Nov. 16, 2011
Complete Release and Season Statistics
2011 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
After a three-year hiatus, the Mountain West will resume its annual conference volleyball championship tournament this week. All eight league finishers will compete in the single-elimination event with tournament seedings determined by the final conference standings. By virtue of its league finish, San Diego State will be the number-two seed at this week's Mountain West Tournament. The tourney gets underway on Friday, Nov. 18, at the University of New Mexico's Johnson Center in Albuquerque. SDSU's second-place seeding means it will face UNLV (the number-seven seed) in the first game on opening day of the tourney. That contest is scheduled for Friday at noon (MT). If the Aztec win their opener, they would face the winner of the TCU-Boise State match Saturday evening at 5:00 p.m. (MT). All seven matches played during the Mountain West Tournament will be televised live on The Mtn network.
2011 MOUNTAIN WEST VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday - Sunday, November 18-20
Johnson Center - Albuquerque, N.M.
November 18 (Friday) Match #1..#2 San Diego State vs. #7 UNLV...........12:00 p.m. MT Match #2..#3 TCU vs. #6 Boise State.................2:30 p.m. MT Match #3..#1 Colorado State vs. #8 Air Force........6:00 p.m. MT Match #4..#4 Wyoming vs. #5 New Mexico..............8:30 p.m. MT
November 19 (Saturday) Semifinal #1..Winner Match #1 vs. Winner Match #2...5:00 p.m. MT Semifinal #2..Winner Match #3 vs. Winner Match #4...7:30 p.m. MT
November 20 (Sunday) Championship..Winner Semi #1 vs. Winner Semi #2.....6:00 p.m. MTSERIES RECORDS
The Aztecs' all-time record against UNLV stands at 21-13 since the teams first met during the 1985 campaign when both were members of the Western Athletic Conference. San Diego State had won the last five encounters between the teams before the Rebels captured a three-set win in Las Vegas on Sept. 23. SDSU returned the favor on Oct. 18, defeating the Rebels in three sets at Peterson Gym. San Diego State's records against the other members of the Mountain West are as follows: MWTeam Overall 2011 Tourn.Air Force.......29-2......2-0....1-0Boise State......3-0......2-0....0-0Colorado State..14-32.....0-2....0-4New Mexico.. 30-18.....2-0....2-0TCU..............9-7......2-0....0-0UNLV............21-13.....1-1....1-2Wyoming.........31-11.....1-1....0-0BEST FINISH SINCE...
San Diego State's second-place finish in the Mountain West was its best since the 2002 campaign when it ended the league season in the same position. The Aztecs' 10-4 conference record is also its best since that same season when it finished 11-3. It is the first time SDSU has been over the .500 mark in its league record since that same season. The team's 17 total wins is its highest victory total since the 2003 campaign when it went 18-14.
FOUCH ASSISTS
Junior setter Fouch leads the conference in all games with an average of 11.22 assists per set while her final league-match average of 11.84 was the best in the Mountain West by one assist per set. Her overall assist average ranks 23rd in NCAA Division I this week. She has recorded nine double-double performances (assists-digs) in 2011, the latest being a 54 assist-31 dig effort at Wyoming on Oct. 29.
NASH CONTRIBUTES
Summer Nash has recorded a dozen kills in each of SDSU's last four matches. Over that span she is averaging 3.69 kills, 1.38 digs and 1.00 block per set while hitting .322. In the contests vs. Boise State and Air Force last week, she was the only player on either team to record double figures in kills. Her .478 and .455 hitting percentages respectively in those matches were her season-best and second-best.
THE RECORD BOOK
A trio of Aztecs have entered the SDSU career record listings this season. Libero Kristi Jackels' 1,306 digs is fourth on the career Aztec top 10. Third place is currently held by Juliana Cezar (1993-96) with 1,369 career digs. Sophomore setter Johnna Fouch has moved into the number-eight spot in career assists with 2,305. Former Aztec Leah Lathrop (2005-08) ranks seventh on the list with 2,624 assists. In addition, Andrea Hannasch is now ninth on the career blocks assists chart with 345. Eighth place is occupied by Shannon Matthews (1988-89) with 358.
AZTEC NOTES
SDSU's current four-match win streak ties its longest of the season. Those win streaks in 2011 are the longest for the team since 2007 when it put together six victories in a row ... The win over TCU on Nov. 5 by scores of 30-28, 28-26, 26-24 marked the first time that SDSU was involved in a match in which every set went to extra points since rally scoring was introduced in 2001. Prior to rally scoring, SDSU never played in a match in which every set went to extra points (including two-set tournament matches) ... San Diego State's losses at Colorado State and Wyoming (Oct. 27 and 29) marked the only time that the Aztec has lost two matches in a row this season ... As a team, San Diego State finished first in kills and assists in league matches. In all matches, the Aztecs rank second in the MW in those two categories and are first in service aces.