BACK IN ACTION
The Aggies continue to face stiff opposition this weekend as Utah State plays a neutral match against Iowa State on Friday, Sept. 4, in Santa Barbara, California, before taking on UCSB on Saturday, Sept. 5. The Cyclones are currently several spots out of the AVCA Top 25 rankings and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year while the Gauchos finished the season ranked 61st in the KPI rankings.

AGGIES VS. EVERYONE
Utah State and Iowa State will meet for the first time ever on Friday. The Aggies are 68-126 all-time against current Big 12 teams, predominantly playing BYU (16-45) and Utah (36-50). USU is 26-31 against Big 12 foes not from the Beehive State.

The Aggies are 6-34 all-time against UC Santa Barbara but earned a 3-0 win in the last meeting at home in 2017. The two sides were conference mates in the Big West from 1990-2004 with UCSB claiming 26 of 27 matches during this time. USU's lone win over UCSB in Santa Babara came in a 3-1 victory in 1977. Utah State won three-straight early on in the series in the 1970s and has now won two of the past three over the Gauchos. 

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.

CLIMBING THE RANKS
The Aggies are 14-209 all-time against AVCA-ranked opponents but have scored a pair of ranked victories in recent seasons. Utah State defeated then-No. 12 UCLA at home in 2022, 3-1, and scored a five-set victory over then-No. 18 ranked Tennessee in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last season. USU is only 3-104 in road matches at ranked teams, last recording a win with a 3-0 sweep over then-No. 3 Hawaii in 2007.

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. 

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. 

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.

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 reopen Club Estes for the first time in 2026 to host UCLA on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. (MT). The Aggies will then attempt to break the Utah state attendance record for volleyball and sell out the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. (MT), against Utah.

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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