Aggies to face 7 teams ranked in the nation’s top 15
Last season was a memorable one for the Utah State women’s volleyball team, a season that included wins over in-state rivals BYU and the University of Utah and culminated with a first round NCAA tournament victory over the University of Missouri.
The Aggies reward for their most successful season in 20 years: 11 matches against eight teams ranked in the USA Today/AVCA preseason top 25 poll.
But don’t feel too sorry for the Aggies, said first-year head coach Burt Fuller. Fuller said, as daunting as the schedule might be, it will best prepare USU to be successful come NCAA tournament time.
“I would rather play a good schedule than kind of back your way into the (NCAA) tournament and get blown out in the first round,” he said.
Despite losing four seniors – three that were first-team all-Big West Conference selections – Fuller is confident his team can equal, if not improve, on last season’s success.
“Our goal is to get into the NCAA Tournament and advance further than last year’s team did,” he said.
USU will begin its season on Friday against Murray State University in its opening match of the Colorado State University hosted University Park Holiday Inn Classic. The Aggies will play two matches on Saturday, including a 7 p.m. showdown against the No. 14 ranked Rams.
Following their trip to the Centennial state, the Aggies will travel to Hawaii to participate in a tournament hosted by the University of Hawaii. While in Hawaii, the Aggies will face off against the No. 2 Trojans of the University of Southern California and No. 6 Hawaii – two teams that advanced to the Final Four in last year’s NCAA tourney.
Fuller is optimistic that the brutal preseason schedule will prepare the Aggies for BWC play. Regarded as one of the top volleyball conferences in the country, Fuller said the BWC will be much stronger than last season. Last season saw five conference teams qualify and advance in the NCAA tourney.
“The Big West Conference, I think, is probably ready to get another (NCAA) championship, or at least have another Final Four team,” he said.
Picked to finish fifth in the conference behind No. 8 Long Beach State University, No. 12 University of the Pacific, No. 13 University of California, Santa Barbara and Cal Poly University, USU is confident it has the players to make some noise.
“With our core of kids, I like our chances [of doingwell in the conference],” Fuller said.
In addition to playing a tough conference schedule, the Aggies also have road dates against No. 11 BYU and No. 21 Utah.
Both the Cougars and Utes will be looking for a measure of revenge as both teams fell victim to the Aggies in the Spectrum last season.
USU will begin its home slate on September 22, against the University of Idaho. Over the past two seasons, the Aggies have owned the Spectrum, posting a record of 17-4. Utah State ranked 19th in the country in average attendance per match last season.
“I can’t wait to get up here and play in front of our crowd, because I hear the crowd is pretty good,” Fuller said.
Utah State received 33 votes for the USA Today /AVCA preseason poll, ranking it at No. 33 to start the season.