SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team will play five of its next six matches inside the friendly confines of Aztec Court at Peterson Gym, starting this week when it welcomes Nevada and Fresno State for a pair of Mountain West clashes.
The Aztecs will battle the Wolf Pack on Thursday, Nov. 2, starting at 6 p.m. PT, before engaging the Bulldogs on Saturday, Nov. 4, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
In addition to live stats, both contests will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com. Fans can also watch the live action on their smartphones or TVs by downloading the MW app.
It's Homecoming Week on The Mesa and the SDSU volleyball program will celebrate Alumni Night for its match against Nevada, with the first 250 fans in attendance receiving a free Aztec beach bag. The promotions continue for Saturday's encounter vs. Fresno State, with free SDSU sunglasses to be given away to the first 250 spectators.
The Aztecs dropped a pair of conference matches last week, losing a hard-fought 3-1 decision (25-19, 21-25, 26-28, 16-25) at New Mexico on Oct. 26, before falling at Air Force in straight sets (17-25, 18-25, 18-25) two days later.
With the results, SDSU (8-15, 3-9 MW) remains tied for ninth in the conference race with Nevada and San José State, three matches behind a pair of sixth-place squads in UNLV and Air Force, as the top six teams qualify for the Mountain West Championship next month in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In six matches over the next three weeks, the Scarlet and Black will leave "America's Finest City" just once when they head to the Bay Area to play San José State on Thursday, Nov. 16.
Four Aztecs averaged over two kills per set last weekend, including Taylor Underwood (2.57), Madison Corf (2.33), Heipua Tautau'a (2.29) and Julia Haynie (2.29). Haynie hit .433 in two matches, committing three errors in 30 attempts with 16 kills, while tying Kat Cooper for the team lead with five blocks.
SDSU welcomed back Cooper and Corf to the lineup after the duo missed the previous five matches due to injury.
In addition, the Scarlet and Black received a team-high 27 digs from McKenna Douglas (3.86/set), while Fatimah Hall (2.14) also averaged over two scoops per set.
Despite the individual efforts, the Aztecs were out-hit by a combined margin of .251 to .102, suffering 25 more attack errors than the opposition (58-33), while trailing in team blocks (22.0 to 11.0).
Against New Mexico, SDSU maintained a 54-49 advantage in kills for the night, but the Lobos held the edge in team blocks (12.0 to 8.0) and aces (7-2), overcoming nine service errors to help key their victory.
After posting a .256 efficiency in the opening set with 14 kills against just four errors in 39 attempts, the Aztecs hit just .081 for the rest of the match, including a minus-.032 clip in the fourth stanza when they committed nine miscues against eight kills in 31 swings.
Individually, SDSU received 11 kills apiece from Haynie (.429), Tautua'a and Taylor Underwood, while Douglas recorded a match-high 18 digs.
Against Air Force on Oct. 28, the Aztecs offensive woes resurfaced, as the host Falcons held a decisive advantage in efficiency (.321 to .065), limiting the visitors to their lowest attack percentage of the season. Additionally, Air Force maintained the statistical advantage in kills (40-30), team blocks (10.0 to 3.0) and digs (31-28) to complete the season sweep and saddle SDSU with its seventh loss in eight matches.
Underwood had her streak of double-digit kills snapped at 10 matches after launching seven non-returnables against the Falcons, while Corf finished with six put-aways of her own. In addition, Douglas' streak of 12 consecutive starts with double-digit digs was halted last Saturday after she finished with nine scoops at the Academy.
As of Nov. 1, Douglas has climbed into the second spot in the Mountain West with 3.78 digs per set against conference opponents, while occupying the seventh position in that category for all matches with 3.66 scoops per frame.
In addition, Underwood is slotted fourth in the MW with 3.46 kills per set against league foes while ranking 10th for all matches with a team-high 3.11 put-aways per frame.
Elsewhere, Haynie occupies the sixth spot in the Mountain West for all matches with a .350 hitting percentage and is ranked ninth in that statistic (.311) during conference play, while Hall is slotted 10th in assists for both conference (6.10/set) and overall matches (5.85/set).
In a home clash with Air Force on Oct. 5, Underwood (.481) smashed a career-high 31 kills, which represents the highest figure in the Mountain West this season. Additionally, the Aztec opposite hitter set a school record for put-aways in the rally scoring era (since 2001) and logged the highest kill total by an SDSU player since Martina Vitkova-Engels (37) and Carrie Mapes (33) combined for 70 non-returnables in the Aztecs' five-set triumph over Wyoming in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament during the sideout era on Nov. 25, 1997.
Not to be outdone, Underwood's career-high five aces against both Denver and Eastern Washington are tied for the fifth-best output in the conference this season, while Hall's 47 assists vs. Cal State Fullerton in the season opener are tied for the sixth-highest total in a four-set match.
