LOGAN — Utah State volleyball opens the 2013 season by heading to Salt Lake City to compete in the University of Utah Classic on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 30-31. USU opens the tournament taking on host Utah on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. (MT), then takes on Northern Iowa on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 10 a.m., before wrapping up action against Fairfield at 5 p.m. All matches are at Utah’s Huntsman Center.

Live stats for all of USU's matches at the Utah Classic are available via “GameTracker” links for the respective matches, while live video for the Utah State-Utah match will be available via the “Watch Live” link, all on USU's athletics website.

Utah State enters its 37th season of volleyball with an overall record of 599-675-8 (.470).

Friday’s season opener will be Utah State’s first official action in the Mountain West Conference after eight seasons in the Western Athletic Conference. The MW is USU volleyball’s fifth conference in its 37 years of volleyball, starting in the Intermountain Athletic Conference (1976-81), later moving to the High Country Athletic Conference (1984-89), the Big West Conference (1989-2004), the Western Athletic Conference (2005-12) and now joining the Mountain West.

Utah State is 18-19 all-time in season openers, including wins in five of its last eight years. Last season, the Aggies started off with a sweep over Portland in hosting the USU Invitational.

USU head coach Grayson DuBose is starting his eighth season at the helm of the Aggie program. DuBose and the Aggies return five starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad that posted a 21-9 overall record and a 15-3 league record. Utah State won its first-ever WAC regular-season title to go with its 2010 WAC Tournament Championship in its eighth and final season in the league.

Utah State was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference Preseason Volleyball Poll, as voted on by the league's 11 coaches.

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Following this weekend's action, the Aggies play at the University of Portland Nike Invitational on Sept. 6-7, before playing at in-state foe Weber State on Sept. 10. USU then plays at the Duke University Tournament on Sept. 13-14.

The Aggies will officially kick off their home schedule by hosting Boise State on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. in USU's MW debut.

Utah State volleyball tickets are available by contacting the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.

Doug Hoffman is the assistant athletic director for Utah State University Athletic Media Relations.

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