Sept. 20, 2005
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
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AZTECS OPEN MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE PLAY AT HOME
*San Diego State, winner of five of its last six matches, returns home this week to begin Mountain West Conference play as it hosts defending MWC tournament champion Colorado State on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym.
*Two days later, the Aztecs will continue league play when the Wyoming Cowgirls visit Peterson Gym on Saturday, Sept. 24. That match is scheduled to start at noon.
SERIES RECORDS
*San Diego State is 14-16 in its series vs. Colorado State. 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 in November 2002. SDSU has dropped its last five matches against the Rams and 13 of the last 14 meetings. The Aztecs are 8-7 against Colorado State in San Diego.
*SDSU has lost four times in its previous 28 meetings with the University of Wyoming to lead the series, 24-4. 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 eight of the last 10 encounters between the teams. Wyoming picked up a victory in the most recent meeting between the two squads, a 3-0 win in Laramie last season.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
* Colorado State enters Thursday's match with a record of 6-3. The Rams have won their last five matches after a 1-3 start, losing only one game in those last five outings. CSU is led by preseason all-conference selections Tess Rogers (3.90 kpg,) and Dre Downs (3.10 kpg, 1.39 bpg, .371 hitting percentage). Casey Bauer is the team kill leader at 4.06 per game while Katherine Whitney has a team-leading 3.74 digs per game average. The Rams lead the Mountain West Conference in kills, assists and blocks.
*Wyoming begins the week with a 5-4 mark and will visit UNLV for a match on Thursday (Sept. 22) prior to facing the Aztecs. The Cowgirls' top offensive player is outside hitter Rachel Smith, who is averaging 3.68 kills and 2.13 digs per game. Smith was named the Mountain West Conference co-Freshman Player of the Year last season. As a team, Wyoming currently leads the MWC in service aces and digs as well as lowest opponent hitting percentage.
HEAD COACH Mark Warner
*San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his 11th season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 170-151 (.530).
*Over the past 10 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.
MOST RECENTLY
*San Diego State went 3-1 last week with a loss at Loyola Marymount followed by three wins at the Medical Mutual CSU Invitational hosted by Cleveland State.
*At LMU, the Aztecs fell in three games by scores of 34-32, 30-26, 30-21. Audra Dent led SDSU with 10 kills while Melanie Green had nine. Three players hit double digits in digs led by Aime Cordeiro with 13. Alicia Waller and Kristen Castillo had 12 and 10 respectively.
*SDSU began in Cleveland with a 3-0 (30-24, 30-28, 30-27) win over Niagara on Friday. Dent, Greene and Brandie Molnar tied for individual kill honors with nine apiece. SDSU hit just .174 for the match, but held Niagara to a .114 hitting percentage.
*On Saturday, the Aztecs began the day with a three-game win over Binghamton (30-19, 30-12, 30-24). Greene had a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs while Dent contributed 13 kills. SDSU's attack percentage of .362 was its second highest of the season.
*The Aztec ended the weekend with a 3-1 (21-30, 30-25, 30-27, 30-25) win over host Cleveland State. Greene again led the way with a double-double effort, recording 20 kills and 12 blocks. Molnar had 15 kills while Aime Cordeiro had 21 digs over the four games.
AZTEC WIN ANOTHER TOURNEY
*San Diego State won the championship of the Medical Mutual CSU Invitational with a perfect 3-0 record. It was the second straight tournament title for the Aztecs, who won the Red Raider Round-Up at Texas Tech the previous weekend.
*It marked the first time that SDSU won two in-season tournaments in the same year since they won tourneys at University of San Diego and New Mexico during the 1996 campaign.
*Two Aztecs were honored at the conclusion of the Cleveland State event: junior outside hitter Melanie Greene and sophomore libero Aime Cordeiro were both named to the all-tournament team.
GREENE GETS GOING
*In addition to being named to the all-tourney team in Cleveland, Melanie Green was named the MVP of that event.
*Over SDSU's three matches there, she averaged 4.78 kills. 3.89 digs and 0.78 aces per game while hitting .443.
*Her six service aces against Binghamton on Saturday was a new career best while her 20 kills in the match vs. Cleveland State tied her career high (set the previous weekend vs. Georgia).
*Greene has recorded all four double-doubles of her collegiate career this season.
*After 12 matches, Greene leads the Aztecs with an average of 3.66 kills per game and is second with 2.97 digs per game.
*She was also named to the all-tourney team at this season's Red Raider Round-Up.
CORDEIRO DIGS IT
*Libero Aime Cordeiro earned all-tournament honors last weekend by averaging 5.30 digs per game over the three matches. She was named to the all-tourney team at each of the three tournaments in which SDSU played this season.