Underwood, Douglas and Hall are the only Aztecs to play all 85 sets this season, while Gonzalez has missed just four sets on the year.
Collectively, San Diego State sits among the top of half the conference in two statistics for all matches this week, ranking second in assists (12.25/set) and third in kills (13.11/set). In addition, the Aztecs are slotted seventh in hitting percentage (.201) and digs (12.91/set) and 10th in service aces (1.20/set).
SDSU's total of 77 team kills and 75 assists vs. Air Force on Oct. 5 are the highest single-match totals in the conference so far this season, while its 50 put-aways and 48 helpers at UCSD are tied for the third-best figures in the league for a three-set contest this year.
In MW matches, the Aztecs rank third in digs (13.56/set), fourth in kills (13.04/set), fifth in assists (12.22/set) and ninth in hitting percentage (.206).
On the national level, the Scarlet and Black occupies the 62nd position with 12.25 assists per set and the 76th spot with 13.11 kills per set as of Nov 1. In the fifth RPI ratings of the year, San Diego State ranks No. 180 in the nation, one of 10 Mountain West teams in the top 200 along with Utah State (17), Colorado State (78), Wyoming (107), New Mexico (108), UNLV (111), Air Force (129), Boise State (132), Fresno State (171) and San José State (186).
SDSU owns a 5-9 record in matches following a loss this season. In addition, the Aztecs are 2-5 in Thursday contests and 3-7 when playing on a Saturday this year. After completing three-set matches in nine of 11 non-conference encounters, San Diego State's clash at Air Force last Saturday marked its first three-setter in MW action this season. The Aztecs' previous 11 league matches lasted at least four sets, including narrow five-set defeats at UNLV (Sept. 19), vs. Air Force (Oct. 5) and at Fresno State (Oct. 12). SDSU is 4-6 this season in both three- and four-set matches.
Among newcomers, freshman Campbell Hague has been vying for more playing time after knocking down 38 kills (1.52/set) in her last seven appearances, including a season-high eight at Wyoming on Sept. 30. The Cheney, Kansas, native was also credited with two digs at Air Force last Saturday.
After dropping a four-set decision (22-25, 22-25, 25-18, 13-25) at Fresno State on Oct. 24, Nevada (7-16, 3-9 MW) snapped a three-match slide with a dramatic 3-2 home victory over San José State last Saturday (20-25, 25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 15-9). With the win, the Wolf Pack moved into a tie for ninth place in the Mountain West standings with the Aztecs and aforementioned Spartans.
In addition, Nevada raised its record to 4-5 at home this season. However, the Wolf Pack are winless on the road in conference play this year (0-5) and have emerged triumphant just three times in 11 matches away from their own court, notching their last road victory on Sept. 9 in a 3-0 whitewash at UC Riverside.
San Diego State dropped a four-set decision (21-25, 25-22, 14-25, 21-25) to Nevada in the last meeting between the two squads on Oct. 14 in Reno. Despite suffering the first loss in their last five encounters with the Wolf Pack, the Aztecs still boast a 15-7 record in the all-time series dating back to 2011.
SDSU maintained a 56-49 edge in kills in that contest; however, Nevada out-hit the Scarlet and Black .302 to .180 and held a decisive 15.0 to 2.0 advantage in team blocks and a 9-2 margin in service aces to help fuel its victory.
With the score knotted at 1-1 on the set scoreboard, the Wolf Pack seized the momentum, hitting .463 for the rest of the match while totaling nine team blocks. Nevada did not commit an attack error in the third set, amassing 15 kills in 24 swings for a .625 efficiency. Conversely, the Aztecs hit just .161 in the third stanza, suffering seven miscues on the attack against 12 kills in 31 attempts.
Late in the fourth set, SDSU trimmed the margin to 22-20, but Nevada fashioned a 3-1 spurt to close out the match.
Individually, the Aztec attack was paced by Taylor Underwood, who smashed a match-high 15 kills, while Julia Haynie floored 11 shots, posting a .421 hitting percentage with three errors in 19 attempts. In addition, SDSU received a spark off the bench from Mikela Labno, who knocked down nine kills of her own, while Reno native Amber Keen (.385) launched a season-high six non-returnables in her first return to her hometown.
For the season, Nevada has been paced by Sia Liilii, who ranks 11th in the MW in kills (2.89/set) for all matches, while fellow outside hitters Nicanora Clarke (2.79) and Gabby McLaughlin (2.55) are also averaging over two put-aways per set. However, Clarke will miss Thursday night's clash due to a hand injury.
