Nov. 12, 2009
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
AZTECS CONLCUDE CONFERENCE ROAD SLATE, HOST CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD
San Diego State concludes its slate of Mountain West Conference road matches this weekend before returning home for a non-conference contest as well. On Friday, Nov. 13, the Aztecs will be in Colorado Springs, Colo., to face Air Force at 5:00 p.m. (MT) in Clune Arena. Two days later (Nov. 15), SDSU will be at home for a non-league encounter with Cal State Bakersfield set to begin at 2:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym.
SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State holds a 25-1 mark in its previous 26 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 21 meetings between the teams. The Aztecs are 13-0 vs. the Falcons in San Diego, 11-1 in Colorado Springs and 1-0 at neutral sites.
SDSU is 2-0 against Cal State Bakersfield after defeating the Roadrunners in four sets on Oct. 24. The first meeting between the teams came in Bakersfield during the 1992 campaign. The Aztecs captured that match in three sets.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Air Force> enters the week with an overall record of 8-18, The Falcons are 0-13 in Mountain West Conference play and have dropped each of their last 14 matches. Air Force is led by junior outside hitter Caroline Kurtz (3.03 kills/set, 2.53 digs/set) and junior middle blocker Nichole Stillwell (2.62 kills/set, 0.61 blocks per set). The team's leading blocker is middle hitter Michelle Harrington at 0.79 per set. Harrington is the lone senior on a roster that also contains eight juniors and eight freshmen. Cal State Bakersfield's overall record stands at 12-15. The Roadrunners are independent as they complete the transition to Division I. CSUB is led by Lindy DeGeare (3.48 kills/set, 0.79 digs/set) and Alysia Baker (2.36 kills/set, 1.16 digs/set). Baker is from Vista, Calif. (Tri-City Christian HS). Seven of the 12 players on the roster are from Bakersfield.
NEARING THE TOP 10 LISTS
Two Aztecs are near the point of entering an SDSU top 10 season or career list. With 1,046 assists in 2009, Lauren Van Orden is 141 away from entering the Aztec single-season list with five matches yet to play. The No. 10 position is currently occupied by Stacy Bollinger with 1,187 assists in 1993. Van Orden's career total of 1,500 assists is 143 shy of tying for the 10th spot on the career list currently held by Lisa Bostian (1997-99). With 382 digs this fall, freshman libero Kristi Jackels is one dig away from cracking the season top 10 in that category. One dig will tie her with Liane Sato who recorded 383 digs in 1985.
AMONG THE STAT LEADERS
As a team, San Diego State is third the Mountain West Conference overall team stats in both kills (13.02/set) and assists (12.16/set). Individually, Lauren Van Orden's 11.01 assists/set is the best average the MWC and half an assist (0.50) better than her closest competitor. Libero Kristi Jackels is the fourth in the conference in digs with a mark of 4.02/set. Andrea Hannasch is seventh in blocking (1.07 per set). Lauren Salisbury ranks third in hitting percentage (.349). In MWC matches only, Van Orden is first in assists (11.31/set), Salisbury is third in hitting percentage (.363), Jackels is fourth in digs (4.12/set) and Hannasch ranks eight in blocking (1.10/set).
VAN ORDEN ASSISTS
Setter Lauren Van Orden tied her career high with 12 digs against TCU on Oct. 29. It was the third time this fall (and second time vs. TCU in 2009) that she equaled her personal best as an Aztec in that category. With 44 assists in that match vs. TCU, she notched her fourth double-double of the season (and 14 of her SDSU career). Van Orden recorded five total blocks against Colorado State on Oct. 8 to match her career high that she set against San Jose State earlier this year. Van Orden set her SDSU career high with 61 assists in the win over UNLV on Sept. 26.
SALISBURY ATTACKS
Over the past nine matches, junior middle blocker Lauren Salisbury is hitting .403 (95k, 18e, 191att). She has hit .300 or better in 16 of SDSU's 24 matches this fall and has not committed more than four hitting errors in a match. Against league-leading Colorado State on Oct. 8 she went for a season-high 19 kills while hitting .421 and also had four blocks in that contest. Two days later against Wyoming she matched that kill total with 19 against the Cowgirls, this time hitting at a .607 clip. She again recorded four blocks in the match. Salisbury enters the week with a .329 career hitting percentage, a mark that ranks fifth-best all-time for an Aztec player.
EVANS ON THE OFFENSIVE
In last five matches in which she has appeared, junior outside hitter Hannah Evans has been in double figures in kills in each contest and averaged 3.24 per set. She has either led or tied for the team lead in kills in four of those five contests. Her 16 kills against New Mexico on Oct. 31 tied her SDSU career high which she had accomplished three times previously including twice this season. She notched her fifth double-double of the year when she added 10 digs to her 15 kills vs. TCU on Oct. 29. She has just missed double-doubles in each of her last two matches, ending both in double figures in kills and with nine digs.
PEARSON DIGS AND BLOCKS
Paije Pearson has started 22 of SDSU's 24 matches this season after having just a pair of starts as a freshman in 2008. She has appeared in all but one set this fall. She notched six block assists at Wyoming last Thursday (Nov. 5) to tie her season and career high. Pearson has reached double figure in points in 14 of the team's 24 matches. She set a career best with 11 digs against TCU on Oct. 29 after having tied her former best of eight digs in each of the prior three matches.
HANNASCH MAKING AN IMPACT
Freshman middle blocker Andrea Hannasch has started every match and played in every set thus far in 2009. In the win at Wyoming last weekend, she recorded a season-high nine block assists. She also tied her second-best dig total with five and her third-highest kill output with 12. Her .400 attack percentage at Wyoming marked the ninth time this season she surpassed the .300 mark in a match. She leads the team in blocking with both overall (1.07/set) and in MWC (1.10/set) contests.
SEXTON COMING
Kyley Sexton has reached double figures in kills in five of the last seven matches, averaging 3.00 kills/per set over those seven contests. She has a .270 hitting percentage in the past seven matches, almost 100 points higher than her season average. With 13 kills and 11 digs at CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 24, she notched her second double-double of the 2009 campaign. Her first came with 18 digs and 10 kills at San Francisco on Sept. 4
MANASCO RETURNS
Junior outside hitter Kelsey Manasco returned to action last week after missing five matches due to a sprained ankle suffered in practice three weeks ago. She was, however, limited to one set in each of the matches at Wyoming and Colorado State although she was in the starting lineup against the Rams. Manasco had averaged just under three (2.85) kills and 3.20 points per set over the five matches prior to her injury. In the contest against UNLV on Sept. 26, she recorded career-highs with 24 kills and 51 attempts. Manasco also finished that match with 11 digs. It marked the first double-double of her collegiate career.