Nov. 11, 2004
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AZTECS WRAP UP 2004 HOME SEASON THIS WEEKEND * San Diego State hits the road this weekend for a pair of Mountain West Conference contests that will mark the end of this year's league volleyball schedule.
* On Friday (Nov. 12), the Aztecs will be in Colorado Springs to take on Air Force at 7:00 p.m. (MST).
* Two days later (Sunday, Nov. 14), SDSU will face New Mexico in Albuquerque in the final MWC match of the 2004 campaign. That contest gets underway at 1:00 p.m. (MST).
SERIES RECORDS * The Aztecs are 24-9 in the series against New Mexico, including wins in each of the last 11 meetings between the teams. The series goes back to 1976 when the Lobos claimed a 3-1 victory in Peterson Gym. The schools have met annually since 1990 when both were members of the Western Athletic Conference. SDSU has a record of 7-5 against the Lobos in matches played on UNM's home floor.
* San Diego State holds a 14-1 mark in its previous 14 meetings with Air Force. The teams first met in 1996 while both were members of the Western Athletic Conference. Prior to that season, the Falcons had competed in the Colorado Athletic Conference with 1996 being their first year as a member of Division I. Air Force's lone win over SDSU came in Colorado Springs in 1999. San Diego State has won the last 10 meetings between the teams including a 3-0 decision in Peterson Gym in mid-October. The Aztecs are 6-1 against the Falcons in Colorado Springs.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION * Air Force enters the week with an overall record of 4-18 and 0-12 in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons have lost 14 straight matches dating back to Sept. 24 and are the only team without a league win this fall. Air Force's offense is led by Kristin Hamlett with 3.34 kpg, 1.20 dpg and 0.84 bpg. Hamlett is a junior from Escondido, Calif., who played her prep volleyball at San Pasqual High. Brooke Akers has the team's top hitting percentage at .219 and averages 0.84 blocks per game.
* New Mexico (8-15 overall; 2-10 MWC) will host UNLV on Friday before welcoming San Diego State on Sunday. The Lobos ended a six-match losing streak last weekend with a 3-0 win over Air Force at home for their second league victory of the season. UNM is led by junior outside hitter Nicole Ryan (3.19 kpg, 1.80 dpg) and sophomore right side hitter Kelly Therkelsen (2.87 kpg, 1.06 dpg). New Mexico has two players averaging a block per game: Chelsea Sondrup (1.18 bpg) and Samie Weber (1.27 bpg)
HEAD COACH Mark Warner * San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his 10th season at the helm of the Aztec women's volleyball program. His career record over that time stands at 160-144 (.526).
* Over the past nine years, Warner has led his teams to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and a Western Athletic Conference championship. His tutelage has produced 15 all-conference players and he was named the Mountain West Conference co-coach of the year in 2002.
LAST WEEK * San Diego State dropped a pair of conference matches in what were its final home contests of the 2004 campaign.
* On Friday (Nov. 5), 17th-ranked Utah defeated the Aztecs in three games by scores of 30-25, 30-18, 30-20). Kara Moriarty led SDSU with 10 kills and eight digs with Ashley Bowker chipping in with eight kills and four blocks.
* The next evening, SDSU fell to Brigham Young, 3-0 (36-34, 30-15, 30-22. Moriarty and Melissa Stapley both finished in double figures in kills with 11 and 10 respectively. Bowker and Audra Dent contributed five blocks apiece.
NUMBER 300 * The Aztecs' contest against UNLV on Oct. 22 was head coach Mark Warner's 300th match at the helm of the San Diego State women's volleyball program.
* The 1987 San Diego State graduate became the Aztecs' fourth head coach in 1995 and has been named coach of the year in two different conferences during his tenure at SDSU.
LAST APPEARANCE FOR THREE PLAYERS * Last Saturday's match against Brigham Young mark the final home contest for three Aztecs players.
* That trio included outside hitter Kara Moriarty, middle blocker Lucilla Xavier and defensive specialist Kari Dykema.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST * Kari Dykema, who is finishing her final season at SDSU, set a career high with 18 digs against 17th-ranked Utah last Friday.
* Over the team's last five matches, she is averaging 3.47 digs per match.
* Her season total of 145 digs is second only to starting libero Aime Cordeiro.
MORIARTY RETURNS * Senior outside hitter Kara Moriarty, who suffered a sprained ankle early in game one at the Colorado State match on Oct. 29, returned to the lineup last weekend after missing two matches.
* She recorded double figures in kills in each of SDSU's contests (vs. Utah and BYU) last weekend.
* In her last six matches, she has 65 kills over 17 games, an average of 3.82 kpg. She finished in double figures in kills in all six of those outings.
* Her average of 3.39 kills a game in league play is fifth-best in the MWC this week.
* Moriarty hit a season-best .354 vs. Air Force (10-5-19) on Oct. 16 and also had a pair of service aces in two games during that match.
* Moriarty missed 10 matches with a pulled abdominal muscle suffered in the season opener vs. Arizona on Sept. 1, returning on Oct. 1 for the match at UNLV.
* In the 12 matches since her return, she is averaging 3.63 kills per game and 2.00 digs per game.
