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Sept. 18, 2007
AZTECS VISIT SAN DIEGO, HOST LEAGUE-LEADER UNLV
***After concluding a three-match home stand last weekend, the San Diego State volleyball team will make the short trip across town to face the University of San Diego on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7:00 p.m. at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion.
***The Aztecs will return home on Friday (Sept. 21) to host conference leader UNLV at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym.
SERIES RECORDS
***San Diego State holds a 25-20 edge in its series vs. San Diego that dates back to the 1977 season. The Toreros have won the last four and seven of the last eight meetings between the teams. SDSU's last victory over USD came during the 2003 season in a five-game victory in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Aztecs are 7-8 vs. San Diego at home, 8-9 at USD and 10-3 on neutral courts.
***SDSU's all-time record against UNLV stands at 14-10 since the teams first met in 1985. The Rebels have won the last seven matches with the Aztecs with the SDSU's last victory coming in Peterson Gym in 2003. San Diego State is 8-3 vs. UNLV at home, 6-6 in Las Vegas and 1-0 at neutral venues.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
***San Diego enters the week ranked 15th in the nation in the CSTV/AVCA rankings. The Toreros record stands at 7-4 with each of their four losses coming at the hands of a top 25 opponent. USD is led by middle hitter Laurel Abrahamson (3.95 kpg, 1.10 bpg) and outside hitter Amy DeGroot (4.49 kpg, 2.95 dpg). Abrahamson, a senior, was an all-West Coast Conference honoree in 2006.
***UNLV's record stands at 10-1 overall and 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels have won nine straight and are the top team among those receiving votes in the CSTV/AVCA poll (just outside the national top 25). Team leaders include middle blocker Lauren Miramontes (4.23 kpg, 0.97 bpg) and outside hitter Maria Aladjova (4.41 kpg, 3.87 dpg). Libero Jada Walker is averaging six digs per game.
HEAD COACH Mark Warner
***San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his 13th season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 198-182 (.521).
***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 won two of three matches during last week's trio of contests at home.
***San Diego State opened the week with a 3-2 (26-30, 30-27, 30-25, 15-30, 15-12) win over Cal State Fullerton. Lindsey Mahan led the way with 16 kills while Stephanie Darnall and Lauren Salisbury had 13 and 12 respectively. Salisbury hit .524 for the match while libero Aime Cordeiro had 44 digs.
***The Aztecs opened their 2007 conference season with a 3-1 (35-33, 30-28, 28-30, 30-24) victory over Utah on Thursday. Darnall had 19 kills while three other Aztecs also hit double figures in that category (Salisbury-11, Hannah Evans-10, Sydney De Turk-10). In addition, De Turk and Mahan had nine blocks each.
***On Saturday, SDSU let a two-game lead slip away in a 3-2 (30-24, 30-25, 26-30, 24-30, 7-15) loss to 12th-ranked Brigham Young. Evans led the Aztecs with 16 kills and De Turk again had nine blocks, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Cougar side that hit .306 for the match.
POSITIVE START
***San Diego State's 9-3 mark is its best start to a season since 2001 when it began with the same record.
***The Aztecs' six-match winning streak, which ended with the loss to BYU on Saturday, was their longest since 2003 when they recorded four consecutive victories twice during the season.
WORKING LONG HOURS
***After 12 matches, San Diego State has played five games in five of those outings including two last week.
***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 has been five (2002, 2003, 2006).
***The team's best season record in those matches was 2-3 in both 2002 and 2006.
CORDEIRO CLOSES IN
***After posting 91 digs in last week's three matches, senior Aime Cordeiro is closing in on the San Diego State career record in that category.
***Her total of 1,631 digs has surpassed the total of 1,369 set by Juliana Cezar (1993-96) and moved her into the number-two spot.
***The San Diego State career mark of 1,678 is held by Jackie Mendez (1985-88) with Cordeiro needing only 47 digs to match that total.
***Cordeiro's 44 digs vs. Cal State Fullerton last Tuesday was the ninth 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 6.70 digs per game leads the MWC this week.
***She ranked second in the NCAA Division I stats last week when her average stood at 6.79 dpg (updated NCAA stats available Tuesday afternoon at www.ncaa.org).
ON THE BLOCK
***In three matches last week, San Diego State averaged 3.11 blocks a game and now leads the MWC in that category at 3.41 bpg.
***In conference play, the Aztecs' average stands at 3.83, a figure that leads the MWC as well.
***Last week, SDSU ranked fifth in the nation in blocking when its average was 3.53 blocks per game. NCAA statistics are posted on Tuesday afternoons (at www.ncaa.org).
***The Aztecs have three players who rank among the top 10 in the league's overall stats in blocking led by freshman Lauren Salisbury (1.49 bpg-2nd) and senior Lindsey Mahan (1.39 bpg-4th). In addition, senior Sydney De Turk ranks sixth at 1.24 bpg.
