Utah State Aggies

Sept. 3, 2012

LOGAN, Utah -

UTAH STATE at
KANSAS STATE INVITATIONAL
Thursday - Saturday, Sept. 6-8, 2012
Ahearn Field House (5,000)
Manhattan, Kan.
Thursday, Sept. 6
Saint Mary's at #22 Kansas State 6 p.m. (MT)
Friday, Sept. 7
UTAH STATE vs. Saint Mary's 4 p.m. (MT)
Saturday, Sept. 1
UTAH STATE at #22 Kansas State 5 p.m. (MT)
"Watch Live" link for USU-KSU match at UtahStateAggies.com

Utah State Volleyball Notes at Kansas State Invitational

STORYLINES
• Utah State volleyball will continue its season-long seven match road swing by playing in the Kansas State Invitational, facing Saint Mary's on Friday, Sept. 7 and host No. 22 Kansas State on Saturday, Sept. 8, in USU's first match against a ranked opponent this season.
• The Aggies are on their final leg of their three-weekend tournament tour after playing in the San Diego State Aztec Challenge last weekend after opening the season with the USU Invitational sponsored by Gossner Foods.
• This is USU's first-ever trip to Manhattan, Kan., as the previous four meetings between the Aggies and Wildcats have all been on neutral courts.
• USU is pursuing its first win over Saint Mary's and Kansas State, as the Aggies have a combined 0-9 mark, going winless in five meeting against the Gaels of SMC and 0-4 against the Wildcats of KSU.
• Sophomore setter Paige Neves became the 12th player in Aggie history with 1,000 career assists last weekend and needs just 37 assists from the No. 11 on USU's career assists list and 178 assists from tying for the No. 10 spot.
• Senior outside hitter Josselyn White has 271 career total blocks, needing eight to tie for the No. 10 spot on the USU career total blocks list... White also has 26 block solos, needing 11 to tie for the No. 10 spot on the career solo block list and logging 246 career block assists, needing 12 more to tie for 10th.

LIVE STATS
Live stats are available via "Live Stats" link at the USU Athletics web site at www.utahstateaggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics.

LIVE VIDEO
Utah State's match at Kansas State will be streamed on the Internet by clicking on the "Watch Live" link at www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics.

LOOKING AT UTAH STATE
Utah State is 5-2 after going 2-1 at the San Diego State Aztec Challenge... USU opened weekend action with a five-set win over Montana Friday night, then topped Sacred Heart in four sets Saturday morning before falling to host SDSU in four Saturday night.

USU improved to a .226 attack percentage, also upping its kills average to 11.93 kills per set... The Aggie defense also improved its numbers, improving to 3.09 blocks per set and 12.04 digs per set.

Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Orr (Thatcher, Ariz.) now leads the team in kills, posting 77 total for a 2.75 kills per set average... Orr earned her first all-tournament team honor last weekend after averaging 3.2 kills per set in USU's three matches... She hit .364 (41-9-88) in the three matches, logging a career-high 17 kills on a career-best .419 (17-4-31) attack percentage and a career-high 18.5 points in USU's five-set win over Montana Friday night... Orr posted double-digit kills in all three matches, logging 12 kills each in the Aggies' four-set win over Sacred Heart Saturday morning and the four-set loss to host SDSU Saturday night... Orr added 11 digs and seven total blocks on the weekend, earning 44.5 total points.

Redshirt-freshman middle blocker Elle Brainard (Saratoga Springs, Utah) joined Orr on the all-tournament team after tallying 19 total blocks in the three matches for a 6.3 blocks per set average for the weekend... Brainard now shares the team-lead and the WAC lead with teammate Kaitlyn VanHoff for blocks with 1.43 blocks per set and also leads not only USU but the WAC with a .440 attack percentage.

Senior outside hitter Josselyn White (Smithfield, Utah) is sixth in the WAC in points per set (3.76) as well as ninth in kills per set (3.12) and tied for ninth in hitting percentage (.286)... White adds 2.18 digs per set and 0.76 blocks per set.

Sophomore setter Paige Neves (Otto, Wyo.) became the 12th Aggie volleyball player to reach the 1,000 career assists milestone over the weekend, as her 133 assists over the weekend now gives her 1,102 for her career... Neves is fifth in the WAC in assists (9.12 per set)... Neves needs only 37 assists from the No. 11 spot held by Heather Hillier (2005-08) and 178 assists from tying for the No. 10 spot held by Mindi Jackson (1995-96).

Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff (Draper, Utah) is tied for the team and WAC-lead with Brainard for blocks with 1.43 blocks per set... VanHoff leads the team with three solo blocks, adding 37 assists for her 40 total blocks total... She posted career-highs of 12 total blocks and nine kills in USU's win over Sacred Heart on Saturday... VanHoff now averages 1.32 kills per set.

Sophomore libero Ashlan Rogers (Highland, Utah) is tied for fifth in the WAC with 3.43 digs per set and is also second in the league in service aces with 0.43 per set, serving up a WAC-high 12 already.

