USU Volleyball’s undersized big-hitter
LOGAN — During the offseason, Utah State Volleyball lost outside hitter Kristy Frank to the transfer portal. Her departure left USU looking for a veteran outside hitter to fill her shoes. They didn’t have to go far to find their next key piece. In fact, they stole one from a conference foe.
Shelby Capllonch, an outside hitter from Honolulu, Hawaii, was playing at UNLV. While there, Capllonch had 645 kills and helped the Rebels win the 2021 Women’s National Invitational Championship. But after three seasons, she transferred to Utah State.
“I felt like I wasn’t connecting with the UNLV team,” Capllonch said.
Capllonch also said it was hard to live in a big city like Las Vegas.
“I wanted to live in a place where I could feel safe being home alone or to be able to go to the store alone,” Capllonch said.
This season at Utah State, Capllonch has posted 168 kills and 208 digs, stats that place her second on the team, and she leads the team with 25 aces.
“I started playing volleyball when I was just four. I started playing with a club at 10 years old,” Capllonch said. “When I was in seventh grade, I realized I could play volleyball DI. That’s when I started taking it seriously.”
Capllonch got her first official college offer when she was a sophomore at Damien Memorial School.
“Shelby is a baller,” head coach Rob Neilson said. “She does so many things well. She defends well, passes well and has a big arm. She plays in big moments, and she isn’t afraid of them. It was a great get for us.”
Typically, outside hitters with “big arms” as Neilson described are taller. What makes Capllonch so fascinating is that she is only 5’8”, which is considered to be undersized by many in the volleyball world.
“I am a scrappy girl. I am going against girls who are all 6’4”, and it’s tough,” Capllonch said with a laugh. “I had to focus and train a lot more than other people would. I know people who would be 6’2” and would get scholarships just because they’re tall, where I am working my butt off to get recognized.”
Neilson said Capllonch makes up for her height with skill.
“Volleyball is a game of positioning, timing and skill. Shelby has all three of those things,” Neilson said. “We love having players who are undervalued —she proves herself time and time again.”
Neilson said Capllonch was voted to be a captain by her teammates in her first season at Utah State.
Capllonch, who is over 3,000 miles away from her home city, said being far away isn’t as hard as she thought.
“I actually like being alone,” Capllonch said. “I feel like I am an independent person.”
Capllonch mentioned that her mother, Kim, moved to St. George when she was in her freshman year and still comes to almost every game. Her father, Eric, still lives in Hawaii.
“I liked when I moved to Vegas my mom was still just two hours away. Still made me feel like I had that connection,” Capllonch said. “When I was going to my second half of my junior year, I thought I could move maybe even further from them.”
Being so far away from her hometown and family hasn’t been the only adversity that Capllonch has faced.
“My knee is shredded,” Capllonch said, describing a past injury. “I tore my shoulder where it wasn’t enough to do surgery but still enough to hurt. I always thought if I should stop playing to let my body rest, but then I think, ‘I have two years. Might as well finish.’”
Despite a heavy injury list, Capllonch said she wanted to prove to herself she can finish her career.
“I just can’t imagine myself pulling out and quitting. I would be so mad at myself,” Capllonch said. “I love the sport and I love my teammates.”
Capllonch said she doesn’t really know what life will be like outside of sports, but she is excited to see what it brings.
“I have wanted to become a veterinarian and I want to join that program when it opens up here,” Capllonch said.
Some athletes can feel remorse after leaving programs they have been with for so long, but Capllonch doesn’t regret her decision to come to Utah State.
“I love this place,” Capllonch said. “I love that it’s a dog town because I have two dogs at home.”
Capllonch takes care of Ice, her pitbull, and Xyna, a golden retriever who she adopted in Lo-gan outside of WinCo.
Capllonch also appreciates “that relationships are actually a thing here.”
“In Vegas, everyone wants to be single, so it’s nice coming here and being able to come here and talk to people about relationships,” Capllonch said.
Capllonch said she also loves the small-town feel of Logan.
“I live five minutes from the campus, where in Vegas I lived 30 minutes from campus,” she said.
In just half a season at Utah State, Capllonch has already made lifetime memories in an Aggie uniform.
“I was starstruck to see people at our spring game. It’s crazy how people came to support us like that; we’ve never had that at UNLV,” Capllonch said. “Singing songs at the football games and basketball games where it is so loud —I love it.”
Looking to win their second consecutive Mountain West regular season championship, Capllonch and the Aggies currently sit in fourth place with seven games remaining in the regular season.