In addition, setter Tehya Maeva finds herself among the conference leaders this week, ranking fifth in service aces (0.37/set) and eighth in assists (7.38/set), respectively. However, Maeva's status is uncertain for Thursday's match at SDSU. In her place, freshman Francesca King made her first career start against San José State on Oct. 28, posting 26 assists, nine digs and four aces.
On defense, middle blocker Jordan Schwartz (1.27 blocks/set) and libero Hikialani Kaohelaulii (4.27 digs/set) are slotted second in the Mountain West in their statistical categories, which rank 40th and 79th in the nation as of Nov. 1, respectively.
As a team, the Wolf Pack are situated among the league leaders in several categories, ranking third both in digs (14.09/set) and service aces (1.72/set) and fourth in blocks (2.43/set). However, Nevada is last in kills (10.77/set), assists (9.78/set) and hitting percentage (.167).
The Wolf Pack are coached by Lee Nelson, who is in his ninth season on the Reno campus after spending three years as an assistant at Miami (Fla.) from 2012-14. Prior to his stint with the Hurricanes, Nelson was the associate head coach of the men's program at UC Santa Barbara. His career record stands at 92-153.
Prior to facing the Aztecs on Saturday, Fresno State will pay a visit to UNLV on Thursday night. The Bulldogs (13-10, 7-5 MW) are currently tied with Boise State for fourth place in the Mountain West standings after splitting a pair of home matches last week. Fresno State defeated Nevada in four sets on Oct. 24 (25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 25-13) before suffering a reverse sweep in a 3-2 loss to San José State two days later (25-22, 25-21, 16-25, 20-25, 13-15).
With the results, the Bulldogs moved to 6-2 at home on the year while maintaining a combined 7-8 ledger in road/neutral matches.
Offensively, the Bulldogs are led by middle blocker Addison Haluska, who ranks seventh in the Mountain West for all matches with 3.18 kills per set, while outside hitters Ella Rud (2.40) and Jenna Legault (2.30) are also averaging over two put-aways per frame for the season, along with fellow middle Grace Doyle (2.24).
Additionally, Haluska is slotted fourth in the conference in service aces (0.38/set), while Rud occupies the ninth position (0.33/set) in that category.
Entering the weekend, setter Brooke Cowie (9.23 assists/set) and libero Dionii Fraga (4.26 digs/set) rank third in the MW in their respective statistics, while Kasey Purrey (1.12/set) and Doyle (1.00/set) find themselves among the conference leaders in blocks, ranking seventh and 12th, respectively.
On defense, Fresno State is slotted second in the MW in opponent efficiency (.188) while ranking fourth in digs (13.83/set) and fifth blocks (2.41/set). However, the Bulldogs are just eighth in the conference this week in hitting percentage (.197) and 10th in kills (11.69/set).
Nationally, Fresno State is tied for 24th in team blocks (224.0) while ranking 59th in blocks per set (2.41) as of Nov. 1.
The Bulldogs are guided by first-year head coach Leisa Rosen, who spent the previous 24 seasons as an assistant at Michigan, including 22 years as associate head coach. During her tenure on the Ann Arbor campus, Rosen coached 12 All-Americans and helped coach the Wolverines to postseason play on 19 occasions. In that stretch, Michigan amassed 468 victories, including 66 wins over top-25 opponents, and was ranked or received votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll in each of the last 14 seasons.
Despite suffering a 3-2 nail-biter (25-23, 12-25, 25-19, 26-28, 9-15) in the last meeting between the two squads in Fresno on Oct. 12, San Diego State still leads the all-time varsity series 35-18 dating back to 1976.
In that match, the Aztecs owned the statistical advantage in kills (60-52) and digs (63-55) but committed 10 more attack errors (29-19) to finish with a .200 hitting percentage, while the Bulldogs registered a .236 efficiency and maintained the edge in team blocks (13.0 to 9.0) and service aces (9-2) to help cement their victory.
Individually, Underwood posted her second-highest kill total of the season, leading all players with 21 put-aways, while Cara Braun turned in a clutch performance with a career-high 14 non-returnables, hitting .346 for the match after committing just five errors in 26 attempts. Another reserve, Reagan Merk tied her collegiate best as well with seven kills, finishing behind Julia Haynie, who floored eight shots on the night.
In the decisive fifth set, SDSU built a pair of early three-point leads, including a 5-2 advantage, before Fresno State crafted a 5-0 run that put the Bulldogs in front for good at 7-5. The Aztecs cut the margin to one, but the Bulldogs closed with an 8-3 rush to secure the match.
Following Saturday's clash, San Diego State continues its homestand next week when it plays host to Wyoming on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m. PT, before locking horns with Colorado State on Saturday, Nov. 11, beginning at 1 p.m.
Aztecs to Host Nevada, Fresno State This Week
