Oct. 30, 2008
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
AZTECS HOST UNLV IN LONE MATCH OF THE WEEK
San Diego State returns home this week to host the first of three straight matches in Peterson Gym. In their lone contest of the week, the Aztecs will face UNLV on Friday, Oct. 31, at 7:00 p.m. on their home floor. 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.
SERIES RECORD
San Diego State's all-time record against UNLV stands at 15-12 since the teams first met in 1985. The Rebels had won the last seven matches between the schools until the Aztecs claimed a five-game victory when they met in Peterson Gym in Sept. 2007. UNLV has won nine of the last 10 against SDSU. San Diego State is 9-3 vs. UNLV at home, 6-8 in Las Vegas and 0-1 at neutral venues.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
UNLV enters the week with an overall record 13-10 and 6-4 in the Mountain West Conference as it begins the week in a two-way tie for fourth place in the league standings. The Rebels lost at both TCU and New Mexico last weekend. The Rebels are led by outside hitter Jessica Walters (3.30 kps, 0.92 dps) and middle blocker Erin Greenwood (2.70 kps, 0.67 bps). Libero Camille Cunningham is the league dig leader at 5.13 per set overall (5.51 in MWC matches). In conference play, UNLV leads the MWC in kills (14.03 per set), assists (13.00 per set) and digs (16.53 per set).
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 209-208 (.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 on the road last week, winning at TCU and falling at New Mexico. Against TCU, the Aztecs got a match-high 15 kills from Lauren Salisbury plus 14 apiece from Stephanie Darnall and Kyley Sexton in the 25-17, 25-12, 22-25, 26-24 victory. Salisbury added five blocks while Kelsey Manasco contributed five. The win came in front of a school-record crowd of 1,036 and was only the Horned Frogs' second loss in 10 matches at home this season. In the three-set loss (25-23, 25-23, 25-23) at New Mexico, Salisbury (12), Darnall (12) and Sexton (10) all finished in double figures in kills once again. Leah Lathrop had 21 assists and 10 digs while libero Michelle Ferrer added 13 digs. The match was a tight one as each set was tied at 22-22 before UNM claimed the victory in each contest.
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 .446 (27k-2e-56ta). Over SDSU's last four outings, her hitting percentage is .462. She has recorded only four attack errors on 95 chances over those four matches. She leads the squad in kill average (3.13 kps), hitting percentage (.361) and points per set (3.87) She also ranks among the top 10 in the conference-match stats in blocking at 1.17 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 19 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 13 of the team's 20 matches this season and has turned in hitting percentages of .300 or higher on 14 occasions. She has cracked the .400 mark in hitting percentage in eight matches
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. She has finished in double figures in kills in five of SDSU's last six matches. Prior to that, she had been in double figures only once through the team's first 13 contests. Over the Aztecs last six matches, she is averaging 3.17 kills per set. 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 third double-double of the year with 14 kills and 10 digs against TCU last week (Oct. 23). She also hit .306 in that match, her third-best attack percentage of the season. Her 18 kills in the match vs. Wyoming (Oct. 16) represented a season high while her 13 digs in that contest equaled her season best (which she matched in SDSU's ensuing match vs. Colorado State). Her .378 attack percentage vs. Wyoming was her highest of the season. She remains second on the team in kill average at 2.67 kps. She is also third in service aces with 10. Her kill total of 10 in SDSU's last match (at New Mexico, Oct. 25) marked the 11th time she has reached double figures in that stat category in 2008. Darnall has been in double figures in digs in three of the past four matches.
VAN ORDEN HITS AWAY
Setter Lauren Van Orden (who doubles as an opposite hitter) recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 19 assists and 10 digs at New Mexico last Saturday. Of those nine double-doubles, seven have been a combination of kills and assists while the other two have included assists and digs. 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 eight matches, she is averaging 2.33 kills per set.
MILLER TIME
Freshman defensive specialist Courtney Miller has appeared in every game (23) in each of SDSU's last six matches after having played in just 14 games previously. In those six matches, she has averaged 2.04 digs per set including 11 vs. Wyoming (Oct. 16) and at TCU (Oct. 23) plus nine in the three sets against Colorado State Oct. 18). She has recorded five service aces over the past five matches including a season-high two vs. Wyoming.
HELLWIG AT THE NET
Redshirt sophomore Bailee Hellwig totaled five blocks in SDSU's matches at TCU and New Mexico 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 1.03 per set.
LATHROP ON THE DOUBLE
With 29 assists and 10 digs at TCU (Oct. 23) and 21 assists and 10 digs at New Mexico, senior setter Leah Lathrop recorded her second and third double-doubles of the season and the ninth and 10th of her SDSU career. Her 15 digs in the contest at UNLV on Oct. 3 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 19 of SDSU's 20 matches this fall. Lathrop's three kills vs. TCU on Sept. 27 were a season high.
FERRER ADDS DEFENSE
Senior Michelle Ferrer's had a streak of six straight games in double figures in digs end with six vs. Colorado State on Oct. 18. She then reached double figures in both matches last week with 19 at TCU and 13 at New Mexico. Through 20 matches, she is averaging 3.52 digs per set and has been in double figures in that category a total of 16 times in 2008. Her dig average is almost double SDSU's number-two dig leader (Darnall at 1.89 dps) and she ranks fifth overall in the MWC this week in that stat category.
MOVIN' UP THE CHARTS
With 50 assists in two matches last week, senior Leah Lathrop has increased her career total to 2,520 to move into sixth place on the SDSU career list. She needs 136 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 MWC STAT LEADERS
Lauren Salisbury ranks among the top 10 in the Mountain West Conference overall statistics in three categories. Her .361 attack percentage ranks third in the league while her 3.13 kills per set average is fifth-best. She is also fifth in scoring with a mark of 3.87 points per set. Michelle Ferrer is fifth in digs at 3.52/set. Leah Lathrop, who shares setting duties with Lauren Van Orden, is ninth in assists at 5.60 per set. Van Orden ranks seventh in service aces at 0.25 per set while Bailee Hellwig is 10th in blocking at 1.03 per set.
MWC-MATCH STAT LEADERS
Through the first 10 matches of the conference season, five Aztecs find themselves among the top 10 in league-match stats. Salisbury ranks seventh in blocking at 1.17 bps, sixth in points at 3.83 per set, seventh hitting percentage at .347 and ninth in kills at 2.92 per set. Van Orden is eighth in service aces with an average of 0.28 per set while Stephanie Darnall is 10th in kills at 2.86 per set. Lathrop is eighth in assists at 5.81 per set and Ferrer's average of 3.53 digs per set ranks sixth.
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
San Diego State is hitting .264 as a team over the past four matches. Overall, their attack percentage stands at .195 ... 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 20 of SDSU's matches. Stephanie Darnall, Bailee Hellwig and Lauren Van Orden have started 19 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 nine times this season, most recently with 11 at TCU last week (Oct. 23) ... SDSU's match at TCU on Oct. 23 marked just the sixth time that SDSU has won the first set in its 20 matches this season. The Aztecs are 4-2 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.
UP NEXT
San Diego State continues a three-match home stand next week when it hosts a pair of Mountain West Conference contests. On Thursday, Nov. 6, the Aztecs will face Utah at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym. Two days later (Saturday, Nov. 8), they will square off against Brigham Young in a match scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.