Utah State women’s volleyball was picked eighth in the 2015 Mountain West Preseason Coaches’ Poll, as voted on by the league’s 11 coaches and announced Thursday by the conference office.
“The preseason poll is just that,” USU head coach Grayson DuBose said. “I’ll be excited to see how fast we have matured when we begin conference play in September.”
Defending champion Colorado State earned seven first-place votes and 97 points for the top spot in the poll. The Rams also boast the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year in senior outside hitter Adrianna Culbert. She is joined on the Mountain West Preseason Women’s Volleyball Team by senior libero Jaime Colaizzi.
UNLV and Boise State follow in the poll, tying for second place with 83 points. The Rebels earned two first-place votes, and the Broncos garnered one first-place vote in the poll. The teams also produced members on the Mountain West Preseason Women’s Volleyball Team in junior middle Bree Hammel (UNLV) and sophomore outside hitter Sierra Nobley (BSU), who is also the reigning MW Freshman of the Year.
Wyoming earned the final first-place vote and was picked fourth with 77 points and was followed by New Mexico (67), San Diego State (58) and Air Force (41). Utah State earned 39 points with its eighth-place selection, finishing ahead of Fresno State (26), Nevada (20) and San José State (14).
Wyoming and New Mexico were the other teams to generate players on the Mountain West Preseason Women’s Volleyball Team with senior outside hitter Bridget Shanahan (Wyoming), senior setter Hannah Johnson (UNM) and junior outside hitter/libero Julia Warren (UNM) rounding out the list.
The 2015 season opens Friday, Aug. 28, with all 11 league teams in action. The Aggies begin the 2015 campaign in Lubbock, Texas, as USU faces Texas Tech, Houston and Louisiana-Lafayette on Aug. 28-29. Utah State opens at home on Sept. 1, hosting Utah at 7 p.m.
Conference play begins Thursday, Sept. 24, with 10 teams slated for play, including Utah State’s MW opener at Colorado State.
Utah State balances a roster of eight returners and five newcomers in 2015, having lost five seniors and junior opposite Elle Brainard to graduation. The young Aggies will be without a senior on the roster and return just 31 percent of their total kills from last season.
Leading the way is junior outside hitter Kaylie Kamalu, who finished third on the team last season with 232 kills, averaging 2.64 per set and hitting .151 (232-124-715). Kamalu started in 10 matches for the Aggies last season and joins junior libero Hannah Gleason (17 matches) and sophomore middle Hannah Smith (22 matches) as the only returners to have started in double-digit matches for Utah State in 2014.
Other returners include sophomore outside Rachel Gale, sophomore outside Kayla DeCoursey, sophomore defensive specialist Maddie Day and junior setter Erica Moscoso. Joining them is redshirt sophomore Carly Lenzen, who has fully recovered from a knee injury that sidelined her for the 2014 season after appearing in 18 matches as a true freshman in 2013.
Newcomers for the Aggies include sophomore transfer outside Lauren Anderson and four freshmen: setter Kassidy Johnson, middle Lauren O’Brien, outside Simone Gibeau and defensive specialist Tasia Taylor.
Fans can get their first look at the women’s volleyball team when the Aggies host the Blue/White Preview on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m., on Kirby Court at the Wayne Estes Center. The event is free to the public and will feature an autograph session with the team at the conclusion of the match.
Kyle Cottam is the assistant athletic director for media relations at Utah State University.