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Oct. 7, 2002
AZTECS RETURN HOME TO HOST UNLV
In its lone match of the week, San Diego State will host UNLV on Friday, Oct. 11, at 7:00 pm. in Peterson Gym.
SDSU will take a break from MWC early next week when it travels across town to face University of San Diego on Tuesday (Oct. 15) at 7:00 p.m.
SCOUTING THE REBELS
UNLV enters the week with record of 4-13 overall (0-4 MWC). The Rebels have lost nine straight matches with their last win coming against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sept. 14.
UNLV is led by Tarin Keith (3.25 kpg, 2.10 dpg) and Leiana Oswald (3.10 kpg). Brazilian Patricia Assuncao (2.89 kpg) is the only player to have appeared in every game this season and is hitting .289 on the year.
Sheila Ocasio-Clemente, a Freshman All-American last season, leads the Rebels in blocking at 1.12 bpg and is hitting .292.
SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State leads its series with UNLV by a 10-2 margin.
The Rebels won the last meeting between the teams, defeating SDSU, 3-2, at the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Provo, Utah, last November.
San Diego State has won all six regular-season matches against UNLV in the MWC. UNLV last defeated San Diego State in league play during the 1999 season when both schools were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
The Aztecs are 5-0 against the Rebels at Peterson Gym.
LAST WEEK
San Diego State split a pair of Mountain West Conference matches on the road last weekend.
On Friday, the Aztecs lost at Colorado State, 3-2 (30-27, 30-18, 25-30, 21-30, 12-15). SDSU saw the Rams recover from a two-game deficit to win the match. SDSU starting hitter Zlatina Anguelova went down with an ankle injury in game three and did not return. Nicole Akporiaye led the Aztecs with 14 kills while Aspen McPartland had 12 kills and 28 digs. Her dig total set a new MWC record and was a career high for the junior from San Diego as well.
The next night, San Diego State traveled to Laramie and ended Wyoming's 11-match win steak with a 3-1 victory (29-31, 30-28, 30-26, 30-23). McPartland and senior Rochelle Currier had 14 kills apiece to lead San Diego State. With 12 digs, McPartland recorded her league-leading ninth double-double of the season.
HEAD COACH MARK WARNER
SDSU head coach Mark Warner is in his eighth season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over the past seven seasons at SDSU stands at 129-104 (.554).
Over the past seven years, Warner has led his teams to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and a Western Athletic Conference championship. His tutelage has produced nine all-conference players.
MCPARTLAND CONTINUES STELLAR PLAY
Junior middle blocker Aspen McPartland recorded double-doubles in each of SDSU's matches last weekend. She has record double-doubles (kills/digs) in five of SDSU's last six matches.
In the matches at Colorado State and Wyoming, she averaged 2.89 kills, 4.44 digs and 1.44 blocks per game.
Her 28 digs vs. Colorado State is a Mountain West Conference record and a career high.
McPartland is hitting .308 on the year overall and .362 in MWC contests.
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Setter Melissa Wright has moved up to second on the SDSU career assist list with 3,266 since arriving from the Washington State as a sophomore for the 2000 season. The top spot is occupied by Andrea Clark (4,916 assists, 1994-97).
Wright ranks fourth in the Mountain West Conference in assists this week with an average of 11.05 per game.
She is also averaging 1.32 kills per game from her setter position and is hitting .458 with only 17 attack errors in 75 games.
In last weekend's matches, she hit .516 while averaging 2.11 kills per game, 11.67 assists/game and 2.11 digs per game.
She has been named to a pair of all-tournament teams this season: the Ramada Inn Invitational at SDSU and the Black and Gold Challenge at Wake Forest.
AKPORIAYE ON THE BLOCK
With her move to a middle blocker role this season, senior Nicole Akporiaye has emerged as a true threat at the net as a blocker.
Her average of 1.36 blocks per game (for all contests) leads the Aztecs and ranks fifth in the Mountain West Conference. Her conference match average of 165 bpg is second-best in the MWC this week.
She had a career-best 11 block assists in the three-game win over Brigham Young earlier this season.
Akporiaye is 31 block assists away from cracking the SDSU singe-season top 10. She currently has 89 BA this season, and the number 10 spot on the SDSU chart is 120 by both Angelica Jackson (1987) and Kris Morton (1986).
With 309 block assists in her four seasons at SDSU, she has moved into the number nine spot on the Aztec career top 10 list. Number eight on the list is Erin Grady (315 BA, 1997-2000) while the seventh position is held by Renee Pankopf (324 BA, 1983-86).
