BACK IN ACTION
The Aggies head into the thick of conference play with a pair of home matches 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.

AGGIES VS. EVERYONE

Utah State and Fresno State meet for the 46th time in history on Thursday. The Aggies hold a slim 24-21 lead in the series, thanks in part to a current 9-1 stretch dating back to 2021. USU has won five-straight in Logan and is 15-5 overall at home against the Bulldogs. Fresno’s only win during the current Aggie run was a 3-1 upset victory in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament in 2023.

The Aggies and Rams meet for the 57th time on Saturday, USU’s second-most common opponent among Pac-12 teams behind only Boise State (58 previous meetings). The Rams lead 36-20 and won 32 straight from 1983 through 2021, but Utah State has now won six of the past nine meetings, including three of the past five in Logan. The Aggies won all three matchups against CSU last year, including a 3-0 win in the title match of the MW Tournament. 

PAC’S A PUNCH

The Pac-12 ranks as the sixth-best volleyball conference in the nation according to Massey Ratings, trailing only the Power 4 and narrowly behind the Big East. The league boasts seven teams in the top 100 of the power ratings with Utah State ranking 81st in the nation along with Colorado State (40th), Washington State (72nd), Boise State (77th), San Diego State (85th), Oregon State (88th) and Texas State (92nd) all making the cut.

ADVANTAGE AVA

Junior middle blocker Ava Napierski put together a career week in USU’s first go around in Pac-12 play last week. Napierski recorded 17 kills on 28 total attempts without registering an attacking error. Against Texas State, she set a career-high with a .600 hitting percentage with six kills. Napierski then topped the performance with a .611 mark against Gonzaga, recording a career-high 11 kills on 18 attempts and adding a season-high six blocks.

SET YOUR GOALS

Sophomore setter Silina Damuni has started the past seven games for USU but is still re-adjusting 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. Since becoming the full-time setter, Damuni is averaging over 10 assists per set and has settled into role within the past few weeks, upping her average to 12.29 assists per set in USU’s first week in Pac-12 play.

WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED

The Aggies had five players reach double-digit kills in the first week of Pac-12 play. Junior outside hitters Sami Blackett and Olivia Ruy both tallied 27 and 23 kills, respectively, both clearing 3.0 kills per set. Sophomore outside hitter Addy Cook added 12 kills and USU heavily involved its middle blockers last week as Napierskifinished with 17 kills and graduate senior Sophie Scott recorded 14 kills. Junior outside hitter Ava Nakai also came on for three sets against Texas State and finished with nine kills, averaging 3.0 per set.

FROM THE SERVICE LINE

USU has turned up the heat from the service line recently. After averaging 1.0 aces per set through the team’s first seven matches, Utah State posted 31 total aces since, averaging 1.63 per set. The Aggies also maintained their solid form in receiving, allowing only 1.00 aces per set during that same span. Utah State ranks second in the Pac-12 in aces allowed this season, committing only 1.02 reception errors per set.

EARLY TESTS

Utah State’s nonconference schedule was one of the toughest in the nation as the Aggies faced the 23rd-toughest schedule according to Massey Ratings, tops in the Pac-12 and sixth among all non-P4 programs. In all, seven of USU’s 10 nonconference opponents made the NCAA Tournament in 2025.

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.

PAC-12 PICK ‘EM

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.

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 LaFleschplayed 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, having played libero for the Czechia U20 through U22 national teams and also playing the position at the club level for VK Dukla Liberec.

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, Smithalso 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

Utah State concludes a four-match home stand in Club Estes against Boise State on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m., before the first of two byes during conference play.

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.

 – USU –