Aztecs Set for Thursday Night Battle at Boise State

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team opens the second half of its Mountain West regular-season schedule on Thursday, Oct. 24, when it hits the road to face Boise State in a key conference matchup at Bronco Gym in Boise, Idaho.  First serve is set for 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT.

Along with live stats, the Aztecs-Broncos clash will air live on the Mountain West Network. Fans can also catch the live action on their TVs or smartphones by downloading the MW app.

Thursday’s match marks the lone regular-season encounter between the two squads. SDSU has compiled a 6-2 record at home this year and a combined 8-3 marking road/neutral contests.

QUICK HITS
SDSU (14-5, 6-3 MW) wrapped up an unblemished three-match homestand on Tuesday, defeating UNLV in four-sets (25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19) to put the brakes on a four-match skid vs. the Rebels.

The Aztecs set a season high with 17 team blocks in the victory, limiting UNLV to its lowest hitting percentage of the year with a .063 clip (42-33-143). As a result, the Scarlet and Black moved into a tie for third in the conference race, one-half game behind co-leaders Colorado State and Fresno State.

Individually, Shea Rubright totaled a collegiate best with 11 blocks against the Rebels, featuring three solo rejections, while Natalie Hughes established a career high with seven rejections of her own, including a solo stuff as well. Not to be outdone, Kat Cooper tied her collegiate best with five block assists.

Offensively, Taylor Underwood led all players with 16 kills, hitting .375 for the night after committing just four errors in 32 attempts, while Talea Mitchell also reached double figures in that statistic with 14 put-aways, as both players contributed a pair of block assists.

After tying for match-high honors with 17 digs, Jasmine Davis needs just 11 scoops to reach 1,000 for her career in that statistic.

San Diego State has posted more kills than the opposition in all but one match this year (14-4) and has registered a greater hitting percentage on 16 occasions (13-3). In 2023, the Aztecs recorded a higher efficiency in 11 matches for the entire season, finishing with an 8-3 ledger in that category.

Additionally, SDSU has displayed tremendous improvement at the net, collecting more blocks than opponents in 14 matches (11-3) already this season after leading in blocks just once for the entire 2023 campaign.

The Aztecs have already played more than twice as many five-set matches this season (4-4) compared to last year (0-3).

SDSU is a combined 10-0 this season when one or two players surpass the double-digit kill plateau but is just 4-5 when three or more competitors post 10 or more put-aways in a match.

The Aztecs are 4-0 thus far in matches following a loss and 9-5 in contests following a victory.

For the season, Shea Rubright owns a league-leading .461 hitting percentage, which ranks fourth in the nation as of Oct. 23.

SERIES RECORD VS. BOISE STATE
The Aztecs-Broncos series is tied at 12-12 since the two programs first met in 2005. However, SDSU has captured four of the last six encounters, including a four-set decision at home in 2023 (21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-22).

In that contest, SDSU posted a .260 hitting percentage against a Boise State squad that had limited its previous opponents to a .197 efficiency up until that point in the season. Despite a deficiency in team blocks (9.0 to 6.0), the Aztecs maintained a 54-51 advantage in kills and 4-3 edge in aces to help secure the win.

The defense also played a huge part in SDSU's victory, as the Scarlet and Black posted 72 digs overall, limiting the Broncos to a .170 hitting percentage for the night.

The Aztecs withstood a 25-kill performance from Boise State's Paige Bartsch, who hit .339 for the night and tied Annie Kaminski for match-high honors with five block assists.

Among returning players, SDSU was led by Taylor Underwood’s 13 kills, while Mikela Labno launched 12 non-returnables of her own.

The match seemed destined for a fifth set after the visitors built an early 10-5 advantage in the fourth stanza. The Aztecs had other ideas, however, manufacturing a crucial 14-4 run to steal the momentum. SDSU totaled three aces in that stretch, including two by Fatimah Hall, while Underwood and Amber Keen each blasted a pair of kills. Additionally, the Broncos shot themselves in the proverbial foot with three wayward attacks and a blocking error.

Trailing 19-14, Boise State twice narrowed the gap to one, including a 23-22 spread following a Kiersten Van Kirk kill. However, Labno quickly dashed the Broncos’ comeback hopes with a hot smash, while the visitors committed an attack error on the final serve to end the match.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
Entering the week, Shea Rubright leads the Mountain West with a .461 hitting percentage, which ranks fourth in the nation as of Oct. 23. The Aztec middle blocker also slotted eighth in the league in blocks (1.12/set) and 10th in service aces (0.35/set).

Additionally, Gianna Bender has climbed into the seventh position in digs (3.48/set), while Kat Cooper ranks ninth in hitting percentage (.344).

Elsewhere, Taylor Underwood tops the squad with 3.53 points and 3.18 kills per set, both of which rank 10th in the conference.

Despite a two-match absence last week, setter Sarena Gonzalez still ranks eighth in assists (5.83/set).

Gonzalez has logged the league’s highest assist total in a single match this season, dishing out 60 helpers against Eastern Washington, while Rubright is tied for the top spot with 11 blocks after her production vs. UNLV on Tuesday night.

The Aztecs boast four of the top 10 hitting performances in the Mountain West thus far, including Talea Mitchell’s third-best .696 clip vs. Seattle, while Rubright’s two percentages from the SDSU Invitational (.667 vs. Tulane) and (.640 vs. Portland State) rank fourth (tie) and seventh, respectively. In addition, the Aztec graduate senior finished with a .611 efficiency at New Mexico, which is slotted 10th.

Elsewhere, Mitchell’s 24 kills vs. Colorado State is tied for the ninth-best total in the Mountain West this season, while her 16 put-aways against Seattle represents the sixth-highest total for a three-set match.

Three Aztecs also share the 10th spot in the conference with four services aces in a match, including Rubright (vs. Seattle), Jasmine Davis (vs. UC Riverside) and Keira Herron (at Gonzaga).

As a team, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in kills (13.58/set) and assists (12.74/set) while ranking second in hitting percentage (.274). In addition, the Scarlet and Black has climbed into the fifth position in blocks (2.30) while occupying the sixth spot in service aces (1.45/set) and digs (13.64/set).

On the national level, SDSU is slotted 21st in hitting percentage, 30th in assists, and 33rd in kills.

San Diego State’s 77 kills at New Mexico marks the best team performance in the MW thus far, while its 68 put-aways against CSUN and EWU are tied for sixth. The Aztecs also floored 67 shots last week vs. Colorado State, which is tied for the 10th-best effort.

SDSU’s season-high 17 team blocks on Tuesday against UNLV are tied for the third-best total in the conference thus far.

Additionally, the Aztecs’ .366 hitting percentage vs. Seattle ranks eighth in the league.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSTION
Pegged for third-place finish in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll, Boise State is tied for sixth in the conference standings with 4-4 record and a 12-7 mark overall. The Broncos split two home matches last week, besting Nevada in four sets before dropping a 3-2 nail-biter to Utah State. With the results, Boise State moves to 5-2 at home this season while maintaining a combined 7-5 ledger in road/neutral contests.

Opposite hitter Paige Bartsch, who was tabbed MW Preseason Player of the Year, leads the Broncos with 3.60 kills per set, which ranks seventh in the MW, while outside hitter Anabel Kotzakov (2.52) and middle blocker Annie Kaminski (2.33) are also averaging over two put-aways per frame.

Additionally, Bartsch tops the conference in service aces (0.50/set, 35 overall), while Kaminski is slotted sixth in hitting percentage (.360) and seventh in blocks (1.16/set).

Elsewhere, libero Breanna Mitchell ranks second in the league behind Bartsch in service aces (0.49/set, 34 overall) while occupying the fourth position in digs (3.94/set).

Sharing the setting duties are Poway native Kiki Remensperger, who occupies the 10th position in the conference with 5.21 assists per set and Lilli Etter (4.60).

As a team, Boise State leads the Mountain West in service aces (2.19/set), which ranks fifth nationally heading into the weekend. In addition, the Broncos are slotted fourth in kills (12.86/set) and fifth in hitting percentage (.215).  Defensively, Boise State occupies the second position in the conference in digs (14.90/set) and the fourth spot in blocks (2.33/set).

Head coach Shawn Garus is in his 16th season in charge of the Boise State program, sporting a 386-315 career record and a 267-195 mark at the school. Garus captured back-to-back Mountain West Coach of the Year honors (2015-16) to go with 2016 AVCA Region Coach of the Year accolades.

UP NEXT
San Diego State continues its road show next week when it travels to the Front Range of the Rockies for rematches with Wyoming (Oct. 31) and Colorado State (Nov. 2).