Pair Of Road Matches On Tap For Utah State Volleyball This Weekend At Denver And New Mexico State
USU Starts Last Road Stretch Of Regular Season; Saturday's Match At NMSU Streamed On ESPN3
Oct. 29, 2012
LOGAN, Utah -
Utah State Volleyball Notes at Denver and New Mexico State 
Thursday, Nov. 1 - 7 p.m. (MT)
UTAH STATE at Denver
Hamilton Gymnasium (2,500)
Denver, Colo.
Saturday, Nov. 3 - 7 p.m. (MT)
UTAH STATE at New Mexico State
Pan American Center (13,071)
Las Cruces, N.M.
AggieVision / ESPN3
The Last Meeting
October 6, 2012
Logan, Utah
Freshman Fuels Frenzied Finish For USU Volleyball In Five-Set Win Over Denver Saturday
Freshman Candace Richins came off the bench to fuel a frenzied Utah State volleyball rally as the Aggies bounced back from down two sets to one to defeat conference newcomer Denver in five sets, 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-7) in Western Athletic Conference action Saturday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Saturday was USU's "Think Pink" night as part of its "Dig For A Cure" campaign, with all fans encouraged to wear pink and T-shirts were given away.
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The Last Meeting
| New Mexico State | 0 |
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| Utah State | 3 |
October 4, 2012
Logan, Utah
Utah State Volleyball Victorious In Clash Of The Aggies Thursday With Sweep Of New Mexico State
Utah State volleyball entered Thursday's match with New Mexico State in second-place in the Western Athletic Conference but emerged in first place after the match with a 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-16) sweep Thursday night in a clash of the Aggies at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. USU improves to 6-1 in WAC play and takes over the top perch of the conference standings from NMSU in dealing the visiting Aggies their first league loss, falling to 5-1. Both teams now have 11-5 overall records.
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Follow all the action with "Live Stats" and "Watch Live" links at UtahStateAggies.com
STORYLINES
• Utah State volleyball will be on the road for three of its final four matches of the regular season, playing at Denver on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. (MT) and at New Mexico State on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. (MT).
• USU is seeking its 13th WAC win of the season, which would extend its school record for most WAC wins as well as set a new school record for most conference wins, as the Aggies' current 12 wins is tied with 12 Big West Conference wins in 2001.
• USU has now won 17 matches in a season three times under head coach Grayson DuBose.
• Utah State is on a six-match road win streak, the Aggies' first road win streak of six matches since 1978.
• Overall, the Aggies have won seven of their last eight WAC home matches, as well as winning nine of their last 11 overall matches.
• USU will be facing the top two teams in the WAC statistics for overall hitting percentage, as Denver is first at .249 while New Mexico State is second at .227... USU is fourth at .221.
• Thursday's match will be a match-up of the top two blocking teams in the overall WAC stats, as USU is first at 3.07 blocks per set while DU is second at 2.70 bps... NMSU is third at 2.56 bps... In WAC only matches, USU is first with 3.01 bps, while DU is second at 2.83 bps and NMSU is fourth at 2.71 bps.
• Saturday's match is a battle of the top two teams in the league stats for opponent hitting percentage, as USU is first in the overall stats (.157) while NMSU is second (.160), but the roles are reversed in the league only stats, as NMSU is first (.134) and USU is second (.135).
• Senior outside hitter Josselyn White broke a USU school record for attack percentage in Saturday's win over LA Tech hitting .812 with 13 kills in 16 attacks with no errors... White also enters this week with 305 career total blocks, needing one more to tie Tiffany Kitley (1996-99) for No. 9 on USU's career total blocks list.
• Senior opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen, last week's WAC Volleyball Player of the Week, became just the 11th player in USU history to reach the 800-kills plateau... Now with 825 kills, Sorensen needs 38 more to break into the USU career top 10 kills list.
• Now with 1,768 career assists, sophomore setter Paige Neves becomes just the ninth player in USU history with 1,700 career assists and is No. 9 on the USU career assists list.
LIVE STATS
Live stats for this weekend's matches are available via "Live Stats" links at www.utahstateaggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics.
LIVE VIDEO/TV
Both of this weekend's matches are streamed on the Internet by clicking on the "Watch Live" link at www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics. Fans will need to pay a small fee to watch the action Thursday, but Saturday's match is on AggieVision, which can be found on selected cable and satellite stations. Check local listings or www.AggieVision.tv for more information.
