Oct. 28, 2003
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AZTECS RETURN HOME FOR FIRST OF THREE MWC MATCHES
* San Diego State remains at home this week for a pair of Mountain West Conference matches.
* On Thursday (Oct. 30), the Aztecs will host 16th-ranked Colorado State in a contest scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start in Peterson Gym.
* Two nights later (Nov. 1), the Wyoming Cowgirls will visit Peterson Gym for a 7:00 p.m. match.
SERIES RECORDS
* San Diego State has lost only three in its previous 25 meetings with the University of Wyoming. However, one of those losses came in Laramie earlier this year. The teams first played each other 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 six of the most recent seven encounters between the teams.
* San Diego State is 14-12 in its series vs. Colorado State including a three-game loss in Fort Collins earlier this month. The teams first met at the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championship tournament in Santa Barbara in 1980. Three years later they faced off in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs ended an eight-match losing streak at the hands of the Rams when they defeated CSU, 3-0, in Peterson Gym last November.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
* Colorado State begins the week with an overall record of 18-4 and 9-0 in the Mountain West Conference. The Rams are currently on an 11-match win streak and are ranked 16th in the nation in this week's AVCA poll. CSU is led by the hitting of Katie Jo Shirley (3.53 kpg, .396 hitting percentage) and Becky Sarauer (3.99 kpg). Colorado State leads the league in hitting percentage (.258), kills (16.45/g) and assists (15.11/g). Shirley and setter Melissa Courtney are returning all-MWC players while Lindsey Kerr was the league's Defensive Specialist of the Year last season.
* Wyoming, which will visit UNLV on Thursday prior to facing the Aztecs Saturday evening, has a record of 14-10 and is 3-6 in conference action. The Cowgirls are led by 2002 all-conference middle blocker Michele Rauter, who is averaging 4.10 kills/game and 3.04 digs/game. Wyoming has a pair of players averaging over a block a game this season: Sara Maytorena (1.03 bpg) and Leah Powers (1.14 bpg).
MOST RECENTLY
* San Diego State defeated UNLV, 3-0 (30-25, 24-30, 30-21, 30-16), at home in their lone match last week.
* After a slow start in which it hit just .056 in the first game, SDSU improved over the course of the four games, hitting .577 in the fourth to finish off the match. Middle blocker Megan Schauermann had 12 kills and hit .579 while also contributing 10 blocks. Aspen McPartland had 13 kills while Zlatina Anguelova had nine kills and an attack percentage of .316.
HEAD COACH MARK WARNER
* San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his ninth season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 152-118 (.563). He recorded his 150th career coaching victory in the win over New Mexico on Oct. 10.
* Over the past eight years, Warner has led his teams to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and a Western Athletic Conference championship. His has produced 13 all-conference players as well as a pair of league players of the year, a setter of the year, and a defensive player of the year.
* Warner was named the 2003 Mountain West Conference co-Coach of the Year.
TOURNEY TIME
* San Diego State will host the 2003 Mountain West Conference Volleyball Tournament, Nov. 20-22 in Peterson Gym. All eight league teams will participate with match-ups to be determined by the final MWC standings.
* Play begins on Thursday, Nov. 20, with matches scheduled for 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Although the parings will not be known until the week before the event begins, San Diego State will play the 7:00 p.m. match each evening as long as it remains in the tourney.
* The championship match will be played on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:00 p.m.
* Single-session passes for each day of the tourney will cost $7 for adults and $5 for students. All-tournament passes will cost $15 and $12 respectively.
KEEPING A STREAK ALIVE
* The Aztecs have won their last 10 Mountain West Conference matches in Peterson Gym and 14 of their last 15.
* The last league match that San Diego State dropped at home was to Brigham Young on Nov. 10, 2001.
* SDSU went 7-0 in conference play in Peterson Gym during the 2002 season and is 3-0 this year vs. MWC opponents.
HOME SWEET HOME
* Since 1990, San Diego State has compiled a record of 123-53 (.699) in Peterson Gym.
* That mark includes a record of 67-25 (.731) in conference matches.
IT WAS A GRAND GAME
* When SDSU met New Mexico in Peterson Gym on Oct. 10, it marked the 1,000th match in the history of Aztec volleyball.
* Entering this week, SDSU has compiled a record of 651-352 (.649) since the program began during the 1976 season. The Aztecs have suffered only four losing campaigns over the 27 years since.
* SDSU's first victory came against Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 8, 1976. Coincidentally, SDSU faced the Titans on Tuesday, Oct. 7, in the program's 999th match.
SCHAUERMANN
* Megan Schauermann's 10 total blocks against UNLV last Friday tied her career high. It was the second time in three matches that she reached that figure.
* Her two solo blocks also tied a personal best as an Aztec.
* Schauermann's 12 kills vs. the Rebels was one shy of her SDSU career best as well.
* She was held without a block in the match at Utah on Oct. 18, ending a string of 82 consecutive matches in which she recorded at least one block. That streak ranks as the third-longest in the history of the Mountain West Conference.
* Schauermann set a new San Diego State hitting percentage mark in the match against Air Force on Oct 11th. Her .867 attack percentage (13 kills, 0 errors, 15 attacks) was the best-ever for an SDSU player in a three-game match.
