Utah State Volleyball Travels to Nevada and Boise State

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Utah State heads back to the road to take part in the Mountain West against Nevada and Boise State. Utah State has the edge over Nevada, 30 to 25, and has won the last seven matches. The Aggies have been doing well with their winning streak but have struggled against them in Reno, going 8 for 17 there. Head coach Rob Neilson hasn’t let the Aggies lose to Nevada for the last three years. USU won three straight road games in the series and last lost to the Wolf Pack in 2019 in Reno. Since becoming conference mates in the WAC in 2005, USU is 24-11 against Nevada. Utah State defeated Nevada 3-1 in the opening round of the 2010 WAC Tournament, which USU won.

Aggie History Between the Two

The Aggies and Broncos are going to face off against each other for the 53^rd time. Boise State does have the edge over the Aggies 29 to 23. Utah State hasn’t done so well on the Bronco’s court, as their record is 16 to 9 when they visit. Boise State won the first 14 encounters of the series meeting before Utah State took the next 13 out of the next 14 games. Since both teams have met in the Mountain West the Aggies have gone 9-12 and won the last four games.

Before this road trip, the Aggies had been doing well, with a four-game winning streak, including a pair of wins over New Mexico and Air Force. Before those two, the Aggies came back seven points behind in a fourth set win over the Lobos. USU followed up the win with a dominant performance against the Falcons, holding AF under 20 points in each set during a 3-0 sweep.

Freshmen Double-Doubles

The Utah State Aggies have had a strong season, with several players ‘ outstanding performances, including scoring double-doubles. Aggie freshmen Kaylie Kofe and Andrea Simovski both earned themselves one when they played against New Mexico. It was the third time so far this season that they had done so in the same game. Kofe got a career-high 52 assists and 10 digs, and Simovski got 10 kills and the same amount of digs.

Both Kofe and Simovski also recorded double-doubles together versus San Diego State and as part of a double-double trio alongside freshman Olivia Tukuafu against Green Bay in the season opener. Kofe and freshman Mara Štiglić posted double-doubles against Weber State to make it four games with multiple double-doubles for USU. All told, the Aggies have registered 10 double-doubles this season, with Simovski and Kofe leading the way with four apiece.

How They Match Up

Utah State is currently on a four-match winning streak and has climbed to the top of the Mountain West in several statistical categories. During conference play, Utah State currently ranks second in assists per set (12.52), second in kills per set (13.64), and third in hitting percentage (.227). Individually, Kofe ranks fourth in the MW with 8.92 assists per set, while Barlow ranks fifth in the league with a .378 hitting percentage and 1.24 blocks per set.

This season, the Aggies played seven consecutive matches, which went a full five sets, beginning with the team’s win over Ohio and ending with USU’s comeback win at San Diego State. This is one of the longest-known winning streaks of five-set matches in women’s volleyball history.

Aggie Record

When Utah State played Purdue freshman Loryn Helgesen led the Aggie attack with 12 kills on only 19 attempts. Helgesen’s hitting percentage of .526 in the match was the highest by an Aggie this season, with at least 10 kills. Also when playing against Green Bay, Simovski led the Aggies with 21 kills, recording a .439 hitting percentage.

In their meeting against New Mexico, Aggie Kofe finished with a career-high 52 assists, the most assists by an Aggie in a single match since Kassidy Johnson recorded 56 assists against Air Force in 2017. Kofe’s 52 assists are also the most in the Mountain West this season for a game going fewer than five sets.

Freshmen and Redshirts

The Aggie freshman is leading the way this season in digs (Simovski, 133), assists (Kofe, 413), and aces (Simovski, 19). USU’s top-three players in serves received are also all freshmen (Delaney Lawson, 335; Simovski, 320; Bialek, 272). Štiglić also ranks second on the team in both kills per set (2.49) and points per set (2.99).

When USU faced Wyoming, redshirt sophomore Kendel Thompson accrued a career-high 23 digs. Thompson’s 23 digs were the most by a Utah State player in a single match since former Aggie Jordi Holdaway recorded 25 digs against Air Force in 2022. During MW play, Thompson ranks tied for seventh in the conference with 3.44 digs per set. With 17 digs in USU’s 3-0 sweep at UNLV, Simovski ranks first in the MW this season for digs in a single three-set match.

Seniors and Others

The Aggies are spreading glory as five different Aggie hitters have led the team in kills in this season. Senior Adna Mehmedovic has led the Aggies in kills a team-high seven times, while Helgesen has done so on four occasions. Simovski has now led the team in kills three times this season after tying Barlow in their most recent match against Air Force, which was Barlow’s first time leading the team in kills. Štiglić led the team in kills for the first time this season against New Mexico. Lawson and junior Kaylie Ray have each led USU in kills once this season, accomplishing the feat against Utah and Weber State, respectively.

During the last Ohio game, Freshman Andrea Simovski recorded five service aces in USU’s 3-2 win. The five aces are tied for the most by a USU player since former Aggie Beatriz Rodrigues recorded six aces against Fresno State on Nov. 3, 2022. The Aggies recorded 12 service aces against Weber State, their second match with 10 or more aces this season. The 12 aces were the most by USU in a match since recording 13 at New Mexico last season. Utah State is tied for fourth in the conference with 1.6 service aces per set during Mountain West play.

Youth Still Taking Over

Utah State has the third-youngest roster by age in the nation. The Aggies’ average age of 19.6 is only bested by Stephen F. Austin (18.5) and Army (19.0). USU has a total of 11 true freshmen on the team in 2024, plus one redshirt freshman (Rachel Reed). In total, the Aggies bring in 13 newcomers to the 2024 roster and return only four letter winners in Kelsey Watson, Mehmedovic, Kaylie Ray, and Kendel Thompson. Utah State also has four international players on its roster, all freshmen, in Andrea Simovski (Belgrade, Serbia), Jagoda Bialek (Opole, Poland), Kate Lijić (Split, Croatia) and Mara Štiglić (Rijeka, Croatia).

The Aggies were picked to finish second in the Mountain West this season in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll. Utah State received a total of 84 points and two first-place votes in the poll, finishing behind Colorado State’s 98 points and eight first-place votes. Boise State, Fresno State and UNLV rounded out the top-five of the poll, with UNLV also receiving the final first-place vote.

Tournament And Head Coach

Last year the Aggies won its third-straight Mountain West title as the Aggies became the outright Mountain West regular season champions after finishing league play 17-1, the most conference wins in program history. USU earned its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking its second-straight and sixth-ever appearance at the Tournament.

Also last year Utah State won the outright Mountain West regular season title in 2023, making it three-straight Mountain West championships under head coach Rob Neilson. The Aggies also shared the Mountain West regular season title in 2021 before winning the tournament in 2022. USU has won eight 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.

Senior Shine and What’s Coming Up

It isn’t just the freshmen who have been doing great. Graduate senior middle blocker Kelsey Watson is the only Aggie to ever hit 100 percent while logging at least 10 kills, doing so in last year’s regular season finale at Nevada (Nov. 18, 2023). She now holds the school hitting percentage record for between 10-14 attempts as she was a perfect 10-for-10 against the Wolf Pack.

After their match up with Navada and New Mexico Utah State returns home to host Fresno State on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m. at the Wayne Estes Center. USU previously forfeited their scheduled match versus San Jose State on Wednesday, the 23rd.

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Article originally written by RJ Parker.