Nov. 11, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
AZTECS CONCLUDES MWC ROAD PLAY AT COLORADO STATE & WYOMING
San Diego State makes its final Mountain West Conference road swing of the season as it travels to the Rockies for a pair of matches this week. The Aztecs will open play when they face 12th-ranked Colorado State on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 7:00 p.m. (MST) in Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. Two days later, San Diego State will face Wyoming on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 7:00 p.m. (MST) in Laramie. 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 RECORDS
San Diego State is 14-25 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 14 matches (and 22 of the last 23) against the Rams. SDSU is 5-11 vs. Colorado State in Fort Collins, 7-11 in San Diego and 2-3 on neutral courts. The Aztecs last win on the Rams' home floor came during the 1996 season.
SDSU has lost just eight times in its previous 35 meetings with Wyoming to lead the series, 27-8. Seven of the eight 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. Despite SDSU's overall record against the Cowgirls, Wyoming has won the last three of the last four meetings and five of the last eight matches between the teams. SDSU is 16-1 vs. Wyoming at home, 9-7 in matches played in Laramie and 2-0 on neutral courts.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Colorado State is ranked 16th in the nation this week with an overall record of 20-3. The Rams are 10-2 in conference and are a half-game behind Utah after losing at TCU last weekend. Top players include middle blocker Mekana Barnes (.380, 3.38 kps, 1.41 bps) and outside hitter Jaime Strauss (3.26 kps, 1.69 dps). Tessa Nelson is averaging 1.16 blocks per set. The Rams lead the MWC in hitting percentage, kills, assists and opponent hitting percentage.
Wyoming enters the week with a record of 4-17 overall (3-9 MWC) and will host UNLV Thursday evening before facing the Aztecs. The Cowgirls are led by right side hitter Dani Bedore (3.04 kps, 1.67 dps) and outside hitter Lauren Whitney (2.77 kps, 0.86 dps). Bedore's average of 3.20 kills per set in MWC matches ranks fourth in the league while Whitney's mark of 2.90 kps is ninth.
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 210-210 (.500). Over the past 13 years, Warner has led his teams to three NCAA Tournament berths and a Western Athletic Conference championship. His tutelage has produced 22 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.
SEXTON CONTINUES TO SHINE
Freshman Kyley Sexton's 17 kills and .500 against Brigham Young were both her second-best marks in a match in 2008. Coincidentally, her career highs in both of those categories came against Brigham Young on Oct. 9 when recorded 17 kills and a .531 attack percentage. Sexton has finished in double figures in kills in seven of SDSU's last nine 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 3.24 kills per set. Sexton set a career high with five total blocks against UNLV on Oct. 3.
DARNALL ON THE ATTACK
With 13 kills vs. Utah last Thursday, Stephanie Darnall hit double figures for the fourth straight match. She averaged 3.64 kills per set over those four contests. Her streak came to an end when she was held to five kills vs. BYU on Saturday. Her kill total in the Utah contest marked the 13th time she has reached double figures in that stat category in 2008. She recorded her third double-double of the year with 14 kills and 10 digs against TCU three weeks ago (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 outing vs. Colorado State). Darnall's .378 attack percentage vs. Wyoming was her highest of the season. She remains second on the team in kill average at 271 kps. In MWC contests, she leads the Aztecs with a mark of 2.89 kps.
PEARSON RETURNS
Freshman Paije Pearson played in both matches last week, marking her first appearances for the Aztecs since Sept. 25. Against Utah and BYU, she averaged 2.00 kills per set and hit .333. She also recorded a block in each of those matches.
SALISBURY PACES OFFENSE
Despite being held to just nine kills in SDSU's two matches last week, sophomore Lauren Salisbury continues to be the team's offensive leader in 2008. Over SDSU's last seven outings, her hitting percentage is .383. She has recorded just 10 attack errors on 141 chances in those seven matches. She leads the squad in kill average (2.94 kps), hitting percentage (.348) and points per set (3.72). She also ranks among the top 10 in the conference-match statistics in blocking at 1.13 per set. Her nine blocks at UNLV on Oct. 3 were a season high and one shy of her career best of 10 set vs. BYU in 2007. She has recorded at least one block in each of SDSU's last 21 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 23 matches this season and has turned in hitting percentages of .300 or higher on 15 occasions. She has cracked the .400 mark in hitting percentage in nine matches.
LATHROP ON THE DOUBLE
With 29 assists and 10 digs at TCU (Oct. 23) and 21 assists and 10 digs at New Mexico (Oct. 25), 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 22 of SDSU's 23 matches this fall while sharing those duties with Lauren Van Orden. Lathrop's three kills vs. TCU on Sept. 27 were a season high.
WORKING OVERTIME
Four of SDSU's 18 matches this season have gone to five sets, most recently the one against Wyoming on Oct. 16. 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 1-10 overall in three-game matches and 4-4 in four-game contests.
MOVIN' UP THE CHARTS
With 30 assists in last week's match vs. UNLV, senior Leah Lathrop has increased her career total to 2,573 to move into sixth place on the SDSU career list. She needs 83 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 .348 attack percentage ranks fourth in the league while her 2.94 kills per set average is 10th-best. She is also fourth in scoring with a mark of 3.72 points per set. Michelle Ferrer is sixth in digs at 3.44/set. Leah Lathrop, who shares setting duties with Lauren Van Orden, is ninth in assists at 5.56 per set. Van Orden ranks sixth in service aces at 0.28 per set while Bailee Hellwig is 10th in blocking at 1.01 per set.
MWC-MATCH STAT LEADERS
Through the first 13 matches of the conference season, five Aztecs find themselves among the top 10 in league-match stats. Salisbury ranks seventh in blocking at 1.13 bps, seventh in points at 3.58 per set and eighth hitting percentage at .323. Lathrop is ninth in assists at 5.70 per set and Ferrer's average of 3.37 digs per set ranks seventh. Stephanie Darnall is 10th in kills at 2.89 per set while Lauren Van Orden is seventh in service aces at 0.30 per set
AZTEC NOTES
Last week marked SDSU's first back-to-back losses since Oct. 3 ... San Diego State's road record in conference matches (3-3) is better than its mark at home (2-5) ... The Aztecs .374 attack percentage vs. Wyoming (Oct. 15) was their 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 23 of SDSU's matches. Stephanie Darnall, Bailee Hellwig and Lauren Van Orden have started 22 times ... Stephanie Darnall is averaging 3.73 points per set in the Aztecs' last five matches ... The Aztecs' win at Brigham Young on Oct. 16 was their first in Provo since the 2002 campaign ... The Aztecs have reached double figures in team blocks 10 times this season most recently with 10 against UNLV on Oct. 31 ... SDSU's match at TCU on Oct. 23 marked just the sixth time that SDSU has won the first set in its 23 matches this season. The Aztecs are 4-2 in contests in which they have captured the opening set ... The team's seven service aces in the match against Wyoming on Oct. 16 was a team season high.
UP NEXT
SDSU will conclude its 2008 home campaign with an MWC match against Air Force on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7:00 p.m. (PST) in Peterson Gym. A pair of Aztec seniors, Leah Lathrop and Michelle Ferrer, will be honored prior to the match. SDSU head coach Mark Warner, who is retiring at the end of the season, will also be honored that evening as he oversees the final home match of his Aztec career.