Nov. 4, 2009
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
AZTECS TRAVEL TO ROCKIES FOR PAIR OF CONFERENCE MATCHES
San Diego State goes back on the road this week for a pair of Mountain West Conference matches. The trip begins on Thursday, Nov. 5, when the Aztecs will face Wyoming at 7:00 p.m. (MT) in the UniWyo Sports Complex in Laramie. Two days later (Nov. 7), SDSU will visit Fort Collins, Colo., for a contest against league-leading Colorado State slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. (MT).
SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State is 14-27 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 16 matches (and 24 of the last 25) against the Rams. SDSU is 5-12 vs. Colorado State in Fort Collins, 7-12 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 nine times in its previous 37 meetings with the University of Wyoming to lead the series, 28-9. Eight of the nine 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 five meetings and five of the last nine matches between the teams. SDSU is 17-1 vs. Wyoming at home, 9-8 in matches played in Laramie and 2-0 on neutral courts.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Wyoming, which ended a six-match losing streak with a four-set win over Colorado Christian on Tuesday, enters the contest against San Diego State with a record of 11-15 overall and 1-10 in conference play. The top hitters for the Cowgirls include freshman outside hitter Jodi Purdy (3.45 k/s, 2.56 d/s) along with junior Lauren Whitney (2.49 k/s, 0.99 d/s). Middle blocker JennaRae Jester leads the team in blocking at 1.14 per set and ranks fourth in the MWC in that category.
Colorado State, which is receiving votes in this week's AVCA national poll, enters the week with a record of 18-4 overall and 10-1 in the Mountain West Conference. The Rams will host Air Force Thursday evening before facing the Aztecs on Saturday. CSU is led by outside hitters Danielle Minch (3.72 k/s, 0.56 b/s) and Jacque Davisson (2.74 k/s, 2.39 d/s). As a team, Colorado State is among the top two in the MWC in kills, assists, hitting percentage, blocks and digs.
HEAD COACH Deitre Collins-Parker
San Diego State Head Coach Deitre Collins-Parker is in her first season with the Aztecs after being named the fourth head coach in program history earlier this year. She previously served as head coach at UNLV for eight seasons (1996-2003) and at Cornell the past five years (2004-2008). Her 13-year career record stands at 172-203 (.459). A three-time All-American as a player at Hawai'i, she led the Rainbow Wahine to consecutive national titles (1983-84) and was named the national player of the year twice. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team and competed at the Goodwill Games and Pan Am Games prior to playing professionally in Europe for four years. She is one of six players named to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball 25th Anniversary Team in October 2005 and was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in the fall of 2008.
EVANS ON THE OFFENSIVE
In SDSU's last four matches, junior outside hitter Hannah Evans has been in double figures in kills and averaged 3.56 per set. She has either led or tied for the team lead in kills in each of those four contests. Her 16 kills against New Mexico last Saturday (Oct. 31) tied her SDSU career high which she had accomplished three times5 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 just missed a double-double in the ensuing match (vs. New Mexico Oct. 31) when she finished with 16 kills and nine digs.
VAN ORDEN ASSISTS
Setter Lauren Van Orden tied her career high with 12 digs against TCU last Thursday. 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 last week, she notched her fourth double-double of the season (and 14 of her SDSU career). Van Orden did not record a block at CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 24, marking only the second time this season she failed to do so.
JACKELS SOLID AT LIBERO
Kristi Jackels, a walk-on who redshirted as a true freshman in 2008, has been solid in the role of starting libero this fall. She had 23 digs, her third-highest total of the year, in the match vs. TCU last week. She tied her career high with 27 digs in the win over Wyoming on Oct. 10. Jackels previously recorded 27 digs against Rice on Sept. 4. She has recorded 20 or more digs in a match five times in 2009. Her dig average in league matches (4.32/set) ranks second in the Mountain West Conference.
SALISBURY ATTACKS
Over the past six matches, junior middle blocker Lauren Salisbury is hitting .426 (77k, 14e, 148att) while averaging 2.75 kills per set. She has hit .300 or better in 15 of SDSU's 22 matches this fall and has not committed more than four hitting errors in a match. Salisbury enters the week with a .329 career hitting percentage, a mark that ranks fifth-best all-time for an Aztec player.
PEARSON DIGS AND BLOCKS
Paije Pearson has started 20 of SDSU's 22 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 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. She has averaged 2.06 digs per set in the past four matches. Her season dig average stands at 0.70 per set.
HANNASCH MAKING AN IMPACT
Freshman middle blocker Andrea Hannasch has started every match and played in every set thus far in 2009. She had a string of three straight matches in double figures in kills ended in the contest against New Mexico on Oct. 31. She has been in double figures in kills in six of the last eight contests. Her .350 attack percentage vs. Colorado State on Oct. 8 marked the eighth time this season she surpassed the .300 mark in a match.
SEXTON COMING ON
Kyley Sexton has reached double figures in kills in four of the last five matches, averaging 3.33 kills/per set over those four contests. She has a .297 hitting percentage in the past five matches. With 13 kills and 11 digs at CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 24, she notched her second double-double of the 2009 campaign.
MANASCO SET TO RETURN
Junior outside hitter Kelsey Manasco, who has missed the last five matches after suffering a sprained ankle in practice three weeks ago, is expected to see action during this week's road trip to Wyoming and Colorado State. Manasco had averaged just under three (2.85) kills and 3.20 points per set over SDSU's five matches prior to her injury. In the contest against UNLV on Sept. 26, she recorded career-highs with 24 kills and 51 attempts.
AMONG THE STAT LEADERS
As a team, San Diego State is first the Mountain West Conference overall team stats in assists (12.32/set) and ranks second in kills (13.17/set). Individually, Lauren Van Orden's 11.14 assists/set is the best average the MWC and over half an assist (0.69) better than her closest competitor. Libero Kristi Jackels is the third in the conference in digs with a mark of 4.11 per set. Andrea Hannasch is eighth in service aces (0.25/set) as well as and 10th in blocking (1.05 per set). Lauren Salisbury ranks third in hitting percentage (.351).
AZTEC NOTES
Over the last four matches, the Aztecs have hit .264 as a team. That compares to their season attack percentage of .207 ... San Diego State's season-best four-match win streak came to an end last Thursday (Oct. 29) against TCU. The Aztecs' longest losing streak of 2009 has been four matches from Sept. 7-19 ... 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 (Salisbury-2.56; Evans-2.56; Sexton-2.49; Manasco-2.48; Hannasch-2.33; Pearson-2.19) ... 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.