Nov. 5, 2004
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
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AZTECS WRAP UP 2004 HOME SEASON THIS WEEKEND
* San Diego State returns home this weekend for a pair of Mountain West Conference contests that will mark the end of this year's volleyball home schedule.
* On Friday (Nov. 5), the Aztecs will host 17th-ranked Utah at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym.
* The next night (Saturday, Nov. 6), SDSU will face Brigham Young in the final home match of the 2004 campaign. That contest gets underway at 7:00 p.m.
* Saturday's match will also be Aztec Senior Night as the team and coaching staff honors the 2004 volleyball senior class.
SERIES RECORDS
* The Aztecs are 15-28 in the series with Brigham Young. The Cougars defeated SDSU, 3-0, in the first meeting of the season between the teams in Provo a month ago. Brigham Young has dominated the series since 1990, winning 26 of the 31 matches between the teams. Over the years, SDSU is 5-11 against the Cougars at home.
* San Diego State has compiled a record of 16-15 against Utah since the teams first met in 1982. The Utes have won 13 of the last 16 meetings including a 3-0 win in Salt Lake City in mid-October. The Aztecs last three wins in the series have all come in San Diego (2000, 2001 and 2003) when the Utes were ranked among the nation's top 25. SDSU is 9-3 against the Utes in Petersen Gym.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
* Utah (18-3 overall) is ranked 17th in the nation this week and sits atop the Mountain West conference with a perfect 10-0 mark. After beginning the year with a 3-2 record, the Utes have won 15 of their last 16 matches, losing only to Notre Dame. Lyndsey Henderson is the team kill leader with an average of 3.65 per game. She is hitting .363 on the year and also averages 1.78 blocks per contest. The Utes are holding opponents to a .136 attack percentage average over their 21 matches.
* Brigham Young brings an overall record of 14-9 to San Diego this week. The Cougars are tied for third place in the Mountain West Conference with UNLV at 6-4. BYU will visit UNLV on Friday before arriving in San Diego to face the Aztecs. Brigham Young is led in kills by outside hitters Kim Wilson and Eric Lott, who average 3.32 and 3.31 kills per game respectively. Sophomore middle blocker Lindsy Hartsock has the team's top hitting percentage at .401. The Cougars lead the MWC in team blocking with an average of 3.53 bpg. They are paced in that category by Hartsock at 1.77 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 160-142 (.530).
* 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 MWC matches on the road last weekend.
* On Friday (Oct. 29), the Aztecs dropped a three-game match to 9th-ranked Colorado State (30-18, 30-9, 30-20). Ashley Bowker and Melissa Stapley had seven kills apiece to pace the Aztec attack with Stapley and Kari Dykema finishing with eight digs each. San Diego State was held to a season-low -.029 team hitting percentage.
* The next evening, SDSU fell at Wyoming by a score of 3-0 (30-23, 30-25, 30-22). Stapley led SDSU with 13 kills and 10 digs while Audra Dent had nine kills and Bowker contributed eight blocks. Setter Kristen Castillo had seven kills, 33 assists, three digs and a block.
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.
MORIARTY RETURNS
* Senior outside hitter Kara Moriarty suffered a sprained ankle early in game one of last Friday's match at Colorado State. She missed the reminder of that contest as well as the match at Wyoming the next evening. She is expected to be available for this weekend's action.
* In the four matches prior to last Friday, she had 46 kills over 11 games, an average of 4.18 kpg. She finished in double figures in kills in all four of those matches.
* Her average of 3.36 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 10 matches since her return, she is averaging 3.60 kills per game and 2.07 digs per game.
* Moriarty is the lone senior and returning starter for SDSU this season.
STAPLEY CONTINUES SOLID PLAY
* Melissa Stapley had SDSU's first double double of the season when she had 13 kills and 10 digs at Wyoming last Saturday.
* After 10 Mountain West matches, her kill average of 3.32 kpg ranks seventh in conference game stats.
* Stapley has recorded 10 double-figure kill games this season to lead the team.
* Her .462 attack percentage (9-3-13) against Air Force on Oct. 16 was her best as an Aztec.
* Stapley's 3.21 kills per game overall average is 11th-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. In addition, her 16 kills vs. Mississippi on Sept. 10 ties for the third-best total in a three-game match in the MWC this fall.
CASTILLO ON THE ATTACK
* Freshman setter Kristen Castillo has compiled 247 assists in SDSU's last seven matches (21 games) for an average of 11.76 assists per game.
* Her season assist average entering this week is 10.08 per game.
* Her assist average in conference matches is 11.84 per game, and she ranks fifth in the league stats in that category.
* Over her last five matches, Castillo is hitting .526 with 21 kills in 38 attempts and just one error.
* She 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 last weekend. In those two matches, she hit .800 and .700 respectively.
* Castillo also leads the team in service aces with a total of 18, an average of 0.24 per game. She ranks ninth in the MWC in that stat category.
* 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 1.37 blocks per game, a mark that ranks fourth in the Mountain West Conference this week.
* She recorded eight blocks vs. Wyoming last Saturday, her second-highest total of the season.
* Over San Diego State's last five matches, she is averaging 1.79 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 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 Aztecs to have recorded at least one block in every match this season.
* Her season average of 1.10 blocks per game places her 10th in the overall MWC stats.
* Dent has also recorded at least one assist in each of SDSU's last five outings.
CORDEIRO QUESTIONABLE
* Freshman libero Aime Cordeiro missed last weekend's two matches after injuring her knee against UNLV on Oct. 22. She is questionable for this weekend's two home matches.
* 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.
* 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) have seen significant collegiate action. 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.
TEAM NOTES
* After hitting over .200 as a team in just two of its first 18 matches of the season, the Aztecs have recorded hitting percentages well above the .200 mark in three of their last five matches.
* SDSU has reached double figures in block assists in four of its last five matches and 16 of its last 18.
* 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.
* The Aztecs have enjoyed a good deal of success on their home floor, Peterson Gym. Since 1990, the Aztecs have compiled a 128-66 (.660) overall home record and a 71-32 (.689) conference record in the facility. Last season, SDSU went 8-6 overall at home and was 4-3 in conference action in Peterson Gym.
* 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
* San Diego State hits the road next weekend for its final Mountain West Conference matches of the 2004 season.
* On Friday, Nov. 12, the Aztecs will visit Colorado Springs to take on the Air Force Falcons at 7:00 p.m. (MST) in Cadet Gymnasium.
* Then, on Sunday afternoon, SDSU will be in Albuquerque to face the New Mexico Lobos at 1:00 p.m. (MST).