* Her 13 kills in that march equaled her season and career high, previously accomplished in a five-game match vs. Santa Clara in early September.
MCPARTLAND MILESTONE
* Middle blocker Aspen McPartland recorded the 1,000th dig of her SDSU career in last Friday's match vs. UNLV.
* She picked up the 1,000th kill of her Aztec career in SDSU's match against Nicholls State on Sept. 12. Entering this week, she now has accumulated 1,206 kills during her four seasons at SDSU.
* With at eight contests left this season, the senior from San Diego (Grossmont HS) needs to average 9.25 kills per match to break into the top 10 on the SDSU career kills list.
* McPartland becomes the sixth player in school history to record both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs during her career.
* She continues to lead San Diego State in kill average (3.80 kpg) and hitting percentage (.337).
ANGUELOVA HITS MILESTONE
* Senior outside hitter Zlatina Anguelova recorded the 1,000th kill of her SDSU career in the Aztecs' victory over New Mexico on October 10.
* Needing 11 kills to reach the milestone, she got it on the 29th point of game three.
* She becomes the second Aztecs to reach 1,000 career kills this season, joining Aspen McPartland who reached that mark in mid-September.
SCHAUERMANN AT THE NET
* Megan Schauermann continues to be strong on the block for the Aztecs.
* Her 10 blocks vs. UNLV last week improved her season average to1.54 blocks per game.
* Her blocking average places 10th in the nation this week among individuals in Division I.
ON THE BLOCKS
* Three Aztecs are averaging over a block per game during the 2003 season: seniors Megan Schauermann (1.54 bpg), Melissa Cansdale (1.24 bpg) and Aspen McPartland (1.15 bpg).
* After 23 matches this season, SDSU is averaging 3.13 blocks per game.
* This week SDSU is ranked seventh in the nation in team blocking.
AMONG THE MWC LEADERS
* Several Aztecs rank among the Mountain West Conference leaders this week.
* Megan Schauermann ranks first in blocking (1.54 bpg) while Melissa Cansdale is fourth (1.24 bpg) and Aspen McPartland is eighth (1.15).
* McPartland's .337 hitting percentage is third-best in the league this week while Sara Engstrom's 11.81 assist per game average places her fourth.
* As a team, SDSU ranks first in blocks (3.13 bpg).
* Schauermann's .867 attack percentage vs. Air Force on Oct. 11 is the best individual effort in the league this season.
* McPartland's 13 total blocks vs. Santa Clara earlier this season is also the best in the MWC this season while Cansdale's 11 vs. Miami ranks second.
* The team's .473 attack percentage vs. Harvard is the second-highest in a match in the conference while its 22.5 blocks against Santa Clara is also a league match high.
ON THE CHARTS
* Three current Aztecs appear on SDSU's top 10 career lists.
* Aspen McPartland is sixth in career digs with 1,002. The number-five spot is held by Kim Harsch (1983-86) with 1,042.
* Robyn Gregg has moved up to sixth on the service ace list with a career total of 162. Angela Rock (1981-84) is fifth with 174.
* With 358 career block assists, McPartland has moved into a tie for sixth on the all-time list with Shannon Matthew (1988-89. The fifth spot is held by Nicole Akporiaye (1999-2002) with 360.
* Megan Schauermann has now moved into the top 10 in block assists. Her career total of 338 to begin the week ranks ninth. Angelica Jackson's (1984-87) 341 career block assists occupies the number-eight spot on the list.
* Schauermann is just outside the SDSU top 10 in block assists in a season. She currently has 118 this year. The number-10 spot on the Aztec single-season list is 121 (Shannon Matthew in1999).
TEAM NOTES
* San Diego State's current home winning streak stands at five matches.
* SDSU is averaging just under a block more per game than opponents (3.13 bpg to 2.15 bpg). The Aztecs have out-blocked their opponent in 17 of 23 matches this fall.
* The Aztecs are 9-0 when they lead the opposition in digs during a match. They are 0-5 when out-blocked.
PLAYER NOTES
* Sara Engstrom had her SDSU personal best with 5 service aces vs. UNLV last week. It was the most in a match for an Aztec this season.
* Engstrom now leads the Aztecs in service aces this fall with a total of 25.
* Junior Kara Moriarty is the only Aztec other than Aspen McPartland to average more than three kills per game this season (3.14 kpg). She leads the team in digs at 2.22 per game.
* Megan Schauermann leads the team in hitting in its seven MWC matches at .369, ranking second in the conference in league matches only.
* Schauermann has hit double figures in kills in three of SDSU's last four matches.
* Natalie Sande's streak with at least one dig in 21 straight matches ended against UNLV last Friday.
* Melissa Cansdale's seven block assists in the UNLV match tied for her second-highest total of the season.
* McPartland has a streak of 15 straight games in double figures in kills.
UP NEXT
* Next week, San Diego State will travel for its final three road contests of the season.
* On Tuesday, Nov. 4, SDSU will visit 18th-ranked University of San Diego at 7:00 p.m. in the Jenny Craig Pavilion at USD.
* Three nights later (Nov. 7), the Aztecs will be in Colorado Springs to take on Air Force at 7:00 p.m. (MST). That will be followed by a match at New Mexico on Saturday (Nov. 8), also at 7:00 p.m. (MST).