GETTING IT DONE DEFENSIVELY
SDSU has kept its foes' hitting percentages to under the .200 mark in 10 of its 12 victories this season. By contrast, San Diego State has been under the .200 mark in only five matches.
The Aztecs are averaging a half a block more per game than opponents this fall. Three players are averaging a block per game or better: Nicole Akporiaye (1.36 bpg), Aspen McPartland (1.15 bpg) and Megan Schauermann (1.00 bpg)
Compared to last season, as a team SDSU is averaging 2.62 more digs and .24 more blocks per game.
SDSU'S team average of 2.86 blocks a game ranks 25th in the nation this week.
TRIPLE DOUBLE
Senior setter Melissa Wright recorded a triple double in the loss at Colorado State when she had 11 kills, 51 assists and 12 digs.
The 11 kills represents a career best for Wright, who is in her third year at San Diego after playing her freshman season at Washington State.
It marks the second triple-double of her career, the other coming during her freshman season at WSU in a three-game sweep at Washington (10 kills, 11 digs, 59 assists).
ANGUELOVA INJURED AGAIN
Starting outside hitter Zlatina Anguelova suffered an ankle injury during the match at Colorado State and did not play the following night at Wyoming.
She is expected to miss this week's match against UNLV and her status for next week's contest at University of San Diego in uncertain at this time.
Earlier this season, Anguelova was injured (twisted knee) at Missouri and missed the Aztecs' match against University of San Diego in mid-September.
MORIARTY COMES THROUGH
Sophomore Kara Moriarty got her first start of the season against Wyoming, filling in for the injured Zlatina Anguelova.
She responded with an eight-kill, nine-dig, three-block performance that was instrumental in the Aztec victory.
Moriarty's dig and block totals in that match are career bests while her eight kills is surpassed only by the 12 she had off the bench in the win over North Carolina State earlier this season.
AMONG THE MWC LEADERS
San Diego State continues to rank among the top four in the MWC in four categories (all matches). Included in that number are digs (3rd - 14.76 dpg), kills (4th - 14.80 kpg), hitting percentage (3rd - .238) and blocks (4th - 2.86 bpg).
Individually, Nicole Akporiaye's .340 attack percentage ranks second this week, just three points behind the league leader. She also ranks fifth in blocking with a average of 1.36 per game.
Aspen McPartland's .308 attack percentage is seventh in the MWC this week and her 3.11 dpg average is third.
Others in the league top 10s are Robyn Gregg (5th in service aces at 0.43 sapg), Melissa Wright (fourth in assists at 11.05 apg) and Zlatina Anguelova (10th in digs at 2.63 dpg).
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
For the third year in a row, the Mountain West Conference coaches' poll has predicted the Aztecs to finish fourth in the league. SDSU has finished fourth each of the past two seasons of play in the MWC.
Utah is picked to win the league title this year, followed by Colorado State and Brigham Young. The results of the preseason poll was as follows:
Team (1st-pl. votes) Pts.1. Utah (6).............482. Colorado State (1)...403. Brigham Young (1)....394. San Diego State......325. UNLV.................286. New Mexico...........187. Wyoming..............138. Air Force.............9
TEAM NOTES
SDSU's has won six of its last eight matches and eight of its last 11.
The Aztecs' team average of 3.35 blocks per game in league matches is the best in the MWC this week.
San Diego State has reached double figures in team blocks in 12 matches this season and had nine team blocks on three other occasions.
San Diego State is averaging 1.6 service aces per game over their last four matches.
A win over UNLV on Friday would match SDSU's best league start (4-1 in 2001) since joining the Mountain West Conference in 1999.
PLAYER NOTES
Aspen McPartland is tied for the Mountain West Conference lead in double-doubles this fall with nine. Teammate Zlatina Anguelova is right behind her with eight while Rochelle Currier and Melissa Wright have five apiece.
Megan Schauermann and Nicole Akporiaye are the only two Aztecs to have recorded at least one block in every match this season.
Over San Diego state's last eight matches (32 games), Nicole Akporiaye is hitting .380.
McPartland has been in double figures in digs in eight of SDSU's last nine matches.
As a setter, senior Melissa Wright is hitting .518 (34k-5e-56ta) over the last five matches. She has hit under .500 in just one of those matches (.467 at Wyoming.)
In her last three matches, Rochelle Currier is averaging 3.21 kills per game.
Robyn Gregg has recorded at least one service ace in eight straight matches.
UP NEXT
After a match at University of San Diego on Tuesday (Oct. 15), the Aztecs return home for a pair of Mountain West Conference matchesnext weekend.
SDSU will host Air Force on Friday, Oct. 18, and New Mexico on Saturday, Oct. 19. Both matches will start at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym.