Aug. 30, 2011
Complete Release and Season Statistics
AZTECS VISIT NEW ORLEANS FOR ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL COLLEGIATE CLASSIC
San Diego State will be in New Orleans this weekend to compete in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Classic tournament hosted by Tulane. The Aztecs will open play on Friday, Sept. 2, against the host school at 7:00 p.m. (CT) in Fogelman Arena on the Tulane campus. The other tourney participants, Southern Illinois and William & Mary, will square off in the Classic opener at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday (Sept. 3), SDSU will face Southern Illinois at 10:00 a.m. and conclude tourney play at 5:30 p.m. that night against William & Mary.
SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State has recorded wins in its previous two matches against Tulane. In2001, the Aztecs captured a three-set contest in New Orleans and repeated that result the following season in Peterson Gym.
SDSU defeated Southern Illinois, 3-0, in the only previous meeting between the two schools. That came in 2005 as part of the season-opening Aztec Invitational in Peterson Gym.
The Aztecs' record against William & Mary is 8-0 with all eight of those matches played in San Diego. The teams first met during the 1988 season. The most recent match between the schools came during the 2001 campaign with San Diego State recording a 3-0 win.
AZTECS RECEIVING VOTES
San Diego State finds itself receiving votes in this week's AVCA national poll. SDSU's 13 points in this week's poll rank 34th among teams receiving votes. It marks just the second time since joining the mountain West (in 1999) that San Diego State has received votes in the national rankings. The Aztecs received votes after the first weekend of the 2010 season when it also opened with a 3-0 mark. The last time SDSU opened a season with more than three consecutive was in 2001 when it started with five straight victories.
ALL-TOURNAMENT AZTECS
Junior middle blocker Andrea Hannasch and senior outside hitter Kyley Sexton were named to the all-tournament team at last weekend's Aztec Invitational. Hannasch averaged 3.58 kills, 1.75 blocks and 1.17 digs per set while hitting .398 for the weekend. Sexton averaged 3.00 kills per set over the weekend's three matches and had six service aces and a .281 hitting percentage. She recorded 19 kills in the win over Portland, the most by an Aztec in any of SDSU's three season-opening contests.
AZTEC DEBUTS
Four players made their Aztec debuts during the Aztec Invitational including one redshirt, one true freshman and a pair of four-year transfers. Redshirt freshman Eseta Maka (Auckland, New Zealand) appeared in four of the five sets in the win over Portland, accumulating three kills, two block assists and a .429 attack percentage. True freshman Chaiymin Steel (Reno, Nev.) played in the matches vs. Portland and Nevada, averaging 1.83 kills per set while hitting .421. Middle blocker Andrea Terpstra (transfer from Fresno State) saw action in all three matches (10 sets) and averaged 1.20 kills along with 0.80 blocks per set. Defensive specialist Courtney Vaccarello (transfer from Oregon) also played in each match (eight sets) and finished the weekend with an average of 1.88 digs per set.
AMONG THE MWC LEADERS
After the first weekend of the season, several Aztecs among the top 10 in the Mountain West in various stat categories. Andrea Hannasch ranks first in points (4.88/set), second in blocks (1.75/set), third in kills (3.58/set), fifth in hitting percentage (.398) and ninth in service aces (.033/set). Kyley Sexton in fourth in service aces (0.50/set) and seventh in points (3.75/set). Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists at 10.92 per set. Kristi Jackels is sixth in digs (3.25/set). Summer Nash ranks 10th in points (3.29 /set).
THE RECORD BOOK
A trio of Aztecs will make likely make their marks in the SDSU career record listings before the end of the 2011 season. Libero Kristi Jackels' 945 digs is only nine shy of the Aztec top 10 in that category. Tenth place is currently held by Gracie Schutt (1990-92) with 954 career digs. Sophomore setter Johnna Fouch and junior outside hitter Andrea Hannasch should crack the SDSU top 10s in assists and block assists respectively around the mid-season mark. All three athletes had top 10 Aztecs single-season performances in 2010. Jackels 433 digs last year is the eighth-most ever in a season by an Aztec. Hannasch's 129 block assists in 2010 and Fouch's 1,239 assists both rank 10th.