Utah State volleyball. Photo by Clint Allen
LOGAN — The Utah State volleyball program is riding high in the short tenure of head coach Rob Neilson. Under his three-year leadership the Aggies have amassed a 44-20 (.688) overall record and multiple conference championship trophies.
Neilson joined the Light the A podcast last week and shared his thoughts on last season, his trip to Europe for the Mountain West Global Challenge, the expectations placed on his team in 2023 and also the players on this year’s squad.
The volleyball team will be the second team to get things going in the Aggie sports season, closely following the soccer team which began its season last Thursday. Technically, but also not technically, the volleyball season has begun as they played an exhibition against Idaho State on Aug. 18 and won 3-0. But the true season opener is this Friday, a road game against fifth-ranked Nebraska.
Here’s a look back at 2022, a look ahead to this year, and a position-by-position breakdown of a talented Aggie roster.
2022 Summary
Utah State’s 2022 season could rightfully be called historic, it being the first time in over a decade the team made it to the NCAA Tournament. But not just that, the Aggies pulled off a major early-season upset on the home court and won the Mountain West Conference tournament in stunning fashion. In just the third game of the season, USU welcomed #12 UCLA into the Wayne Estes Center as part of the Utah State Invitational. The Aggies wound up downing the Bruins 3-1.
In conference play, Utah State had an up-and-down performance, going 11-7 but were able to snag the fourth-place spot and qualify for the conference tournament. Once there the Aggies went on an absolute roll, sweeping five-seed New Mexico and top seed UNLV by 3-0 margins, enacting revenge against two teams that had both swept USU in the regular season. The Aggies went on to win a hard-fought victory over two-seed San Jose State in the Mountain West Tournament championship game. Combined with the regular season co-championship from 2021, it’s the second straight trophy Utah State has brought home to Logan.
By winning the conference tournament, Utah State earned itself a bid to the NCAA Tournament, its first appearance since 2010. The Aggies faced six-seed Arkansas in Eugene, Oregon but were downed in straight sets 3-0.
2023 Preview
The Aggies are returning the vast majority of its players from the team that won a second straight conference title. As such, the preseason Mountain West poll voters put Utah State at the top, tied with UNLV. There are a lot of expectations for this team, which is admittedly something that will make this season challenging as the Aggies work from underneath the growing mountain of expectations being place on a team with two straight conference titles already on the resume.
“When we won the championship in 2021 I had a little bit of a crisis,” Neilson said. “It’s like: ‘We’d just won the championship. It happened faster than we expected it to. Now what?’ Now what are the expectations. Now are we just going to have to rinse and repeat that 20 more times? What is that going to look like and how do we find meaning in that? We’re trying to avoid expectations as much as we can. We know they’re out there. We have a great group who has had previous success and we know we can accomplish a lot. But we’re trying to humble ourselves a little bit and stay focused on how can we improve today and how can we as coaches provide the best student-athlete experience possible?”
Neilson and his team are attempting to make good on improving themselves as much as possible with a tough schedule. The non-conference schedule is one fit for a conference favorite. Utah State will test itself significantly, playing several “Power 5” teams, including ranked teams. The season opener features a trip to Nebraska, the fifth-ranked team in the country. The Aggies will face four other schools that are either currently ranked or received votes in the preseason Top 25 poll — BYU (No. 17), TCU (RV; 35th), Utah (RV; T-36th) Loyola Marymount (RV; T-38th).
BYU and Utah will both come to the Estes Center to face the Aggies, the first time since 2009 that both schools will play Utah State in Logan. It’ll only be the second time since 2011 that the Cougars have faced the Aggies at all and the first time in more than a decade that BYU has played in Logan.
“Excited to renew an in-state rivalry and get a shot at the Cougars at home,” Neilson said.
Non-conference play isn’t the only place where the Aggies are expecting a test. Neilson spoke about the conference’s rising number of teams that have finished inside the top 80 of the RPI, especially last year.
“(In 2021) we finished somewhere in the 90s in RPI in the national rankings. The other two top teams in our conference were somewhere in the 80s in 2021. Last year UNLV finished 22nd, we finished 46th in the national rankings,” Neilson said. “We had five teams inside the top 80. I think this year the conference is going to be even better.”
Utah State has a lot of expectations and a lot of tough obstacles. But that’s exactly what should be expected of this team. They’re riding two straight successful seasons and are returning nearly all of their key players from last year. And the response to this situation from Neilson has been to put one of the best collections of talent in recent USU volleyball history against one of the toughest tests in recent program history.
But with all that talk of tests and returning players, here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the Utah State roster including those star returners, newcomers and noting which players the Aggies lost from last year.