STAPLEY CONTINUES SOLID PLAY * Melissa Stapley recorded SDSU's only individual double double of the season when she had 13 kills and 10 digs at Wyoming on Oct. 30.
* After 12 Mountain West matches, her kill average of 3.24 kpg ranks eighth in conference game stats.
* Stapley has recorded 11 double-figure kill games this season to lead the team. She had a personal and team-high 23 kills vs. San Francisco on Sept. 17.
* Her .462 attack percentage (9-3-13) against Air Force on Oct. 16 was her best as an Aztec.
* Stapley's 3.18 kills per game overall average is 10th-best in the MWC this week in all-game stats.
* Her 23 kills against San Francisco on Sept. 17 is the fifth-highest single-match total in the conference this fall and second-best total for a four-game match.
CASTILLO ON THE ATTACK * Freshman setter Kristen Castillo has compiled 310 assists in SDSU's last nine matches (27 games) for an average of 11.48 assists per game.
* Her season assist average entering this week is 10.11 per game.
* Her assist average in conference matches is 10.78 per game, and she ranks fifth in the league stats in that category.
* Castillo set a career high with eight kills against UNLV on Oct. 22, second-best on the squad in that match. She followed that up with seven kills at Wyoming on Oct. 30. In those two matches, she hit .800 and .700 respectively.
* Castillo also leads the team in service aces with a total of 21, an average of 0.26 per game. Her six aces vs. James Madison earlier this season were the most by an Aztec since Robyn Gregg had nine vs. Air Force on Oct. 18, 2002.
BOWKER ON THE BLOCK * In her first season as a middle blocker, junior Ashley Bowker is averaging 1.38 blocks per game, a mark that ranks fourth in the Mountain West Conference this week.
* She recorded eight blocks vs. Wyoming on Oct. 30, her second-highest total of the season.
* Over San Diego State's last five matches, she is averaging 1.70 blocks per game.
* Bowker has hit double figures in kills three times this season with a high of 11 last vs. Wyoming on Oct. 1.
* Her .467 hitting percentage in the match vs. Wichita State (10k-3e-15ta) is the highest for an SDSU player (with minimum 10 kills) in 2004.
DENT AMONG BLOCKING LEADERS * Sophomore Audra Dent continues to average over a block a game in 2004. Her season average of 1.10 blocks per game places her 10th in the overall MWC stats.
* She recorded seven blocks in the match against UNLV on Oct. 22, her second-highest total of the season. She also had four digs in that match, tying her best effort of the 2004 campaign.
* Dent is the lone Aztec to have recorded at least one block in every match this season.
CORDEIRO PROBABLE * Freshman libero Aime Cordeiro missed SDSU's most recent four matches after injuring her knee against UNLV on Oct. 22. She returned to practice this week and is expected to play at Air Force and New Mexico.
* In the last five matches in which she played, she is averaging 4.00 digs per game.
* Her overall mark of 3.67 digs per game ranks fourth in the MWC this week while her MWC match average of 4.36 dpg is second-best (just .04 dpg behind the league leader).
* Cordeiro's 21 digs at Fresno State earlier this season is still the most in the conference in a three-game match this year.
YOUTH WILL BE SERVED * The Aztecs are a young team in 2004 with one senior, six juniors, four sophomore and six freshmen in Fresno. * Although SDSU has a total of nine players returning, only two (Kara Moriarty and Kari Dykema) had seen
significant collegiate action prior to this year. Entering the season, the other seven returnees had played in a total of 26 games during their collegiate careers.
* San Diego State had five new starters when the season opened against Arizona on Sept. 1. Two of those starters (setter Kristen Castillo and outside hitter Lindsey Mahan) were true freshmen while the starting libero (Aime Cordeiro) was a freshman as well.
LOCAL CONNECTIONS * Three members of the 2003 Aztec squad hail from the San Diego area.
* That trio includes Ashley Bowker (Grossmont HS), Aime Cordeiro (West Hills HS) and Vanessa Curtis (University of San Diego HS).
* Bowker is a junior who redshirted in her first year as an Aztec (2001). Both Curtis and Cordeiro are true freshmen. * A fourth Aztec, junior Barbara Louie, is from Northern California, but spent two years at San Diego Mesa College before arriving at SDSU last season.
TEAM NOTES * San Diego State's last 11 matches and 16 of 17 have gone just three games. The Aztecs have played a total of 20 three-game, four four-game and one five-game match this fall.
* SDSU has reached double figures in block assists in six of its last five matches and 18 of its last 20.
* Setter Kristen Castillo is the only Aztec to have played in every game this season. Castillo and Melissa Stapley are the only players to have started every match for SDSU in 2004.
* Ninth-year coach John Ross was promoted to the position of Associate Head Volleyball Coach this past July. Ross is a former SDSU player (1989-93) who joined the women's program as an assistant coach in 1996.
UP NEXT * Next week, San Diego State travels to Colorado Springs to participate in the 2004 Mountain West Conference Tournament. That event gets underway on Thursday (Nov. 18).
* Pairings for the tourney will be determined after this weekend's matches. SDSU will finish in either sixth or seventh place in the final MWC standings and will play either the league's second or third-place team (Utah, Colorado State or Brigham Young) in the first round.