Shelby Capllonch rises up to the challenge at Utah State
Coming from Honolulu, Hawaii, winters in Logan have been a very different experience for graduate outside hitter Shelby Capllonch, but being a part of the Aggie family has been a worthy trade-off.
Capllonch spent the first three seasons of her collegiate career at UNLV, where she emerged as one of the best players in the Mountain West Conference. During her time in Las Vegas, Capllonch won Mountain West Player of the Week three times and helped the Rebels advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament during the 2020-21 season.
Before her senior year, Capllonch decided to pursue a change of scenery and chose to make Utah State her new home, largely because of the coaching staff.
“I fell in love with the coaching staff. I wanted to be surrounded by a coaching staff that wanted to play with us. They really took in family-oriented things. Knowing Rob has five kids, all that stuff helps a lot too,” Capllonch said. “During COVID, I lived with my mom, so I knew how Utah was, and I wanted to try living in the snow.”
Capllonch’s two seasons at Utah State have been filled with both personal accolades and team success. In 2022, she helped lead the Aggies to a Mountain West Conference Championship and was named the Mountain West Tournament MVP. Capllonch has found a home at USU, but at 5’8” she does not fit the athletic profile of a typical outside hitter.
Players of Capllonch’s size usually do not play on top of the net, but her versatility is evident when she steps onto the court.
Shelby Capllonch threads the ball between two Nevada blockers at Wayne Estes Center on Oct. 5.
“My junior year I was a libero, but I’ve always taken pride in my passing and defense too,” Capllonch said. “Even if my coaches didn’t want me to hit or didn’t think I was tall enough to hit, I was always ready to play back row. I definitely had coaches in my career, and even growing up in Hawaii, prepared me to be a libero.”
“Shelby is not the typical outside hitter that you see,” junior setter Beatriz Rodrigues said. “Usually the outside hitters that people want are 6’3” or 6’4”. Shelby is just an outside hitter who worked so much to accomplish what she accomplished with her height, and she’s proving to everyone that height does not matter that much.”
Although Capllonch has been able to evolve her game to fit around some of the physical limitations other outside hitters do not have, the Aggie coaching staff has helped her overcome some of those challenges.
“I would have to say, being an undersized outside hitter, it was really hard for me when I did get in like moments of like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t put this ball away.’ But here I’ve learned how to use different tools and have learned different shots that opened up my range,” Capllonch said. “When I do get in those moments, I have an outlet to do it. Rob [Neilson] really helped me with that.”
Capllonch’s variety of skills have shown up for the Aggies this year. Capllonch leads the team with 302 kills and 33 service aces, is second on the team with 242 digs and has recorded the most assists of any Utah State player outside of the liberos and setters.
Capllonch stood out to head coach Rob Neilson, but her individual stats were not the only reason he pursued her talents once she entered the transfer portal.
“She was just oozing with game. She can play the game in so many ways, exactly the type of player we’re looking for,” Neilson said. “She can play fast. She can control the ball and has great vision. She can play great defense and is a great server, she’s got it all.”
The intangibles Neilson saw in Capllonch at UNLV are also evident to the teammates she shares the court with. Rodrigues has been a setter with the Aggies since 2021 and spoke about the relationship she’s developed with Capllonch since she joined the program.
“She’s willing to communicate with you and for me as a setter, it’s super important for the hitters to communicate with me. That’s probably why me and Shelby connect so well,” Rodrigues said. “Even when we’re not connecting, we’re just like, ‘OK, what do you need for me? What can I give you?’ That just makes my game so much easier because there’s no pressure around me, and I know I don’t have to be perfect with her because I trust her to kill any ball.”
Since joining the Aggies, Neilson has been able to see a noticeable change in the way Capllonch carries herself on the court.
“I think she’s just grown in confidence. She’s gotten better and better but she’s really gained a belief in herself about what a winner she is,” Neilson said. “She knows that volleyball is not always size and strength. It’s skill, timing, positioning, and she’s mastered all of those things. It’s been fun to see her just win at every level and to keep helping us win.”
Capllonch has certainly contributed to the success of Utah State’s 2023 campaign. Utah State earned their first outright regular-season Mountain West championship with a 3-1 win over Boise State on Nov. 6 and looks to repeat as Mountain West tournament champions when the tournament takes place in Las Vegas between Nov. 22 and 24.