*Her 24 digs against Boise State on Sept. 9 was a career best for the sophomore from nearby Santee.
*She has been in double figures in digs in 11 of SDSU's 12 matches this season and has had 20 or more on four occasions.
*Her season average of 5.13 dpg leads the Mountain West Conference this week.
MOLNAR COMING ON
*Brandie Molnar came off a recent minor injury to have a stellar performance at last weekend's Cleveland State tournament.
*In the three matches, she averaged 3.44 kills, 1.11 digs and 0.89 blocks while hitting .359.
*She had her first double-figure kills game as a collegian when she recorded 15 in the tourney title match vs. Cleveland State.
*In last week's four matches, Molnar hit .373 (33k-8e-67ta).
*The freshman from Springboro, Ohio, who came to SDSU this season from Ohio State, is hitting .319 on the year with a 2.69 kills per game average this season. Her hitting percentage ranks sixth in the conference this week.
DUAL SETTERS
*San Diego State is using a two-setter rotation this season, alternating sophomore Kristen Castillo and freshman Leah Lathrop.
*Each setter has appeared in all 39 games, and between the two have averaged 12.57 assists, 0.54 service aces and 2.74 dpg.
*Individually, Castillo has a slightly higher assist average as she starts every game. She has had only four ball handling errors this season, with four of those coming in win over Cal State Fullerton.
NOLL ADDS OFFENSE
*Middle blocker Lindsey Noll, a 6-5 transfer from Missouri, is hitting .299 to rank eighth in the conference in that category.
*In last weekend's three matches, she averaged 1.5 blocks per game along with 2.38 kpg.
*She hit .625 in the win over Binghamton with five kills and no errors. It was the fourth time this season she has hit .400 or better in a match.
SO FAR, SO GOOD
*Although very early in the season, statistical comparisons to last season indicate that the Aztecs are a much-improved team in 2005.
*Here are stat averages from the 2004 season and after the first four matches of the current campaign:
2005 2004KPG......15.69....12.84Pct........231 ....152Asst/G...14.03....11.55Aces/G....1.74.....1.12Digs.....15.13....11.83*The only category which is down from a year ago is blocking. The Aztecs are averaging 2.38 bpg in 2005 after norming 2.47 a game last season.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
*The Mountain West Conference coaches and media poll has predicted the Aztecs to finish sixth in the nine-team league. In the six years of the MWC's existence, SDSU has finished second (2002), fourth (2000, 2001, 2003) and sixth (1999, 2004) in the final league standings.
*Brigham Young is picked to win the league title this year. The results of the preseason poll are as follows:
Team (1st-place votes) Pts.1. Brigham Young (7).....1082. Utah (3)..............1063. Colorado State (3).....964. UNLV...................745. TCU....................626. San Diego State........447. Wyoming................428. New Mexico.............379. Air Force..............16
AZTEC NOTES
*After recovering from a back injury, senior Ashley Bowker made her first appearance of the season during last weekend's Cleveland State tournament. She played in one game each in the matches vs. Niagara and Binghamton, averaging 1.50 kpg and 1.00 bpg.
*Melissa Stapley's 12 digs vs. Cleveland State was a career high for the senior outside hitter.
*Sophomore setter Kristen Castillo needs 107 assists to move into the Aztec top 10 career list.
*Lindsey Mahan's four solo blocks in the match at Loyola Marymount last week was a career high for the sophomore middle blocker.
*Freshman Alicia Waller's average of 0.44 service aces per game is seventh-best in the MWC this week.
*As a team, SDSU ranks among the top four in the conference in hitting percentage, kills, assists and digs.
*Aime Cordeiro's 24 digs vs. Boise State are the most in the league this season in a three-game match.
*Kristen Castillo is hitting .400 from her setter position. Last season she finished with a .263 attack percentage.
*Three Aztecs have recorded at least one block in every match this season: Audra Dent, Lindsey Mahan and Lindsey Noll.
*Audra Dent's .280 hitting percentage is ninth-best in the conference this week.
*The Aztecs have not played a five-game match this season. Their last one was against James Madison on Sept. 11 last year. The team's last victory in a five-game match was against University of San Diego on Nov. 4, 2003.
UP NEXT
*San Diego State begins road action in the Mountain West Conference next week as it travels to Air Force and New Mexico.
*The trip begins with a match vs. Air Force in Colorado Springs on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7:00 p.m. (MDT). The next night (Saturday, Oct. 1), the Aztecs will be in Albuquerque to face the Lobos at 7:00 p.m. (MDT).