Oct. 22, 2008
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
AZTECS VISIT TCU AND NEW MEXICO IN MWC ACTION
San Diego State continues Mountain West Conference action with a pair of contests on the road this week as it begins the second half of its 2008 league season. On Thursday, Oct. 23, the Aztecs will be in Fort Worth, Texas, to take on TCU at 7:00 p.m. (CDT) at the Horned Frogs' University Recreation Center. Two days later (Saturday, Oct. 25), SDSU will face New Mexico in a match scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) at Johnson Gymnasium on the UNM campus in Albuquerque. Fans can follow the action during both of this week's matches on the Internet by going to Aztec web site and clicking on the GameTracker link under Aztecs Today.
AZTECS-TCU ON TV
San Diego State's match at TCU on Thursday will be televised live on TheMtn. beginning at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. Anne Marie Anderson and Amy Grant will call the action. The contest will be re-broadcast on TheMtn. at 10:00 p.m. (Pacific) Thursday night and at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific) Friday morning.
SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State has won five of its previous nine matches against TCU, but the Frogs have won four of the most recent five meetings including a 3-0 decision in San Diego in late September. The first two contests between the teams came during the 1997 season when SDSU and the Horned Frogs were members of the Western Athletic Conference. San Diego State won 3-0 in Peterson Gym and 3-1 in Fort Worth. The Aztecs are 3-2 vs. TCU in Peterson Gym and 2-2 in Fort Worth.
The Aztecs are 27-14 in the series against New Mexico. Although SDSU has recorded wins in 14 of the last 19 meetings between the teams, the Lobos have been victorious in four of the last five after defeating the Aztecs in San Diego last month. 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 9-8 mark against the Lobos in Albuquerque, 13-6 in San Diego and 5-0 on neutral courts.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
TCU enters the week with a record of 16-5 overall and 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference. Top offensive players include Lauren Otto (3.13 kps, 2.51 dps) and Kourtney Edwards (2.45 kps, .311, 1.16 bps). The Horned Frogs lead the conference in service aces both overall (1.46/set) and in league matches (1.75/set). Megan Mince in the individual MWC ace leader at 0.48 per set overall and 0.83 per set MWC matches. TCU is also second in digs in the MWC led by Katelyn Blackwood's 3.89 per set.
New Mexico's record stands at 15-4 (5-3 MWC) as it prepares to host UNLV Thursday night prior to facing San Diego state on Saturday. The Lobos are led by Jeanne Fairchild (4.79 kps, 1.13 dps) and Anna Lehne (2.15 kps, .311, 1.38 bps). Fairchild leads the WMC in kill average both overall and in league play (4.86 kps). Lehne ranks third in blocking while libero Gayle Tripp is second in digs with an average of 4.68 per set in conference matches (4.32 digs per set overall).
HEAD COACH Mark Warner
San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his 14th season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 208-207 (.501). Over the past 13 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. Warner has announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2008 season after serving Aztec volleyball (men's and women's) for the past 27 years.
MOST RECENTLY
SDSU split a pair of conference matches at home last week, defeating Wyoming and losing to 13th-ranked Colorado State. Against Wyoming, four Aztecs finished in double figures in kills in the 3-2 (20-25, 25-12, 25-10, 20-25, 15-11) win. That foursome included Stephanie Darnall (18), Lauren Salisbury (13), Kyley Sexton (11) and Lauren Van Orden (10). Bailee Hellwig contributed six blocks while Michelle Ferrer had 16 digs. In the three-set loss (25-20, 25-20, 25-20) to Colorado State, Sexton led the way with nine kills while three others (Darnall, Salisbury and Van Orden) finished with eight apiece. Darnall added 13 digs over the three sets while setter Leah Lathrop notched 20 assists to go along with 11 by Van Orden.
SEXTON CONTINUES TO SHINE
Freshman Kyley Sexton, a high school honorable mention All-American last year, has provided some firepower at the net over SDSU's past few matches. Her string of three straight contests in double figures in kills ended against Colorado State on Saturday (Oct. 18). Even so, she led SDSU with nine kills in that contest. Over the Aztecs last four matches, she is averaging 3.06 kills per set and is hitting .317. Against Brigham Young (Oct. 9), she set career bests with 19 kills and a .531 attack percentage. Sexton set a career high with five total blocks against UNLV on Oct. 3.
DARNALL ON THE ATTACK
Stephanie Darnall recorded her second double-double of the year with 18 kills and 13 digs against Wyoming last Thursday (Oct. 16). The 18 kills represented a season high while the 13 digs matched her season best (which she matched in SDSU's ensuing match vs. Colorado State). Her .378 attack percentage in the Wyoming match was her highest of the season. Darnall had her first double-double of 2008 with 13 kills and 10 digs at BYU on Oct. 9. She remains second on the team in kill average at 2.56 kps. She is also third in service aces with nine. Her kills total vs. Wyoming last week on marked the ninth time she has hit double figures in that category this season.
VAN ORDEN HITS AWAY
Setter Lauren Van Orden (who doubles as an opposite hitter) recorded double figures in kills for seventh time this season with 10 against Wyoming last week. It marked the fourth straight match in which she hit double figures in kills. By adding 22 assists in that match, Van Orden recorded her eighth double-doubles of the season. On four occasions in 2008, she has finished either one kill or one dig shy of recording a triple-double effort. SDSU's last triple-double was turned in by Aspen McPartland against Santa Clara on Sept, 5, 2003. Over San Diego State's last nine matches, she is averaging 2.41 kills per set. In the Aztecs most recent three outings, she is hitting .434 (29k-6e-53 ta). She ended a string of five consecutive matches with at least one block when she was shut out by Colorado State last Saturday.
