Volleyball Draws Tennessee in First Round of NCAA Tournament

LOGAN, Utah — Utah State volleyball will make its seventh-ever appearance at the NCAA Tournament, drawing a matchup against seventh-seeded Tennessee in the First Round at 4:30 p.m. (MST) Dec. 4 in Tempe, Arizona. Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between the Aggies and Volunteers. This is the third time in four seasons the Aggies will play in the NCAA Tournament as USU also went dancing in 2023, 2022, 2010, 2005, 2001 and 2000. USU made six appearances at the AIAW Tournament in the 1970s and ’80s, including a run of five-straight appearances at the AIAW Nationals, winning a national title in 1978.Utah State volleyball earned an automatic bid and capped off its perfect conference season with a Mountain West Tournament Championship, sweeping Colorado State in the title match on Saturday. USU became just the second team in Mountain West history to go undefeated in league play and win the conference tournament.

Four Aggies were named to the all-tournament team in sophomore outside hitters Andrea Simovski and Mara Štiglic, sophomore opposite side hitter Loryn Helgesen and sophomore setter Kaylie Kofe. Simovski also earned tournament MVP honors. Simovski posted back-to-back double-doubles during the conference tournament, totaling 37 kills on a .366 hitting percentage and a team-high 28 digs across the two matches.The Aggies enter the NCAA Tournament with a 23-7 overall record and are riding a 21-match winning streak, tied for the third-longest active streak in the nation and the third-longest streak in program history, trailing only a 23-game streak spanning the team's 1978 national title season and 1979, and a program-record 26-game streak in 1978. Utah State had five players receive All-Mountain West recognition, led by Kofe who was named the MW Player of the Year. Kofe led the conference and ranks third in the nation with 11.10 assists per set this year and is the only player in the nation with three matches of 60+ assists.

Helgesen, Štiglic and senior middle blocker Tierney Barlow all were named to the All-MW team, while Simovski earned honorable mention honors. Helgesen and Stiglic both rank in the top six of the MW in kills and points per set, while Barlow leads the MW and ranks fourth in the nation with a .444 hitting percentage, a full .069 above the current single-season program record of .375 set by Denae Mohlman in 1997.USU is currently hitting .274 on the season, a mark which would break the current program record of .238 set in 2016. The Aggies have hit over .250 in 11-straight matches.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.