USU volleyball will participate in the Mountain West Tuesday Night Block Party on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., hosting Nevada in the team’s first repeat matchup of the conference season. And will host Boise State on Halloween night. Aggies lead the all-time series against Nevada, 30-26, but lost the first match between the teams this season, 3-2, in Reno. The loss was head coach Rob Neilson’s first loss to the Wolf Pack in his career and snapped a seven-game winning streak by the Aggies in the series. The series features a home-court advantage, as whoever plays at home is 38-15. Nevada holds an 18-8 mark in Reno, while Utah State is 20-7 against the Wolf Pack in Logan.
USU Gears Up Against 2 of the Best
Since becoming conference mates in the WAC in 2005, USU is 24-12 against Nevada. The two sides met in the postseason once, with Utah State defeating Nevada 3-1 in the opening round of the 2010 WAC Tournament, which USU would go on to win.
The Aggies and Broncos will face off for the 54th time in program history on Saturday, with Boise State holding a 29-24 edge. USU won earlier this season in Boise, 3-2, and has now won five straight in the series. The Broncos won the first 14 games in the series before USU won 13 of the next 14, including seven of the first eight meetings as conference members of the WAC. Since joining the Mountain West, Utah State is 10-12 against the Broncos, while Neilson is now 6-3 against the Broncos in his career at USU.
Percentages Over Time
In Utah State’s last match against the Broncos, the Aggies set a new program record for hitting percentage in a five-set match. USU hit .371 in the 3-2 win against the Broncos, breaking the previous record of .361 against Alaska-Fairbanks in 1997 and rank third in the nation for hitting percentage in a five-set match.
Utah State was led by freshman Andrea Simovski, who finished with 28 kills on a .510 slugging percentage, both career-highs. Simovski’s 28 kills are tied for the third-most by a freshman in the nation this season and are tied for the third-most by anyone in the Mountain West this season. Freshman Mara Stiglic also finished with career highs of 20 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. This is the first time multiple Aggies have finished with 20 or more kills in the same match since joining the MW in 2014.
The History of Highs
The Aggies swept Fresno State, 3-0, on Saturday at the Estes. The Bulldogs entered the match tied for the conference lead alongside Colorado State. Senior Adna Mehmedovic and Štiglić led Utah State with 16 kills apiece. Mehmedovic set a new career-high hitting percentage of .640 and recorded 0 attack errors on 25 attempts. Mehmedovic’s percentage is the highest of any Aggie this season while recording ten or more kills. Freshman Kaylie Kofe also recorded 41 assists, tied for the most by any MW player in a three-set match this season and the most in a three-set game during conference play.
With November approaching, the race for the Mountain West Tournament is rapidly taking shape. The top six teams in the league will advance to the tournament in Las Vegas. The Aggies are currently tied for fourth place alongside San Diego State and Boise State with a 6-4 conference record, one game ahead of Wyoming (5-5) and two games ahead of Nevada (4-6).
The Best Freshmen
Simovski came through in the clutch in the final set of USU’s 3-2 win at Boise State. Simovski, who hails from Belgrade, Serbia, recorded six of USU’s 15 points in the fifth set, going 6-0-7 for a .857 hitting percentage to help the Aggies close the door for the road victory.
Kofe has recorded a team-best six double-doubles this season and did so in each of Utah State’s five-set matches at Nevada (a career-high-tying 52 assists and ten digs) and Boise State (48 assists and a career-high 13 digs). Simovski ranks second on the team with five double-doubles this season, recording one against the Broncos with 28 kills and 13 digs.
Double, Doubles, and Ranks
The Aggies have recorded multiple double-doubles in the same game five times this season. Kofe and Simovski have done so four times, including when USU recorded three double-doubles in the season opener against Green Bay as freshman Olivia Tukuafu recorded her first double-double alongside Kofe and Simovski. Kofe and Štiglić also posted double-doubles together versus Weber State. All told, the Aggies have recorded 13 double-doubles this season.
After a challenging nonconference schedule featuring six opponents ranked in the top 50 of the KPI rankings, the Aggies have come together in conference play, winning six of their past seven matches. During Mountain West play, Utah State ranks second in the assists per set (12.84), second in kills per set (13.95), and second in hitting percentage (.260). Individually, junior Tierney Barlow ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage (.406), and Kofe ranks third in assists per set (9.58).
What Has Been Going On
Utah State challenged itself in nonconference play, facing off against three AVCA-ranked teams and six teams top ranked teams. Deep into conference play, USU’s schedule still ranks as the 54th-toughest in the nation by opponent winning percentage and the toughest among Mountain West teams.
The Aggies played seven consecutive matches, which went a complete five sets, beginning with the team’s win over Ohio and ending with USU’s comeback win at San Diego State. According to available sources and research, this is the longest-known streak of five-set matches in women’s volleyball history at the Division-I level. USU has played in 10 five-set matches this season, going 5-5 in those contests.
How USU Digs and Kills
Freshman Loryn Helgesen led the Aggie attack against No. 8 Purdue with 12 kills on only 19 attempts, finishing with a .526 hitting percentage. Barlow also topped the .500 plateau against Nevada, hitting .583 to record 15 kills. Redshirt sophomore Kendel Thompson accrued a career-high 23 digs in Utah State’s match versus Wyoming. Thompson’s 23 digs were the most by a Utah State player in a single game since former Aggie Jordi Holdaway recorded 25 digs against Air Force in 2022. Thompson ranks sixth in the conference during Mountain West play with 3.45 digs per set. Additionally, Simovski ranks second in the conference this season for digs in a three-set match after recording 17 digs in USU’s 3-0 sweep at UNLV.
What’s Coming
Utah State welcomed Number 8 Purdue to the Wayne Estes Center on Sept. 7 but fell in a 3-0 sweep. It was the first time the Aggies had faced a team in the top 10 AVCA rankings since 2014 when it hosted then-No. 7 Colorado State.
USU returns to the road next week for a pair of matches. The Aggies will first play at Air Force on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m. Then, they will wrap up the weekend in New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m.
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