MILLER TIME
Freshman defensive specialist Courtney Miller has appeared in every game (16) in each of SDSU's last four matches after having played in just 14 games previously. In those four contests, she has averaged 1.88 digs per set including 11 vs. Wyoming and nine in the three sets against Colorado State. She has recorded three service aces over those matches including a season-high two vs. Wyoming.
HELLWIG AT THE NET
Redshirt sophomore Bailee Hellwig had six blocks in the match vs. Wyoming last week. She has averaged one block per set or better in 10 matches this fall. She was held without a block in the contest against TCU in San Diego on Sept. 27 in which she played in only one set. It was the first and only match this season in which she did not record at least one block. She set her new SDSU career bests with eight block assists and 10 total blocks in the match vs. Weber State on Sept. 12. She enters the week as the team leader in blocking at 1.06 per set, a mark that increases to 1.07 bps in conference contests.
LATHROP ON THE DOUBLE
With 26 assists and 15 digs at UNLV on Oct. 3, senior setter Leah Lathrop recorded her first double-double of the season and the eighth of her SDSU career. The 15 digs in that contest tied her career-best mark set against Wyoming on Nov. 4, 2006. Lathrop had a string of 12 straight matches in double figures in assists ended against New Mexico on Sept. 25 when she finished with eight. Going back to last season, that streak had reached 16 consecutive contests. She has finished in double figures in assists in 17 of SDSU's 18 matches this fall. Lathrop's three kills vs. TCU on Sept. 27 was a season high.
SALISBURY PACES OFFENSE
Lauren Salisbury's continues to be the team's offensive leader in 2008. In last weekend's two matches, she had an attack percentage of .436 (19k-2e-39ta). She leads the squad in kill average (3.06 kps), hitting percentage (.351) and points per set (3.76) She also ranks among the top 10 in the conference-match stats in blocking at 1.10 per set. Her nine blocks at UNLV on Oct. 3 were a season high and just one shy of her SDSU career best of 10 set vs. BYU in 2007. She has recorded at least one block in each of SDSU's last 17 matches. Salisbury's .800 attack percentage vs. UC Irvine in the season opener (Aug. 29) was a career best for the second-year Aztec. She has reached double figures in kills in 11 of the team's 18 matches this season and has turned in hitting percentages of .300 or higher on 12 occasions. She has cracked the .400 mark in hitting percentage in seven matches.
WORKING OVERTIME
Four of SDSU's 18 matches this season have gone to five sets, most recently the one against Wyoming last Thursday. San Diego State's record in those contests stands at 3-1 with the other wins over Texas-San Antonio and UTEP along with a loss to Weber State. The Aztecs' five-set win over UTEP on Sept. 13 marked the first time that SDSU had overcome a two-sets-to-none deficit to win a match since it turned the trick at the University of San Diego on Nov. 4, 2003. SDSU is 1-7 overall in three-game matches and 2-4 in four-game contests.
MOVIN' UP THE CHARTS
With 50 assists in two matches last week, senior Leah Lathrop has increased her career total to 2,470 to move into sixth place on the SDSU career list. She needs 186 assists to climb into a fifth-place tie with Kristen Castillo (2,656), who finished her four-year Aztec career in 2007. Fourth place is occupied by Liane Sato (1985-86) with 2,773 career assists.
AMONG THE MWCSTAT LEADERS
Lauren Salisbury ranks among the top 10 in the Mountain West Conference overall statistics in three categories. Her .351 attack percentage ranks fifth in the league while her 3.06 kills per set average is seventh-best. She is also fifth in scoring with a mark of 3.76 points per set. Michelle Ferrer is seventh in digs at 3.06/set. Leah Lathrop, who shares setting duties with Lauren Van Orden, is ninth in assists at 5.44 per set. Van Orden ranks seventh in service aces at 0.25 per set while Bailee Hellwig is 10th in blocking at 1.06 per set.
MWC-MATCH STAT LEADERS
At the mid-point of the conference season, five Aztecs find themselves among the top 10 in league-match stats. Salisbury ranks eighth in blocking at 1.10 bps, seventh in points at 3.57 per set and ninth hitting percentage at .318. Van Orden is seventh in service aces with an average of 0.28 per set. Hellwig is 10th in blocking at 1.07 blocks per set. Lathrop is eighth in assists at 5.48 per set and Ferrer's average of 3.28 digs per set ranks seventh.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The 2008 Aztec volleyball team lists only two seniors on its roster: fourth-year setter Leah Lathrop and third-year libero/defensive specialist Michelle Ferrer. Only two juniors appear on the roster as well: outside hitters Stephanie Darnall and Caitlin McMillan. The remaining 14 members of the SDSU squad are underclassmen including six sophomores and eight true freshmen.
AZTEC NOTES
The Aztecs .374 attack percentage vs. Wyoming was its highest of the 2008 campaign. Its previous best was a .273 percentage in the season opener, a three-set loss to UC Irvine ... Lauren Salisbury is the only player to have started all 18 of SDSU's matches. Stephanie Darnall, Bailee Hellwig and Lauren Van Orden have started 17 times each ... The Aztecs' win at Brigham on Oct. 16 was their first in Provo since the 2002 campaign ... The Aztecs have reached double figures in team blocks eight times this season, most recently with 10 against Wyoming last Thursday ... SDSU's matches at BYU and Utah (Oct. 9 and 11 respectively) marked just the fourth and fifth times that SDSU has won the first set in its 18 matches this season. The Aztecs are 3-2 in contests in which they have captured the opening set ... The seven service aces in the match against Wyoming on Oct. 16 was a team season high.