Outside/Opposite Side Hitter
Departures
- Kylee Stokes – 121 sets played | 246 Kills | .153 Hit% | 5 Assists | 51 Digs | 74 Blocks
- Emilee Turner – 63 sets played | 122 Kills | .193 Hit% | 2 Assists | 18 Digs | 44 Blocks
Returners
- Shelby Capllonch (Gr.) – 124 sets played | 315 Kills | .219 Hit% | 38 Assists | 345 Digs | 29 Blocks
- Tatum Stall (Sr.) – 120 sets played | 373 Kills | .229 Hit% | 24 Assists | 244 Digs | 51 Blocks
- Adna Mehmedovic (Jr.) – 57 sets played | 50 Kills | | .268 Hit% | 2 Assists | 18 Digs | 36 Blocks
- Kaylie Ray (So.) – 45 sets played | 68 Kills | .126 Hit% | 0 Assists | 20 Digs | 9 Blocks
- Katie Swensen (Jr.) – 8 sets played | 2 Kills | -.250 Hit% | 1 Assist| 1 Dig | 0 Blocks
Newcomers
- Jill Schneggenburger (Gr. Transfer from Colorado) – 114 sets played | 140 Kills | .133 Hit% | 13 Assists | 258 Digs | 69 Blocks
The hitters for Utah State are a very strong crew and return a big chunk of production from last year. Kylee Stokes is a notable loss as the the third-leading player in kills last year, and Emilee Turner was a solid reserve. But this group has two flag-bearing players for the position to be led by with Tatum Stall and Shelby Capllonch.
Stall is flat-out one of the stars of the team. She’s already a two-time All-Mountain West selection and was named preseason all-conference for 2023. Stall is the team’s leading attacker and one of the best in the conference.
“We’ve really relied on (Stall) and she’s carried a big load and obviously been a big part of the success that we’ve been lucky enough to have the last couple years,” Neilson said. “She gets after it. She’s such a competitor and she’s such a gamer. She shows up at big-time moments and is consistent all throughout the year. We love having her.”
Capllonch is also quite adept herself in the attack, finishing the year second on the team in kills and also second in digs. She was named the Mountain West Tournament MVP for her performance in leading the Aggies to the tournament victory. Stall and Capllonch are expected to dominate the net all season.
USU does need an opposite side hitter to replace Stokes and there are a few options. Katie Swensen is the only player currently listed at the position. And though she didn’t play much last year, coming into her junior season there’s every expectation she could see a breakout year.
A notable addition for the Aggies is transfer Jill Schneggenburger. She showed out in USU’s exhibition, leading the team in service aces (three) and finishing second in kills (10) and digs (nine). She will likely look to fill much of the hole left by Stokes and Turner’s departures.
Middle Blocker
Departures
- Myrthe Maring – 57 sets played | 43 Kills | .258 Hit% | 3 Assists | 13 Digs | 49 Blocks
Returners
- Kennedi Boyd (Gr.) – 125 sets played | 229 Kills | .355 Hit% | 15 Assists | 44 Digs | 133 Blocks
- Bella Wooden (So.) – 57 sets played | 50 Kills | .278 Hit% | 3 Assists | 16 Digs | 55 Blocks
- Inka Mehtola (Sr.) – 21 sets played | 17 Kills | .324 Hit% | 1 Assist | 7 Digs | 13 Blocks
Newcomers
- Kelsey Watson (Sr. Transfer from Loyola Chicago) – 97 sets played | 168 Kills | .321 Hit% | 2 Assists | 13 Digs | 97 Blocks
The Aggies already return their top and reigning All-Mountain West middle blocker Kennedi Boyd along with a solid reserve player in Bella Wooden. That alone along with Mehtola’s return probably would have given Utah State enough quality play at the position but the addition of Kelsey Watson gives the team a wealth of talent at middle blocker. Watson was one of the best players on a Loyola Chicago team that went 25-9 last year, including 17-1 in A-10 play, and went on to appear in the NCAA Tournament.
All together, Utah State has both depth and high-end talent at this position and should make the Aggies a great team on the front line.
Setter
Departures
- Kalia Thunstrom – 3 sets played | 0 Kills | .000 Hit% | 9 Assists | 4 Digs | 0 Blocks
Returners
- Leah Wilton-LaBoy (So.) – 125 sets played | 42 Kills | .536 Hit% | 685 Assists | 204 Digs | 0 Blocks
- Beatriz Rodrigues (Jr.) – 121 sets played | 5 Kills | .333 Hit% | 646 Assists | 197 Digs | 0 Blocks
Newcomers
This position is virtually untouched as the lone departure, Thunstrom, played very little last year. The Aggies’ two primary setters, Wilton-LaBoy and Rodrigues both return and should both reprise their roles as key rotation players on the team. Kaylin Scott, an incoming freshman could see time, but given the third setter on the team last year only saw three sets the entire year it’s possible that even in a two-setter formation at Utah State, Scott may have to wait a bit to see extended time on the floor.
Libero/Defensive Specialist
Departures
- Grace DuBay – 5 sets played | 0 Kills | .000 Hit% | 1 Assist | 1 Dig | 0 Blocks
- Abby Peterson – 106 sets played | 0 Kills | .000 Hit% | 9 Assists | 48 Digs | 0 Blocks
Returners
- Jordi Holdaway (Sr.) – 122 sets played | 3 Kills | -.091 Hit% | 121 Assists | 437 Digs | 0 Blocks
Newcomers
- Kendal Hone (Fr.)
- Kambree Rodriguez (Fr.)
- Rachel Reed (Fr.)
This position took a bit of a hit in terms of depth, similar to the hitters, but just like with the hitters, this position group as a star in its midst. Holdaway, who transferred from Boise State prior to the 2022 season, has become one of the biggest keys to the Aggies’ success. Fittingly, she was named to the 2023 preseason All-MW team and should go on to be a major factor in whatever success USU has this season.
Returning Holdaway means that this position is still largely set as she’ll play the majority of the time, but losing Abby Peterson, the top reserve, is something that does need to be addressed. Neilson has done this by loading up with three incoming freshmen, all of whom have a decent chance of seeing time this season.
