BACK IN ACTION
The Aggies officially kick off the Pac-12 era at Utah State, beginning their inaugural Pac-12 season with a road match at Texas State on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 5 p.m. (MT), before returning home for USU's first home Pac-12 contest on Saturday, Sept. 26, at noon (MT), against Gonzaga.

AGGIES VS. EVERYONE
Utah State and Texas State have met only five times previously with the Aggies carrying a 4-1 edge into this week's contest. The Bobcats won 3-0 in 1990 while USU has won each of the past four meetings, including a 3-0 win in 2012 in the only previous meeting in San Marcos. The two sides were actually conference mates once before for a single year in the WAC in 2012.

The Aggies face off against Gonzaga for the first time since 2009 and only the fifth time ever. Utah State holds a 3-2 lead in the all-time series, picking up wins in 1986, 1990 and 2000 while Gonzaga took wins in 1994 at home and the most recent meeting in 2009, a five-set neutral court win in Ogden, Utah. Saturday's meeting will be the first in Logan.

A NEW ERA
This week's matches represent Utah State's first Pac-12 contests in any sport. The Pac-12 is USU's sixth conference affiliation according to records (since 1976). The Aggies first played volleyball in the Intermountain Athletic Conference from 1976-81, the High Country Athletic Conference from 1984-89, the Big West Conference from 1990-2004 and the WAC from 2005-12. Utah State then spent 13 seasons in the Mountain West from 2013-2025, compiling a 122-111 conference record and leaving the league on an 18-game winning streak in regular season conference matches. 

EARLY TESTS
Utah State's nonconference schedule was one of the toughest in the nation as the Aggies have faced the 23rd-toughest schedule in 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 following the conclusion of nonconference play. Utah State ranks 74th in the nation, trailing only Washington State (73rd) and Colorado State (41st) in the conference. The conference boasts seven teams in the top 100 with Boise State (77th), San Diego State (88th), Oregon State (91st) and Texas State (95th) all making the cut.

FROM THE SERVICE LINE
USU has turned up the heat from the service line last week. After averaging 1.0 aces per set through the team's first seven matches, Utah State posted 22 total aces in three matches against Weber State, Utah Valley and BYU, averaging 1.83 per set. The Aggies also maintained their solid form in receiving, allowing only 1.08 aces per set during that same span while allowing only 1.06 aces per set over the full season. Utah State ranks second in the Pac-12 in aces allowed this season.

SET YOUR GOALS
Sophomore setter Silina Damuni had a career week last week, recording 120 total assists and posting a double-double in all three matches. Damuni set a career-high against Weber State with 48 assists and added 11 digs, then posted 46 assists alongside a career-high 13 digs against Utah Valley. She ended the week with 26 assists and another 13-dig performance against BYU. On the week, Damuni also added six kills, three aces and two blocks.

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.

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

RETURN TO SETTER
Sophomore setter Silina Damuni has started the past seven games for USU but is still re-acclimatizing 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.

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 the thick of conference play with a pair of home match at the Wayne Estes Center. Utah State will host Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m., before facing off against preseason favorite Colorado State on Saturday, Oct. 3, at noon.

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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