Oct. 2, 2007
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AZTECS FACE MWC FOES AIR FORCE, WYOMING AT HOME THIS WEEK
*** San Diego State returns home this week for a pair of Mountain West Conference matches.
*** Action begins on Thursday, Oct. 4, when Air Force visits Peterson Gym for a 7:00 p.m. (PDT) contest.
*** Following that match, the Aztecs will host Wyoming on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 2:00 p.m. (PDT) in Peterson Gym.
SERIES RECORDS
*** San Diego State holds a 19-1 mark in its previous 20 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 15 meetings between the teams including a pair of 3-0 victories last season. The Aztecs are 10-0 at home vs. the Falcons and 9-1 in Colorado Springs.
*** SDSU has lost just six times in its previous 32 meetings with the University of Wyoming to lead the series, 26-6. All six Aztec losses in the series have come in Laramie. 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. Over the past four seasons, each team has won on its home floor. SDSU is 15-0 vs. Wyoming at home, 9-6 in matches played in Laramie and 2-0 on neutral courts.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
*** Air Force enters the week with an overall record of 7-11 and 0-5 in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons have lost four straight and seven of their last nine. The Academy is led by outside hitters Katie Batchelder (3.02 kpg, 2.82 dpg) and Caroline Kurtz (2.42 kpg, 2.21 dpg). Freshman Nicole Stillwell is the team's top blocker at 0.83 bpg while averaging 2.07 kpg. Air Force ranks third in the MWC in service aces in league contests with Stephanie Stanford averaging 0.64 aces per game to lead the conference.
*** Wyoming's overall record stands at 6-7 as it heads into a Thursday match at UNLV prior to visiting San Diego. The Cowgirls are 1-4 in the MWC having defeated Air Force to open league play before dropping each of their last four matches. UW's top players include outside hitters Rachel Smith (4.38 kpg, 2.53 dpg) and Angie Hellbaum (4.25 kpg, 2.34 dpg). The duo ranks fourth and fifth in kills in this week's conference stats. Setter Tasha Weishaun is averaging 12.43 assists per game while hitting .472.
SEEKING WIN NUMBER 200
*** San Diego State head coach Mark Warner will record his 200th career win with the Aztecs' next victory.
*** Warner is in his 13th season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 199-184 (.520).
*** Over the past 12 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
*** The Aztecs played just one match last week, dropping a three-game decision at league-leading Colorado State by scores of 18-30, 21-30, 22-30.
*** SDSU hit just .092 for the match while the Rams' .342 attack percentage was the highest for an opponent this season.
*** Sydney De Turk led SDSU with eight kills while teammates Lindsey Mahan and Lauren Salisbury had six apiece.
CORDEIRO SETS CAREER MARK
*** With 27 digs in the match against UNLV on Sept. 21, senior Aime Cordeiro set a new San Diego State career record in that category.
*** Her current total of 1,702 digs has surpassed the total of 1,678 set by Jackie Mendez (1985-88) and moved her into the all-time top spot.
*** Cordeiro's 30 digs vs. San Diego on Sept. 18 was the 10th time in her career that she has posted at least 30 digs in a match, the most in SDSU history. Former Aztec Jackie Mendez ranks second with four 30-dig contests.
*** Cordeiro's average of 6.54 digs per game leads the MWC this week.
*** She ranks third in the nation in digs in the NCAA Division I stats this week (updated NCAA stats available Tuesday afternoon at www.ncaa.org).
CASTILLO HAS BIG NIGHT
*** With setter Leah Lathrop unavailable for the match against UNLV on Sept. 21, senior Kristen Castillo played the entire contest against the Rebels and had one of her finest outings as an Aztec.
*** She set career highs with 63 assists and 15 digs in the win. Her previous bests included 51 assists vs. Wyoming in 2006 and 10 digs vs. Northern Illinois earlier this season.
*** Castillo's double-double effort was her second of the season and fifth of her SDSU career.
*** SDSU reverted to its 6-2 offensive formation vs. Colorado State last week with Castillo recording 13 assists, a kill and a dig over three games.
MAHAN IN THE MIDDLE
*** Senior Lindsey Mahan had a career-best 18 kills in the win over UNLV last Sept. 21. It was the third time this season that she has set a personal best in that category.
*** Mahan set a career high with 10 blocks in the match vs. No. Illinois on Sept. 8.
*** Here .301 hitting percentage is second on the team and ranks seventh in the Mountain West Conference this week.
*** She is second on the squad with a season average of 1.34 blocks per game. Her blocking average over her previous three seasons as an Aztec was 0.88 bpg.
DE TURK AT THE NET
*** Sydney De Turk ended a string of seven straight starts when she was not in the lineup to begin the match vs. UNLV on Sept. 21. SDSU went with a more defensive formation to begin that contest.
*** She returned to the starting lineup last Thursday at Colorado State.
*** The senior transfer from Concordia University in Irvine, who appeared in just seven games a year ago in her first season as an Aztec, set her personal high in kills with 10 against Utah (Sept. 13) and then bettered that with 12 in the match vs. Brigham Young two days later.
*** De Turk also had a career-best nine blocks in each of those matches.
*** Over her last four matches, she has averaged 1.48 blocks per game.
*** In league play, she leads the team in blocking at 1.49 per game, a mark that ranks third in the MWC this week.
SALISBURY SHINES
*** First-year Aztec Lauren Salisbury (Southlake, Texas, Carroll HS) has started all 15 matches this season and continues to impress.
*** She set a personal best with 25 kills in the win over UNLV on Sept. 21. Her previous high was 17 against Northern Illinois on Sept. 8.