***In league-game stats, De Turk is first at 2.00 bpg followed by Mahan (2nd-1.78 bpg) and Salisbury (3rd-1.67 bpg).
MOVING UP THE CHARTS
***Senior setter Castillo has moved into fifth place on the career assist list with 2,319. She is 454 assists away from the number-four spot occupied by Liane Sato (1985-86) with 2,239 assists.
***With 1,884 career assists, junior Leah has moved up to the number-eight spot the SDSU top 10. She will move up one position this week, passing Erin Tomblin (1991-93) who recorded 1,886 assists as an Aztec.
EVANS MAKING A MARK
***Redshirt freshman Hannah Evans tied her career best with 16 kills in last Saturday's match vs. BYU.
***That total matched her previous best of 16 at Hofstra on Sept. 1.
***She came up just shy of recording her fourth double-double vs. BYU with nine digs in that match.
***Evans, who sat out last season at SDSU, has started 11 of the team's 12 matches in 2007.
MAHAN IN THE MIDDLE
***Over SDSU's last four matches, Lindsey Mahan is averaging 1.55 blocks per game.
***She set a career high with 10 blocks in the match vs. No. Illinois on Sept. 8.
***Mahan also established a personal best with 16 kills in last Tuesday's win over Cal State Fullerton.
***Here .332 hitting percentage is second on the team and ranks eighth in the Mountain West Conference this week.
***She is tied for second on the squad with a season average of 1.39 blocks per game. Her pervious three-year average was 0.88 bpg.
DE TURK MAKING A MARK
***Sydney De Turk has started each of SDSU's last six matches, the first starts of her Aztec career.
***In last week's three matches, she averaged 2.21 kills and 1.50 blocks a game while hitting .381.
***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 and then bettered that with 12 in the match vs. Brigham Young.
***De Turk also had a career-best nine blocks in each of those matches.
SALISBURY SHINES
***First-year Aztec Lauren Salisbury (Southlake, Texas, Carroll HS) has started all 12 matches this season and continues to impress.
***She set personal bests with 17 kills and nine blocks vs. Northern Illinois last Saturday.
***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 each of SDSU's last four contests.
***She enters the week as the team leader in blocking at 1.47 per game as well as hitting percentage (.337).
***Her overall hitting percentage ranks sixth in the MWC this week.
DARNALL LEADS THE OFFENSE
***Sophomore Stephanie Darnall recorded her fifth straight match in double figures in kills last Saturday vs. BYU. She has reached double figures in 10 of the team's 12 matches.
***Darnall, who recorded 10 double-doubles in her first season at SDSU last year, has added six more in 2007.
***She leads the Aztecs in kill average at 3.54 per game, ranking 11th in the MWC this week.
***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 eight of SDSU's 12 matches this season.
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 last Tuesday.
***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.
AMONG THE MWC LEADERS
***As a team, SDSU ranks among the top four in three categories in the early Mountain West Conference statistics:Blocks..1st..3.41/gDigs..3rd..16.90/g***Individually, several Aztecs ranks among the top 10 in the MWC. That number includes:Hitting..Salisbury....337 (6th) Mahan........332 (8th)Assists..Lathrop......6.44 (8th)Aces.....Lathrop......0.37 (7th) Evans........0.35 (8th)Blocks...Salisbury....1.47/g (2nd) Mahan........1.39/g (4th) De Turk......1.24 (6th)Digs.....Cordeiro.....6.70/g (1st)DUAL SETTERS
***Through the first nine matches of 2007, the Aztecs are rotating Kristen Castillo and Leah Lathrop at the setter position.
***Because they are splitting time, neither has accumulated spectacular numbers, but together they are averaging 11.82 assists and 2.61 digs per game.
***Between the two, they are hitting .413 with 22 total kills and in 46 attempts.
***Castillo notched her fourth career double-double with 25 assists and 12 digs vs. Utah last Thursday.***Lathrop recorded the sixth double-double of her SDSU career with a 22-assist, 10-dig performance vs. Texas-Pan American on Sept. 8.
AZTEC NOTES
***Senior Kelley Wahlin tied her career best with nine block assists against Northern Illinois on Sept. 8.
***Freshman Kelsey Manasco got her first start of the year against Texas-Pan American on Sept. 8 and responded with season highs of eight kills and three blocks.
***Senior Kelley Wahlin's 10 total blocks vs. UC Santa Barbara on Aug. 24 and Lindsey Mahan's 10 vs. Northern Illinois on Sept. 8 are tied for the most by a Mountain West Conference player in 2007.
***Five Aztecs (De Turk, Evans, Mahan, Salisbury and Wahlin) have had at least one block in every match this season.
UP NEXT
***San Diego State hits the road for it first Mountain West Conference away outing of the season as it visits Colorado State on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 7:00 p.m. (MDT).
***That match will be SDSU's lone contest of the week. The Aztecs then return home on Oct. 4 to face Air Force at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym.