How Tierney Barlow has become the leader of Utah State Volleyball

The Utah State Volleyball team has been one of the most consistent and successful teams at USU. In the 2025 season, they’re looking to maintain their standard of success, and a key piece for achieving that goal will be star middle blocker Tierney Barlow.

As the 2025 season kicked off, Barlow found herself in a unique position as the only senior on this year’s team. In fact, of the 17 players on this year’s team, 14 are sophomores or freshman. Because of her seniority, Barlow has moved into a new position of leadership over the team — one that she has strived to fulfill.

Tierney Barlow prepares to spike the ball during a match against WSU on Sept. 20, 2025.

“She’s kind of the de facto mom on the team,” said coach Rob Neilson. “She’s been huge from a playing standpoint for us and has really become a great voice for the culture and the things that we’re trying to accomplish.”

Barlow’s journey to becoming the volleyball team’s leader has been a long one — one that started long before she arrived at Utah State.

“I picked up volleyball in middle school when I had moved to Colorado Springs. I had a bunch of friends who played volleyball, so I picked it up and found that I loved it,” Barlow said. “I just kept doing it, and people were telling me that I was pretty good at it.”

In high school, Barlow significantly advanced her game. She established herself as one of the premier players in Colorado, winning female athlete of the year, receiving all-league and all-state honors and being named to the All-Tournament team at USA Volleyball Nationals, as well as a member of the All-Star Colorado team.

“I’d say when I first started playing for Colorado Juniors, I realized I wanted to take this to the next level,” Barlow said. “They preached so much about responsibility, and they took volleyball very seriously, which helped me to get to the next level.”

Barlow committed to play for the University of Wyoming’s team after high school. There, she won the 2022 Mountain West Freshman of the Year and was named All-Mountain West in 2023. Despite her success at Wyoming, she elected to enter the transfer portal following the 2023 season.

While in the portal, Barlow decided Utah State would be her new home for the 2024 season and onward, highlighting her faith as an important factor in her decision.

“There were so many aspects that I loved here: the coaches, the team. I loved Logan so much and felt that the community was so strong here,” Barlow said. “One big reason I picked Utah State was because of the culture here. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I wanted to come to Utah to have more of that culture surrounding me.”

Her commitment was not only important for her, but it was also huge for the program and its continued success.

“She was exceptional her sophomore year at Wyoming, and she was dominant in the middle. We played a match against her here in Logan. She was serving right in front of the HURD, and she stepped back and had 7 aces,” Neilson said. “When her name came up in the portal, we reached out, and we loved talking to her. She wanted to come to Utah State, so it worked out really well for us. She’s been big for our ability to be successful on the court but also the team dynamics. She just fits in and leads us in so many great ways.”

Barlow continued to dominate through her first year at Utah State, being named to the All-Mountain West team after tying for the team lead in blocks and finishing top five in hitting percentage, blocks per set, kills and service aces.

Through her impressive skillset, Barlow cemented herself as a cornerstone of the team on the court. Despite her immense success, she faced a new challenge with her new role on the team.

“I worked really hard this spring and summer to build those relationships with my teammates and gain that respect from them,” Barlow said. “I don’t really see myself as their superior. I care more about the relationships that I am building and the people that I am affecting through my last year.”

Barlow’s focus on building relationships was something that was certainly noted by her teammates throughout the offseason.

“Tierney has a big heart on her sleeve, and she makes it known,” said junior setter Olivia Tukuafu. “Last year, we had three seniors that I feel like were great role models, especially for her, and I think that she has done a great job stepping into that role.”

Multiple teammates also highlighted Barlow’s ability to bring the team together off the court.

“Tierney is one of the most positive people on our team, on and off the court,” said junior libero Kendel Thompson. “She always brings the team together, whether it’s something at her house as a team or something after practice that we could go do together. It’s so important to connect with each other off the court so you can be better on the court.”

The coaching staff has also been impressed with how well Barlow stepped into the leadership role.

“I don’t know if you ever earn the right to be a leader, but she’s certainly developed into that role,” Neilson said. “She is really starting to realize what that means and how many players look to her as an example.”

Barlow highlighted how important her family has been in helping her move into this role as well as continue to improve as a player.

“Something that my mom always told me is that there’s always someone better than you. There’s always someone working harder than you,” Barlow said. “It helped me develop a mindset that I don’t want to be slacking. I want to be working hard and being proud of the effort that I’m putting in.”

It’s still undecided whether this will be Barlow’s final year in collegiate volleyball, but regardless, Barlow hopes her time at Utah State is just a steppingstone to an even longer career in volleyball.

“I have a dream of playing pro in the U.S.” Barlow said. “I’m really excited about the pro teams that are here, and it would be my dream to play for one of them.”

Regardless of how her career pans out after college, Barlow has already cemented herself as an Aggie legend and a role model for the entire team.