UTAH STATE IN TOURNAMENT PLAY
Utah State has a to 56-54 (.509) in regular season tournaments over the last 13 years, with its 3-1 mark in the USU Invitational sponsored by Gossner Foods and a 2-1 record last weekend in the San Diego State Aztec Challenge.

AGGIES AGAINST THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
Utah State has a combined 0-9 mark against the teams in this weekend's action .

Saint Mary's - USU is 0-5 (.000) against SMC, first meeting in 1990 and the Aggies haven't faced the Gaels since 2007 when they faced each other in a tournament at the University of Arizona.

Kansas State - The Aggies are also winless against the Wildcats, with an all-time 0-4 mark, first meeting in 1995 and haven't met since 2005 when playing each other at the Arkansas Tournament.

FIRST VISIT TO THE LITTLE APPLE
The weekend is Utah State's first visit to the Little Apple of Manhattan, Kan., as the other four times that the Aggies have faced the Wildcats have been in tournaments on neutral courts... USU and KSU first met in 1995 in Long Beach, Calif., they met again in the Aggies' season-opener in 2000 meeting in a Washington State tournament, in 2003 they met in the Montana State tournament before the latest meeting in 2005 at the Arkansas tournament.

UTAH STATE VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Saturday's match against No. 22 Kansas State is USU's first meeting this year against a ranked opponent... The Aggies are 11-57 (.162) during the last 12 years versus ranked opponents... USU's last win against a ranked team was its win over No. 3 Hawai'i in the WAC Tournament championship match.

TURNING PAIGE 1,000 IN RECORD BOOK
Sophomore setter Paige Neves became the 12th Aggie player to reach the 1,000 assists milestone as her 133 assists last weekend in San Diego gave her 1,102 assists for her career... Neves needs only 37 assists from the No. 11 spot held by Heather Hillier (2005-08) and 178 assists from tying for the No. 10 spot held by Mindi Jackson (1995-96).

Assists
1) 4520 Chelsea Fowles 2007-10
2) 3942 Carrie Steverson 1988-91
3) 3533 Lori Sargent-McKnight 1996-99
4) 2809 Chelsi Neves 2000-01
5) 2618 Stephanie Maurer 1984-87
6) 2265 Andrea Delsigne 2001-03
7) 2025 Randi Winn 1992-93
8) 1965 Dominique Arsenault 2003-05
9) 1495 Kalei Arnold 1992-95
10) 1280 Mindi Jackson 1995-96
11) 1139 Heather Hillier 2005-08
12) 1102 Paige Neves 2009-Pres.
13) 937 Zuzana Cerniansa 2002-05

WHITE RANKS 10TH ALL-TIME AT UTAH STATE IN ATTACKS
Senior outside hitter Josselyn White ranks 10th all-time at Utah State with 2,383 career attacks and is 302 attacks away from tying Niki Conner (1995-98) for ninth all-time with 2,685 career attacks... White is also approaching the USU top 10 career lists in four other categories... She has 696 kills, needing 197 to crack into the career kills list... White has 271 career total blocks, needing eight to tie for the No. 10 spot on the USU career total blocks list, as well as totalling 25 block solos, needing 12 to tie for the No. 10 spot on the career solo block list and logging 246 career block assists, needing 12 more to tie for 10.

Senior opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen has 609 kills, needing 254 to break into the career top 10 kills list as well as having a .199 career hitting percentage, needing to improve by .027 to tie for the No. 10 mark on the career hitting percentage list.

AGGIES NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS HISTORY
With two USU players named to the SDSU Aztec Challenge all-tournament team and three Aggie players being named to the USU Invitational sponsored by Gossner Foods all-Tournament team, Utah State adds to its collection of all-Tournament team honors... Here's a closer look at the current Aggies' all-Tournament team collection:

2012
SDSU Aztec Challenge
Rachel Orr - OH
Elle Brainard - MB

Utah State Invitational
Josselyn White - OH
Elle Brainard - MB
Ashlan Rogers - LIB

2011
Utah State Invitational
Shay Sorensen - OH
Josselyn White - OH - *MVP

2010
Utah Classic
Josselyn White - OH

Montana Invitational
Shay Sorensen - OPP - *MVP

DUBOSE THREE FROM 100
USU head coach Grayson DuBose is three wins from 100 career wins, as the seventh-year Aggie head coach has a 97-91 (.516) record... With USU's four-set win at Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 17, 2011, DuBose moved ahead of former Aggie head coach Burt Fuller (2001-05) and into second-place all-time at USU for career wins... When he reaches 100 wins, DuBose would become just the second coaching position to reach 100 wins... Marilyn McReavy and Mary Jo Peppler hold the school record with 209 wins as they were co-head coaches from 1976-81.

ABOUT THE WEEKEND FOES
SAINT MARY'S - The Gaels are 4-2 on the year after going 3-0 at the Sacramento State Invitational, sweeping all three of its matches, beating Morgan State Friday and both Boise State and Sacramento State on Saturday.