*** Her .600 attack percentage in that match is the highest for an Aztec this season.
*** Salisbury opened her SDSU career with a 10- kill, seven-block effort vs. UC Santa Barbara on Aug. 24.
*** She has been in double figures in kills in five of SDSU's last seven contests.
*** She enters the week as the overall team leader in blocking at 1.41 per game as well as hitting percentage (.336).
*** Her overall hitting percentage ranks sixth in the MWC this week.
*** in leaguer games, she is hitting .392, thirds best in the conference.
DARNALL LEADS THE OFFENSE
*** Sophomore Stephanie Darnall ended a string of seven straight match in double figures in kills last Thursday when she was held to just three at Colorado State. She has reached double figures in 12 of the team's 15 matches.
*** On Sept. 21 vs. UNLV, she tied her career high with 23 digs, a mark she accomplished last year at Cal State Fullerton.
*** Darnall, who recorded 10 double-doubles in her first season at SDSU last year, has added eight more in 2007.
*** She leads the Aztecs in kill average at 3.38 per game.
*** Darnall's 25 kills vs. Long Island on Aug. 25 was a new career best, surpassing her previous high of 19 set twice in 2006.
*** She has been the team leader in kills in nine of SDSU's 15 matches this season.
WORKING LONG HOURS
*** Six of San Diego State's 15 matches this season have gone five games. The Aztecs are 4-2 in those contests.
*** Last season, SDSU went 2-3 in five-game matches.
*** Since going to rally scoring in 2001, the highest number of five-game matches in a season for the Aztecs had been five (2002, 2003, 2006).
*** The team's best season record in those matches was 2-3 in both 2002 and 2006.
*** The last time SDSU had six five-game matches in a season was in 1999. It played seven five-game contests in 1996.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS
*** Senior setter Kristen Castillo has moved into fifth place on the career assist list with 2,415. She is 358 assists away from the number-four spot occupied by Liane Sato (1985-86) with 2,773 assists.
*** With 1,822 career assists, junior Leah Lathrop has moved up to the number-nine spot the SDSU top 10. She could needs only 17 assists move up one spot by passing Stacy Bolinger (1988-89) who recorded 1,839 assists as an Aztec.
ON THE BLOCK
*** San Diego State recorded only five blocks in last week's match at Colorado State, its lowest total of the season.
*** It was only the second time in 15 matches that the Aztecs were out-blocked by an opponent as the Rams recorded nine.
*** In conference play, the Aztecs' average is at 3.44 bpg, a figure that stands second in the MWC as well.
*** This week, SDSU ranks 12th in the nation in blocking. NCAA statistics are posted on Tuesday afternoons (at www.ncaa.org).
*** The Aztecs have three players who are among the top 10 in the league's overall stats in blocking led by freshman Lauren Salisbury (1.41 bpg-3rd) and senior Lindsey Mahan (1.34 bpg-4th). In addition, senior Sydney De Turk ranks seventh at 1.21 bpg.
*** In league-game stats, De Turk is third at 1.59 bpg followed by Mahan (1.47 bpg-fifth) and Salisbury (1.35 bpg-sixth).
RECORD SETTER
*** Libero Aime Cordeiro, who set an SDSU and Mountain West Conference record with 46 digs against Northern Illinois on Sept. 8, followed that up with a 44-dig outing in the team's next match against Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 11.
*** Despite falling two digs shy of tying her own record, the 44 digs established a new MWC mark for digs in a five-game match.
*** Prior to this season, Cordeiro's previous best was 39 digs in a four-game match vs. College of Charleston (Aug. 30, 2006), which was a conference and SDSU record at the time.
DEFENDERS CONTRIBUTE
*** Two seldom used defensive specialists were instrumental in the win over UNLV on Sept. 21.
*** Junior Michelle Ferrer and sophomore Brianna Bowman both played in all five games, the most action either has seen in a match as an Aztec.
*** Ferrer set a career best with 15 digs in the contest, surpassing her previous high of 10 against UC Santa Barbara in the season opener.
*** Bowman also had a personal best with 11 digs. Her career dig total entering the match was two.
DUAL SETTERS
*** Through the first 13 matches of 2007, the Aztecs had been rotating Kristen Castillo and Leah Lathrop at the setter position. Lathrop missed the match on Sept. 21 due to injury.
*** Because they are splitting time, neither has accumulated spectacular numbers, but together they are averaging 12.24 assists and 2.76 digs per game.
*** Between the two, they are hitting .406 with 32 total kills and in 69 attempts.
*** Castillo notched her fifth career double-double with 63 assists and 15 digs vs. UNLV on Sept. 21.
*** Lathrop recorded the sixth double-double of her SDSU career with a 22-assist, 10-dig performance vs. Texas-Pan American on Sept. 8.
*** Lathrop is eighth in service aces in the MWC this week (all games) with an average of 0.36 per game. <><>AZTEC NOTES
*** The Aztecs' six-match winning streak, which ended with the loss to BYU on Saturday Sept. 15, was their longest since 2003 when they recorded four consecutive victories twice during the season.
*** SDSU's 3-0 loss at Colorado State was the first time this season it has failed to win a game in match. The last team to shut out the Aztecs was also Colorado State. That came in the semifinals of last year's MWC Tournament in Las Vegas.
*** Setter Kristen Castillo has recorded at least one kill in each of SDSU's last five matches.
*** Lauren Salisbury, Sydney De Turk and Hannah Evans have at least one block in every match this season. Lindsey Mahan ended a streak of 14 matches in a row with a block when she was shut out at Colorado State last week.