Nov. 17, 2009
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
AZTECS WRAP UP 2009 HOME SEASON WITH PAIR OF CONFERENCE MATCHES
San Diego State winds up its 2009 home season with a pair of Mountain West Conference matches this week. On Thursday, Nov. 19, the Aztecs will host Utah at 6:30 p.m. (PT) in Peterson Gym. Two days later (Saturday, Nov. 21), SDSU will be at home for an encounter with Brigham Young set to begin at 1:00 p.m. (PT) in Peterson Gym.
SENIOR DAY
Prior to Saturday's match against BYU, San Diego State will honor five athletes who will be playing their final home match as members of the Aztec volleyball program. That group includes outside hitters Hannah Evans and Caitlin McMillan plus middle blocker Bailee Hellwig along with defensive specialists Courtney Lamphier and Kate Ammerman.
AZTECS ON TV
Both of San Diego State's matches this week will be televised with one being shown live and one broadcast on a tape-delayed basis. The SDSU vs. Utah match on Thursday, Nov. 19, will be shown live on The Mtn at 6:30 p.m. PT. The match against Brigham Young on Saturday, Nov. 21, will be aired on CBS College Sports on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 8:00 p.m. PT.
SERIES RECORDS
SDSU's all-time record against Utah stands at 18-22 since the teams first met in 1982. The Utes have won 13 of the last 15 matches in the series with the Aztecs' last victory coming in Peterson Gym in September 2007. The Utes defeated the Aztecs in three sets in their meeting in Salt Lake City in mid-September. San Diego State is 11-6 vs. Utah at home, 7-14 in Salt Lake City and 0-2 at neutral venues.
Brigham Young holds a 38-17 advantage over SDSU in the series that began in 1977. The Cougars have won 12 of the last 14 over San Diego State with the Aztecs winning two of the last five. SDSU's last win in San Diego came during the 2002 season. San Diego State has a record of 6-16 at home, 4-18 away and 7-4 at neutral sites vs. BYU.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Utah's record stands at 16-10 overall and 9-5 in the Mountain West Conference. The Utes ended a three-match losing streak with a win over Wyoming last Saturday. Opposite hitter Karolina Bartkowiak, an all-conference pick in 2008, is averaging 3.05 kills, 2.49 digs and 0.76 blocks per set. Danielle Killpack and Chelsey Sandberg are averaging 1.18 and 1.01 blocks per set respectively.
Brigham Young enters the week with a record of 13-13 (7-7 MWC) and will play at Air Force Thursday night prior to facing SDSU. The Cougars are led by Kayla Walker (3.84 k/s, 2.16 d/s. 0.77 b/s) who was an all-conference selection in 2008 and a preseason all-MWC pick this season. She leads the league in kill average while teammate Nicole Warner is first in blocking at 1.25 per set.
NEARING THE TOP 10 LISTS
Two Aztecs are near the point of entering an SDSU top 10 season or career list. With 405 digs this fall, freshman libero Kristi Jackels has moved into the number-seven spot on the SDSU all-time single-season list. She needs 38 digs to catch Kim Harsch, who is sixth with 443 digs in 1986. With 1,129 assists in 2009, Lauren Van Orden is 58 away from entering the Aztec single-season list with three 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 1,574 assists is 69 shy of tying for the 10th spot on the career list currently held by Lisa Bostian (1,643 career assists - 1997-99). In addition, junior middle blocker Lauren Salisbury currently ranks sixth on the SDSU career hitting percentage chart at .330.
AMONG THE STAT LEADERS
As a team, San Diego State is third the Mountain West Conference overall team stats in assists (12.23/set) and fourth in both kills (13.16/set) and hitting percentage (.215). Individually, Lauren Van Orden's 11.07 assists/set is the best average the MWC. Libero Kristi Jackels is the fourth in the conference in digs with a mark of 3.97/set. Andrea Hannasch is fourth in blocking (1.18 per set) and 10th in points (3.14 per set). Lauren Salisbury ranks third in hitting percentage (.351). In MWC matches only, Van Orden is second in assists (11.31/set), Salisbury is second in hitting percentage (.354), Jackels is fourth in digs (4.09/set) and Hannasch ranks fourth in blocking (1.21/set).
HANNASCH MAKING AN IMPACT
Freshman middle blocker Andrea Hannasch hit .469 in matches against Air Force and Cal State Bakersfield. In Colorado Springs, she had a career-high 11 blocks and accounted for 11.5 points. Against Cal State Bakersfield, she had seven blocks over three sets and led the Aztecs with 11 kills and had 15.5 points. Her .625 hitting percentage against Bakersfield tied her career/season best which she set in the season opener. It also marked the 11th time this season she surpassed the .300 mark. She leads the team in blocking with both overall (1.18/set) and in MWC (1.21/set) contests.
VAN ORDEN ASSISTS
With 45 assists and 11 digs at Air Force last Friday, setter Lauren Van Orden notched her fifth double-double of the year and 16th of her SDSU career. She 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. She set her career high with 61 assists in the win over UNLV on Sept. 26.
EVANS ON THE OFFENSIVE
In last seven matches in which she has appeared, junior outside hitter Hannah Evans has been in double figures in kills in six times and averaged 3.31 per set. In last weekend's two matches she hit a combined .405 (hitting over .400 in each contest). With 10 kills and 10 digs against Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday (Nov. 15), she recorded her sixth double-double of the season.
SEXTON COMING ON
Kyley Sexton has reached double figures in kills in seven of the last nine matches, averaging 3.23 kills/per set over those contests. At Air Force last week she tied her season high with 18 kills and recorded a .457 attack percentage, her second-best of the 2009 campaign. The 18 kills were one shy of her career best set last season at Brigham Young.
PEARSON DIGS AND BLOCKS
Paije Pearson has started 25 of SDSU's 26 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 seven block assists at Air Force last Friday (Nov. 13) to set her season and career high. Pearson has reached double figure in points in 16 of the team's 26 matches including four of the last five.
SALISBURY ATTACKS
Over the past nine matches, junior middle blocker Lauren Salisbury is hitting .400 (111k, 21e, 225att). She has hit .300 or better in 17 of SDSU's 25 matches this fall and has not committed more than four hitting errors in a match. Salisbury enters the week with a .330 career hitting percentage, a mark that ranks fifth-best all-time for an Aztec player.
AZTEC NOTES
True freshman defensive specialist Stacey Hallam recorded her season best with seven digs at Air Force last Friday (Nov. 13). She notched a pair service aces at Wyoming on Nov. 5. ... The Aztecs hit .317 over their two matches last weekend while holding the opponents to a .122 attack percentage ... Among the attackers, Kyley Sexton has led or tied for the team high in kills in eight matches 2009. Freshman Andrea Hannasch has done so seven times followed by and juniors Hannah Evans and Lauren Salisbury at five apiece ... The team's .466 attack percentage vs. Air Force on Oct. 16 was its highest since it hit .473 against Harvard on Sept. 18, 2003 ... The Aztecs have six players averaging over two kills per set (Sexton-2.66; Evans-2.60; Salisbury-2.52; Manasco-2.44; Hannasch-2.29; Pearson-2.16) ... Salisbury, Hannasch and Lauren Van Orden are the only players to have started every match this season. Those three, in addition to Kristi Jackels, have appeared in every set ... Eleven of the 18 athletes on the team are freshmen or sophomores. The Aztecs have only two seniors: outside hitter Caitlin McMillan and libero/defensive specialist Courtney Lamphier.