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Oct. 29, 2002
AZTECS HOST WYOMING AND COLORADO STATE IN FINAL HOME MATCHES
San Diego State concludes its 2002 home schedule with a pair of Mountain West Conference matches that will have major implications on the final league standings.
On Thursday, Oct. 31, the Aztecs will host Wyoming at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym.
Two days later, SDSU will take on Colorado State at the same time and venue. The Rams currently lead the conference standings, a half-game ahead of San Diego State.
The Aztecs will finish their 2002 MWC campaign with a trio of road contests (at UNLV, Air Force and New Mexico).
SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State leads the series with Colorado State by a 12-11 margin. The teams first met in 1983 with the Aztecs defeating CSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in San Diego. The Rams have won the last eight meetings between the two teams, including a five-game contest earlier this season in Fort Collins. The Aztecs' last win over CSU came in Fort Collins in 1996. The Aztecs are 7-4 when facing Colorado State in San Diego.
SDSU has lost only twice in its 23 previous matches against the University of Wyoming, The teams first met during the 1984 season and have met annually (with the exception of 1998) on a home-and-home basis since 1990. The Aztecs have defeated the Cowgirls in the most recent five encounters between the teams including a four-game win in Laramie this season. Wyoming last victory over SDSU came in Laramie in 1999. UW's other win in the series came in 1994 on its home floor. San Diego is 10-0 vs. Wyoming in matches played in San Diego.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Wyoming enters the week with a record of 18-6 overall. Five of the Cowgirls six losses on the year have come in Mountain West Conference play where they stand at 3-5. UW is led by outside hitter Michele Rauter, who is averaging 4.47 kills and 3.14 blocks per game. Her kill average leads the conference and she also had turned in a league-best 15 double-doubles this fall. Teammate Sara Maytorena averages 3.67 kills with a team-leading .313 hitting percentage. The Cowgirls. .268 hitting percentage leads the league and ranks 24th in the nation this week.
Colorado State (15-7 overall, 7-1 MWC) will play at UNLV Friday night before facing the Aztecs. The Rams' 11-player roster contains just one upperclassman: senior Michelle Knox. The rest of the team is comprised of six freshmen and four sophomores. CSU is led by outside hitter Tess Rogers (3.82 kpg) and middle blocker Knox (3.43 kpg). The ram's blocking average of 3.05 bpg ranks 13th in the country. Outside hitter Katie Jo Shirley leads the MWC in attack percentage both overall (.345) and in league matches only (.376).
LAST WEEK
SDSU went 1-1 last week in a pair of conference road contests, losing at Utah on Thursday and winning at Brigham Young on Saturday.
In Salt Lake City, the Aztecs found themselves on the short end of a 3-0 score as they were swept by the 22nd-ranked Utes (23-30, 16-30, 28-30). Junior Zlatina Anguelova led San Diego State with 12 kills while senior Rochelle Currier chipped in with 11. SDSU was out-hit for the match, .317 to .173, as the Utes avenged a five-game loss at the hands of the Aztecs earlier this season.
Two nights later, the Aztecs fared better as they defeated Brigham Young, 3-0 (30-26, 31-29, 31-29), in a tightly-contested affair. Anguelova again led SDSU, this time with 20 kills and 11 digs while junior Melissa Cansdale contributes 10 kills. Nicole Akporiaye finished her night with nine kills and nine block assists.
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 133-106 (.556).
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.
ANGUELOVA RETURNS IN BIG WAY
Since returning from an ankle injury four matches ago, junior outside hitter Zlatina Anguelova has been making up for lost time.
She came back to record an 11-kill performance against Air Force with no errors and a .458 hitting percentage in SDSU's three-game sweep of the Falcons two weeks ago, then posted a 23-kill performance the next night against New Mexico.
This past weekend she totaled 32 kills in two matches.
Over San Diego State's last four outings, Anguelova is averaging 5.08 kills and 2.54 digs per game while hitting .357.
GREGG SETS SERVICE ACE MARK
Despite tallying just two service aces this past weekend junior Robyn Gregg remains atop the league stats in that category both overall (0.51 sapg) and in MWC matches only (0.75 sapg)
Two weeks ago, she set a Mountain West Conference record (for all matches and MWC matches only) with nine service aces in the three-game win over Air Force. It was also a career-high for the junior from Santee, Calif., whose previous best was eight aces vs. Utah in a five-game match in San Diego last season.
Gregg already owns the Mountain West marks for aces in a season with 79 (all matches) and 40 (conference only), records she set last year.
MCPARTLAND CONTINUES SOLID PLAY
Aspen McPartland had a streak of seven straight matches in double figures in kills snapped last weekend at Utah and BYU.
She still ranks second in the MWC in double-doubles this season, and her 24 career double-doubles is second among active conference players.