LOOKING AT UTAH STATE
USU has won four matches in a row, including the last three in sweeping fashion, including winning in three sets over UT Arlington on Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday... The Aggies' win over LA Tech on Saturday was their 12th WAC win, marking their first 12 WAC in season in their eight years in the league and tying the school record for most conference wins, winning 12 Big West Conference matches in 2001.
Utah State continues to lead the WAC overall in blocking at 3.01 blocks per set and the Aggies also are tops in the league in WAC only matches at 3.07 blocks per set... USU's defense also leads the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.135) and is second in WAC only matches (.135)... Offensively, USU is fourth in overall attack percentage (.221) and fifth in WAC only attack percentage (.218)... Utah State is also fifth in overall kills per set (12.65) and third for WAC only kills per set (13.14)... The Aggies also are sixth in the league overall with 14.43 digs per set while ranking second in WAC only matches with 16.62 dps... With 11.74 assists per set in all matches, the Aggies are fifth overall while ranking third in WAC only matches with 12.24 aps... A 1.15 aces per set ranks the Aggies fifth in the WAC overall while they are also sixth in conference only matches with 1.08.
Senior outside hitter Josselyn White (Smithfield, Utah) set a school-record for attack percentage in Saturday's win over LA Tech hitting .812 with 13 kills in 16 attacks with no errors... White has missed a total of five matches plus part of three others in different stretches with illness... White is ninth in the WAC for overall points per set (3.41).
Last week's WAC Volleyball Player of the Week, senior opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen (North Ogden, Utah) is sixth in the WAC in overall kills per set (3.19) and fifth in WAC only kills per set (3.48), as well as fifth for overall points per set (3.96) and fourth for conference only matches for points per set (4.26)... Sorensen has logged a double-double in nine of USU's last 17 matches, and has a team-leading 10 on the season.
Redshirt-freshman middle blocker Elle Brainard (Saratoga Springs, Utah) leads the Aggies and is second in the WAC in overall blocks per set (1.48) and while ranking fourth in conference only matches (1.46)... Brainard also is seventh in the WAC overall in hitting percentage (.308)... With 132 total blocks, Brainard is second in the league for total blocks as well also ranking third in league WAC only matches with 73 total blocks... Brainard is 13th in the most recent NCAA statistics with 1.47 blocks per set.
Sophomore setter Paige Neves (Otto, Wyo.) is second in WAC only matches with 10.98 assists per set, ranking third overall with 10.40 aps... Neves became the 12th Aggie volleyball player to reach the 1,000 career assists milestone when USU played in San Diego, Calif., and now with 1,768 career assists, Neves becomes just the ninth player in USU history with 1,500 career assists and is No. 9 on the USU career assists list... Dominique Arsenault (2003-05) holds the No. 8 spot with 1,965 assists.
Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff (Draper, Utah) is second on the team and third in the WAC overall for blocks with 1.33 blocks per set, ranking third overall in the league with 110 total blocks... VanHoff is fifth in WAC only matches with 1.26 blocks per set... She also is 27th in last week's NCAA stats for blocks per set with the 1.39 bps... VanHoff, who was the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week on Oct. 8, has now tallied a combined 50 blocks in her last nine matches (5.6 per match/1.52 per set).
Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Orr (Thatcher, Ariz.) is eighth in the WAC for both overall kills per set (3.02) and league matches for kills per set (3.20)... She also is 10th in both overall points per set (3.31) and WAC only points per set (3.51).
Sophomore libero Ashlan Rogers (Highland, Utah) is fifth overall in the WAC in digs per set (3.79) as well as fourth in the WAC in conference only matches with 4.34 digs per set... Rogers also is tied for fifth in the WAC overall in service aces per set (0.27).
WIN STREAKING ON THE ROAD
USU has won its last six road matches this season, which are the most for an Aggie team since 1978... That season USU won its first seven road matches of the season... The overall longest road winning streak for road matches is 10, as the 1977 team won its last three matches on the road before the 1978 squad's aforementioned seven-match win streak.
WHITE'S SCHOOL RECORD
USU senior outside hitter Josselyn White set a school record for attack percentage in Saturday's win over LA Tech hitting .812 with 13 kills in 16 attacks with no errors... White's .812 is tops in the WAC this season and is the highest by any WAC player since Boise State's Sadie Maughan had .867 in a 2010 match, as well as the highest by a player in a WAC match since Anna Callis of New Mexico State hit .875 against Utah State in 2006... The .812 by White bettered the previous school record for single-match hitting percentage with 15-19 attempts, previously held by Lori Sargent-McKnight who hit .727 (14-0-19) at North Texas on Nov. 9, 1996.
17-WIN SEASONS
USU has 17 wins this season, marking the third time to win at least 17 matches in a season under head coach Grayson DuBose, winning 17 in 2007 and 24 in 2010... Overall, the Aggies have now won 17 or more matches in a season a total of 15 times in school history.
AGGIES SIXTH, BRAINARD 16th, VANHOFF 38th IN BLOCKING IN NCAA STATS
In the NCAA statistics as of Oct. 29, Utah State leads the WAC and is sixth in the NCAA statistics with 3.07 blocks per set... Washington leads the nation with 3.39 bps... Individually, redshirt-freshman Elle Brainard (Saratoga Springs, Utah) is 16th in the NCAA with a 1.48 blocks per set average, while sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff (Draper, Utah) is 38th with a 1.33 bps average.
SEASON HIGHS GALORE IN WIN AT IDAHO
USU established several season-highs in the wild come-from-behind five-set win at Idaho on Oct. 18... The Aggies set new team season-highs for total attacks, with 181, bettering the previous mark of 174 vs. Seattle on Sept. 20... USU also had 98 digs at Idaho, topping the previous high mark of 83 digs at Louisiana Tech on Sept. 27... Utah State also topped its season-high with three block solos, bettering the previous mark of two block solos that the Aggies had done five previous times, the last vs. New Mexico State on Oct. 4.
In addition to the team highs, there were several individual marks as well, with senior opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen tallying two season-highs with 53 attacks and a career-high 17 digs while senior outside hitter Josselyn White posted a season-high 50 attacks... Freshman defensive specialist McKell Staheli served up two service aces, tying her season-high for the second time, only to match it again at Seattle two nights later.
BREAKING TRENDS
Utah State's loss to Utah Valley on Oct. 9 was the first time this season that USU has lost when not only winning the first two sets but also when leading in blocks and attack percentage along with hitting .300 or better... Prior to the UVU loss, USU was 8-0 when winning the first two sets, 9-0 when leading in blocks and 11-0 when leading in attack percentage, as well as 1-0 when hitting .300 or better.
RUDE WELCOMING TO WAC NEWCOMERS IN FIRST HALF
USU went 5-0 against the WAC newcomers in the first half of the conference schedule, beating UTSA (3-1) and Texas State (3-0) on Sept. 13 and 15, respectively, as well as Seattle (3-0) on Sept. 20, UT Arlington (3-0) on Sept. 29 and Denver (3-2) on Oct. 6... The Aggies' win streak against the league newcomers was broken with their three-set loss to UTSA on Oct. 15, but USU bounced back to sweep both Seattle on Oct. 20 and UT Arlington on Oct. 25 to improve to 7-1 against the conference's new teams.
UTAH STATE IN THE WAC
Utah State is 71-54 (.568) all-time in WAC play which includes a 43-20 (.683) home record and a 28-33 (.459) record on the road.
UTAH STATE IN THE DEE GLEN SMITH SPECTRUM
Utah State is 104-44 (.703) at home in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum during the last 13 years, which includes a 75-37 (.670) record against conference opponents.
DUBOSE FOR 100 PLEASE ALEX
USU head coach Grayson DuBose earned his 100th career win with the Aggies' win over Seattle on Sept. 20, 2012... DuBose, who is in his seventh-year as Aggie head coach, has a 109-96 (.532) record, coaching his 200th career match as USU head coach vs. San Jose State on Oct. 13, 2012... 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... DuBose becomes just the second coaching position to reach 100 wins as Marilyn McReavy and Mary Jo Peppler hold the school record with 209 wins as they were co-head coaches from 1976-81.
AGGIES AGAINST THE WEEKEND FOES
Utah State is a combined 29-39 (.426) record against this weekend's foes, as the Aggies are facing both their most-played conference opponent in NMSU and their least-played conference foe in Denver.
DENVER - The match-up Thursday with Denver is just USU's third all-time, as the teams first met in 1983 before this season's earlier meeting, won in five sets by the Aggies, for a 2-0 series lead... Before this year's earlier match-up, the Aggies and Pioneers had only one previous meeting, back before any of the players on either teams' rosters were born, back in 1983, meeting in the Northern Colorado Invitational... "Back then" the matches were played to 15 with side out, and due to tournament rules were the best of three sets with the Aggies winning, 2-0 (15-1, 15-1).
NEW MEXICO STATE - Utah State is 27-39 all-time against New Mexico State, which includes a 12-17 home record as well as a 15-24 road mark... Saturday's meeting between the navy Aggies of USU and the maroon Aggies of NMSU is the 67th meeting all-time, Utah State's longest series with any WAC foe and Saturday's 68th meeting will pull away from a tie with Utah for the most meetings in a series in school history.
After NMSU had a nine-match winning streak in the series, USU has won the last two match-ups and four of the last five meetings, including a five-set win in the semifinals of the 2010 WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, as well as a five-set win in the last meeting, last season in Logan.
SORENSEN 11th WITH 800
Senior opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen became just the 11th player in USU history to reach the 800-kills plateau... Now with 825 kills, Sorensen needs 38 more to break into the USU career top 10 kills list... She also has a .205 career hitting percentage, needing to improve by .021 to tie for the No. 10 mark on the career hitting percentage list.
WHITE IN UTAH STATE TOP 10 FOR BOTH ATTACKS AND BLOCKS, CLOSING IN ON KILLS
Senior outside hitter Josselyn White has climbed up to the No. 6 spot on the Utah State career attacks list, now with 2,822, passing Denae Mohlman (1997-2000) for No. 6 with 2,796 attacks, and needing 177 more to catch Erin Cartwright-Davis (2001-03) for No. 5 with 2,999 attacks... White has also logged 797 career kills, needing 66 more to crack the top 10 list, as Niki Conner (1995-98) has the No. 10 spot with 863 career kills.
White has also recently reached the USU top 10 for career total blocks, now at No. 9 with 305 total blocks, passing Melissa Schoepf (1997-2000) with 280, and needing one more to tie Tiffany Kitley (1996-99) for No. 8... Now with 275 career block assists, White has moved into the No. 8 spot on the career block assists list, passing Tiffany Kitley (1996-99) with 267 blocks assists and Schoepf with 268... White also has 30 career solo blocks, needing seven more to reach the No. 10 spot on the career solo block list, currently held by Ingrid Roth (2002-05) with 37.
TURNING PAIGE 1,500 IN RECORD BOOK
Sophomore setter Paige Neves became the 12th Aggie player to reach the 1,000 assists milestone earlier this season... Now with 1,768 career assists, Neves becomes just the ninth player in USU history with 1,500 career assists and is No. 9 on the USU career assists list... Dominique Arsenault (2003-05) holds the No. 8 spot with 1,965 assists.
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) 1768 Paige Neves 2009-Pres.
10) 1495 Kalei Arnold 1992-95
11) 1280 Mindi Jackson 1995-96
12) 1139 Heather Hillier 2005-08
13) 937 Zuzana Cerniansa 2002-05
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
DENVER - The Pioneers are 13-10 overall and 7-6 in WAC action, currently sitting in seventh-place in the league standings, and will have three matches this week, starting with hosting Idaho on Monday, then hosting USU on Thursday and San Jose State on Saturday... DU had its five-match win streak halted by getting swept at home by New Mexico State on Saturday in the Pioneers' lone WAC match of the week... Denver did sweep in-state foe Northern Colorado on Tuesday at home... Prior to Saturday's three-set loss to NMSU, DU had won its previous four conference matches, all by 3-1 scores.
DU leads the league in overall hitting percentage at .249 as well as in WAC only matches for hitting percentage at .244... Denver also is second in the conference in both overall blocks per set (2.70) and WAC only blocks per set (2.83).
The Pioneers are led by senior middle blocker Faimie Kingsley, who leads the WAC and is fourth in the NCAA in blocks per set with 1.67... Kingsley also leads the league and ranks 24th in the country in hitting percentage (.384)... In WAC only matches, Kingsley is first in blocks (1.84 bps) and second in hitting percentage (.374).
DU head coach Jesse Maloney is in his first year leading the Pioneer's program, coming to Denver after seven years as an assistant coach at CSU... Prior to CSU, Maloney was head coach at Division II Fort Hays State, where he from was head coach from 1999-2004.
NEW MEXICO STATE - The maroon Aggies enter a busy week with a 16-7 overall record and a 9-3 WAC mark, hosting Seattle on Monday and San Jose State on Thursday before welcoming USU on Saturday... NMSU has won its last three overall matches and two WAC matches, bouncing back from a four-set loss at UT Arlington on Oct. 18 by winning at LA Tech on Oct. 20 in four sets, then sweeping New Mexico on Oct. 23 and Denver on Oct. 27.
NMSU is second in the conference in both overall hitting percentage (.227) as well as overall opponent hitting percentage (.160)... The maroon Aggies lead the league in WAC only opponent hitting percentage (.134) while ranking fourth in overall hitting percentage (.222)... NMSU also is second in the conference for overall kills per set (13.15), while ranking fourth in league only matches (13.13).
Junior middle blocker Desiree Scott leads NMSU, as well as the WAC for conference only hitting percentage (.451), while ranking second for overall hitting percentage (.378)... Scott is 33rd in the NCAA stats as of Oct. 29 in hitting percentage... Scott also is third in the league for WAC only matches for blocks per set (1.57) while ranking fifth overall (1.31)... The 1.31 bps is 43rd in the country.
New Mexico State head coach and former USU assistant coach Mike Jordan is in his 15th season as head coach of the maroon Aggies, and has amassed a career record of 324-145... Jordan spent two seasons (1996-97) as an assistant coach at Utah State.
USU VOLLEYBALL'S Shay Sorensen COLLECTS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES TWICE
Utah State volleyball player Shay Sorensen has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week twice this season, the first on Sept. 17 for the week of Sept. 10-16 and the second on Oct. 22 for the week of Oct. 15-21. These are the first two WAC honors of Sorensen's career.
Sorensen, a senior opposite side hitter from North Ogden, Utah, earned the honor for the first time on Sept. 17 after she averaged 4.30 kills on .296 hitting, 3.30 digs and 0.60 blocks per set in a pair of road wins at UTSA and Texas State. She posted a pair of double-doubles to lead Utah State to its first 2-0 start to WAC action since 2007. In the Sept. 13 four-set win over UTSA, Sorensen logged 15 kills and 11 digs, adding a pair of blocks and a service ace. In the sweep at Texas State on Sept. 15, she tallied a match-high 15 kills on a season-high .353 hitting to go with 12 digs and two blocks.
The Aggie senior earned it a second time on Oct. 22 after she averaged 4.18 kills, 3.36 digs and 1.09 blocks per set. Sorensen posted double-doubles in two of the three matches in helping the Aggies to a 2-1 record, including winning two on the road to give Utah State its first six-match road win streak since 1978. She started the week with 15 kills and 11 digs, along with four blocks in a five-set loss to UTSA on Oct. 15. In the Oct. 18 five-set win at Idaho, Sorensen logged her team-leading 10th double-double of the season with 18 kills and tied a career-high with 17 digs to go along with five blocks. She then added 13 kills without posting any hitting errors for a .382 attack percentage to go with nine digs and three blocks in a sweep at Seattle U on Oct. 20.
Sorensen's on Sept. 17 was the first of the season for the Aggies, and was the first for a USU vollleyball player since Liz McArthur earned the accolade last season on Oct. 17.
Kaitlyn VanHoff NAMED WAC VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah State volleyball player Kaitlyn VanHoff has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 1-7. This is VanHoff's first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
VanHoff, a sophomore middle blocker (Draper, Utah) averaged a remarkable 2.12 blocks and 2.00 kills on .300 hitting as the Aggies went undefeated on the week. She posted a career-high .333 attack percentage and added seven total blocks as Utah State swept New Mexico State on Oct. 4, handing NM State its first conference loss of the season to take over first place in the WAC standings. Van Hoff then tied a career high with 10 block assists in five-set win over Denver on Oct. 6, registering four blocks in the third set alone. Van Hoff entered the week averaging 1.30 kills on .144 hitting and 1.21 blocks per set.
Josselyn White NAMED USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK TWICE
Utah State volleyball player Josselyn White has been named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week twice this season, earning the honors on Aug. 27 and Oct. 1. This award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
White, a senior outside hitter from Smithfield, Utah (Sky View HS), was the first USU student-athlete to earn the honor this school year, getting recognized after she was named to the Utah State Invitational, sponsored by Gossner Foods, all-tournament team in the season-opener 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.
The senior earned it a second time this season after she led USU to a pair of Western Athletic Conference road wins over the weekend of Sept. 27 and Sept. 29, with a four-set win over Louisiana Tech on Sept. 27 and a sweep at UT Arlington on Sept. 29. She tallied her fourth double-double of the season in the win over Louisiana Tech, posting a career-high 20 digs to go with 10 kills. White added a season-high 17 kills on a .429 attack percentage (17-2-35), her third-highest of the season in the sweep of UT Arlington. For the weekend, the senior had a .338 attack percentage (27-5-65), averaging 3.86 kills per set to go with a matching 3.86 digs per set average, adding 0.43 blocks per set and 0.29 aces per set.
These are White's first two career USU Student-Athlete of the Week accolades.
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... The Aggies have a 16-7 (.696) home record against in-state foes... 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.
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
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).
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 Kaitlyn VanHoff was fourth in the WAC in blocks at 1.19 per set.
-USU-