SMC is led by senior outside hitter Lauren Corp and junior outsidte hitter Kristina Graven, both averaging 3.63 kills per set while Graven has posted a team-leading 3.32 digs per set... Senior middle blocker Gabby Jolly has a team-best .333 attack percentage adding 2.83 kps as well as leading the team with 1.22 blocks per set... Redshirt-freshman Dalas Dodd dishes out 11.55 assists per set.

Gaels' head coach Rob Browning is in his eighth season as SMC head coach and has a 129-70 (.648) record.

KANSAS STATE - The Wildcats are ranked No. 21 in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll and have a 6-0 record after sweeping their way through the Bluejay Invitational at Creighton, beating Denver, Creighton and Syracuse.

Junior outside hitter Lilla Porubek leads KSU with 3.79 kills per set while junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Pelger adds 3.25 kills per set and has a team-leading .350 attack percentage... Pelger also leads the Wildcats with 0.65 service aces per set while Porubek adds 0.42 aces per set... Senior middle blocker Alex Muff leads KSU with 1.50 blocks per set while senior DS/libero Kuulei Kabalis has a team-leading 3.40 digs per set average and Pelger adds 3.15 digs per set... Senior setter Cailyn Donahue dishes out 12.05 assists per set.

KSU is coached by Suzie Fritz, who is in her 12th season at the leash of the Wildcats' program and has notched a 223-127 (.637) record.

Josselyn White NAMED USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Utah State volleyball player Josselyn White has been named the first America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week of the 2012-13 school year, for the period ending Sunday, Aug. 26. This award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.

White, a senior outside hitter from Smithfield, Utah (Sky View HS), was named to the Utah State Invitational, sponsored by Gossner Foods, all-tournament team last weekend as she helped USU to a 3-1 record and a second-place finish. During the tournament, White hit .278 (43-13-108) with 43 kills, 34 digs and 10 blocks. White posted a career-high .500 attack percentage (14-0-28) in the win against Portland and logged a career-high 18 digs against Southern Utah.

With 10 total blocks on the weekend, White now has 268 career total blocks, needing just 11 more to break into the USU career top 10 list. It was White's third career all-Tournament Team honor, after being named to last year's Utah State Invitational all-Tournament team and MVP, as well as the Utah Classic all-Tournament Team as a sophomore in 2010.

This is White's first career USU Student-Athlete of the Week accolade.

UTAH STATE VERSUS THE STATE OF UTAH
Utah State improved to 30-20 (.600) versus the state of Utah during the last 12 years after going 2-1 against in-state foes in the opening weekend, including a 16-7 (.696) home record... Under seventh-year head coach Grayson DuBose, USU is 14-12 (.538) versus teams from the Beehive State, including an 8-6 (.571) record at home.

UTAH STATE RANKED 10TH IN THE NATION IN BLOCKING LAST SEASON
Utah State ranked 10th in the country in blocking (2.79) last season... Individually, middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff ranked 47th in the nation in blocking (1.19), while senior All-American outside hitter Liz McArthur ranked 82nd in the nation in kills per set (3.72) and 98th in points per set (4.17).

UTAH STATE LED THE WAC IN BLOCKING
Utah State finished the 2011 season ranking first in the WAC in blocks (2.79), second in digs (15.05), sixth in hitting percentage (.168), seventh in kills (11.15), seventh in assists (10.38) and eighth in service aces (0.97).

EVERETT RANKED SECOND IN THE WAC IN BLOCKS
Individually, senior Alyssa Everett finished the season second in the WAC in blocks (1.27) while sophomore Kaitlyn VanHoff finished fourth (1.19)... Senior outside hitter Josselyn White was among the WAC leaders statistically as she was ninth in kills (2.73), eighth in blocks (1.01) and seventh in points (3.45) per set. Sophomore Paige Neves ranked seventh in the WAC in assists, (8.83 per set).

RECAPPING LAST SEASON
Utah State finished the 2011 season with a 17-12 overall mark, posting an even 7-7 WAC record to tied for fourth in the conference... As the No. 4 seed, the Aggies lost to fifth-seeded Fresno State in three sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-10) in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament... Opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen earned second-team all-WAC honors following her junior season as she hit .202 and averaged 2.57 kills, 0.71 digs and 0.86 blocks per set... Setter Paige Neves was named to the WAC's all-freshman team in 2011 after hitting .225 and averaging 8.83 assists, 2.48 digs and 0.71 blocks... Sorensen hit .202 last season and averaged 2.57 kills, 0.71 digs and 0.86 blocks per set... Neves ranked seventh in the WAC in assists at 8.83 per set and added 2.48 digs per set as well as 16 service aces, second among the USU returners... Outside hitter Josselyn White was among the WAC leaders statistically last year as she was ninth in kills (2.73), eighth in blocks (1.01) and seventh in points (3.45) per set... Libero Ashlan Rogers averaged 2.61 digs per set as well as leading the team with 23 service aces a season ago as a freshman, while sophomore Kaitlyn VanHoff was fourth in the WAC in blocks at 1.19 per set.

-USU-