Her 28 digs vs. Colorado State on Oct. 4 set a conference record and a career high.
McPartland is hitting .293 on the year overall (8th in the MWC) and her 3.12 digs per game average is fifth in the league this week.
AKPORIAYE GETTING OFFENSIVE
With her move to a middle blocker role this season, senior Nicole Akporiaye has emerged as a true threat at the net, both as a hitter and a blocker.
She ranks second in the Mountain West this week in hitting percentage both overall (.329) and fourth in league contests only (.339).
Her average of 1.48 blocks per game (for all contests) leads the Aztecs and ranks third in the Mountain West Conference. Her conference match average of 1.82 bpg tops the MWC stat list this week.
She had a career-best 11 block assists in the three-game win over Brigham Young earlier this season.
With 124 block assists this season, Akporiaye has moved into the number eight spot on the SDSU single-season list. She needs just three blocks to take over the seven spot currently occupied by Jennifer Hamilton (126 assists in 1994).
With 334 block assists in her four seasons at SDSU, she has moved into the number-seven spot on the Aztec career top 10 list. Number six on the list is Angelica Jackson (341 BA, 1984-1987) while the fifth position is held by Shannon Mathew (358 BA, 1988-89).
SCHAUERMANN ON THE ATTACK
Megan Schauermann's 12 kills against UNLV on Oct. 11 was a season high for the middle blocker from Vancouver, Wash. Her total was one kill short of her SDSU career best of 13 set last season at Wyoming.
She recorded seven blocks in the loss and Utah and six in the win at BYU this past weekend.
In San Diego State's last three matches, Schauermann is averaging and 1.90 blocks a game while hitting .369.
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Setter Melissa Wright has moved up to second on the SDSU career assist list with 3,515 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 11.47 per game. Her season assist average has increased each of the past four weeks.
She is also averaging 1.20 kills per game from her setter position and is hitting .375 with only 29 errors in 113 games.
Wright recorded her first tripe-double as an Aztec in the match at Colorado State on Oct. 4 when she had 11 kills, 51 assists and 12 digs. It is one of only three triple-doubles recorded by Mountain West Conference players this year.
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.
GETTING IT DONE DEFENSIVELY
SDSU has kept its opponents' hitting percentages to under the .200 mark in 13 of its 16 victories this season, and under .100 in two of those wins. By contrast, San Diego State has been under the .200 mark in seven matches (all losses).
The Aztecs are averaging a over half a block (0.60) more per game than opponents.
Three players are averaging better than a block per game : Nicole Akporiaye (1.48 bpg), Aspen McPartland (1.11 bpg) and Megan Schauermann (1.10 bpg)
SDSU'S team average of 2.86 blocks ranks 17th in the country last week among Division I teams. The Aztecs could move up in those rankings this week as their average now stands at 2.93 bpg after last weekend's two matches.
MWC TEAM 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 (1st-14.94 dpg), hitting percentage (3rd-.240), kills (4th-15.10 kpg), and blocks (4th-2.93 bpg).
In conference matches only, SDSU is among the top three in every category: digs (1st-14.33 dpg), hitting percentage (2nd-.257), service aces (2nd-1.64 sapg), blocks (2nd-3.33 bpg), kills (3rd-15.36 kpg) and assists (3rd-13.76 apg).
TEAM NOTES
With its win in Provo last Saturday, San Diego completed a season sweep of Brigham Young for the first time in the 12 years in which they have been members of the same conference
At 7-2, San Diego State is off to its best Mountain West Conference start since joining the league in 1999. SDSU also began 7-2 in 1997 while a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The team finished with an 11-3 league mark that season.
Since starting the season with a 4-5 record, the Aztecs have gone 12-5. SDSU's has won seven of its last 10 matches.
The Aztecs have enjoyed a good deal of success on their home floor, Peterson Gym. Since 1990, the Aztecs have compiled a 115-51 (.693) overall home record and a 62-25 (.712) conference record in the facility.
SDSU is 10-2 at home in conference matches over the past two seasons and has won its last five matches in Peterson Gym.
PLAYER NOTES
Megan Schauermann and Nicole Akporiaye are the only two Aztecs to have recorded at least one block in every match this season.
Junior Sara Engstrom recorded 10 digs against Utah last weekend, one shy of her season best of 11 set at Colorado State.
Melissa Cansdale came off the bench against Brigham Young last Saturday to record her first double-double of the season, recording 11 kills and 10 digs against the Cougars.
Zlatina Anguelova hit .415 in the match at BYU, the fourth time this season that she has finished a match with a hitting percentage over the .400 mark.
UP NEXT
San Diego State will be in action just once next week as it travels to Las Vegas to face UNLV on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7:00 p.m.
The match will be the first of three MWC road contests for the Aztecs to conclude their 2002 conference season.