESTOCKING THE CUPBOARD
Utah State has a number of shoes to fill this season as all six starters and libero from last season have departed. In addition to two graduated players in Tierney Barlow and Kendel Thompson, the Aggies will look to replace five starters who transferred to Power-4 programs this offseason in Loryn Helgesen (Utah), Kaylie Kofe (BYU), Lauren Larkin (Missouri), Andrea Simovski (Cincinnati) and Mara Stiglic (Northwestern). All told, USU returns only 2.4 percent of the team's total points from last season, the lowest in the nation, and less than five percent each of the team's total kills, attempts, assists, aces and digs. 

PAST MEETS PRESENT
A number of Aggies have previous connections prior to arriving in Logan. Both Addy Cook and Lily LaFlesch played 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.

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, Smith also 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
The Aggies head into their inaugural season in the Pac-12, opening the new era on the road at Texas State on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 5 p.m. (MT), before returning to Club Estes to host Gonzaga on Saturday, Sept. 26, at noon (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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