Sept. 15, 2011
AZTECS VISITS CHICAGO FOR DEPAUL INVITATIONAL
San Diego State will be in Chicago this weekend to compete in the DePaul Invitational. The Aztecs will open play on Friday, Sept. 16, against Kansas at 5:00 p.m. (CT) in the McGrath-Phillips Arena on the DePaul campus. On Saturday (Sept. 17), SDSU will face DePaul at 11:00 a.m. (CT) and conclude tourney play at 5:00 p.m. (CT) that night against Valparaiso. The Aztecs have not played since Sept. 3 when they faced Tulane and William & Mary at the Sugar Bowl Collegiate Classic in New Orleans. Their only action since then has been the annual Alumni match this past Saturday (Sept. 10).
SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State will be playing its first volleyball match ever against all three schools in this weekend's DePaul Invitational.
AZTEC YOUTH
San Diego State fields one of the youngest teams in the nation according to a recent survey. The total of 14 freshmen and sophomores on the SDSU roster is the second-most in the country, behind only Air Force (15). As a percentage of the squad, the Aztecs are made up of 73.6% underclassmen, the seventh highest figure in NCAA Division I volleyball.
ALL-TOURNEY AZTECS
Setter Johnna Fouch and outside hitter Paije Pearson were named to the all-tourney team at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Classic Sept. 2-3. Over the matches against Tulane and William and Mary on Sept. 2, Pearson averaged 2.75 kills, 1.50 digs and 3.12 points per set. She also recorded 0.50 blocks per set. Fouch, meanwhile, was the tournament's top setter with an average of 10.00 assists per set. She also finished with marks of 0.62 kills and accounted for 0.88 points per set from her setter position.
HANNASCH LEADS THE OFFENSE
Junior middle blocker Andrea Hannasch leads the San Diego State offense in kills, blocks, hitting percentage and points/set. She ranks among the top five in the Mountain West in each of those categories as well. Her average of 1.68 blocks per set ranks fifth in the NCAA Division I this week. Hannasch's total of 23.5 points in the season-opening contest vs. UC Irvine was a career best. She has recorded a pair of double-doubles (kills-blocks) this season, the fourth and fifth of her Aztec career.
LATTIN MAKES AZTEC DEBUT
Redshirt freshman Oni Lattin made her first appearance as an Aztec in the win over William and Mary on Sept. 2. She played in two sets during that match and finished with four kills, a dig and a block. She hit .444 with no errors in nine attacks.
PEARSON SETS CAREER BEST
Senior Paije Pearson set a personal career high with 17 kills in the match at Tulane on Sept. 2. Her 20 points in that contest marked a career best as well. In the season opener against UC Irvine she tied her Aztec career high with eight blocks in the win over the anteaters.
FOUCH DOUBLES UP
Setter Johnna Fouch has recorded three double-doubles (assists-digs) in five matches in 2011. She tied her Aztec career high with 55 assists in the match against Tulane on Sept. 2. Her average of 2.35 digs per set is second only to libero Kristi Jackels. Fouch is hitting .600 (13k-1e-20att) from her setter position with only one attack error through the first five matches of the season.
AMONG THE MOUNTAIN WEST LEADERS
After the first three weeks of the season, several Aztecs among the top 10 in the Mountain West in various stat categories. Andrea Hannasch ranks first in blocks (1.68/set), second in points (4.47 per set), fourth in hitting percentage (.370) and fifth in kills (3.26/set). Kyley Sexton is third in service aces (0.39/set). Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists at 10.55 per set. Kristi Jackels is seventh in digs (3.85/set). As a team, the Aztecs rank among the top four is six categories, they are second in kills and blocks; third in assists, service aces and opponent hitting percentage; and fourth in hitting percentage.
THE RECORD BOOK
A trio of Aztecs will make their marks in the SDSU career record listings before the end of the 2011 season. Libero Kristi Jackels' 983 digs places her eighth on the Aztec top 10 in that category. Seventh place is currently held by Kim Harsch (1983-86) with 1,042 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.
AZTEC NOTES
SDSU has captured the title at each of its first two tournaments in 2011. The Aztecs won the Aztec Invitational with a 3-0 mark and were declared co-champions of the Sugar Bowl Collegiate Classic at Tulane along with Southern Illinois when that tourney was cut short due to weather ... Nine different players have started matches for the Aztecs this season ... Only Johnna Fouch and Andrea Hannasch have started every contest ... Fouch and Kristi Jackels have appeared in every set in 2011 ... Redshirt freshman Eseta Maka is hitting .333 (6k-1e-15att) in the seven sets in which she has played ... Kyley Sexton had a career-high four service aces in the three-set win over Nevada on Aug. 27.