Sept. 20, 2017
Match Week Preview
San Diego State (6-7) at Utah State (8-4)
Thursday, Sept. 21 | 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT | Wayne Estes Center | Logan, Utah
San Diego State (6-7) at Boise State (7-5)
Saturday, Sept. 23 | 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT | Bronco Gym | Boise, Idaho
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State opens its 19th season of Mountain West play this weekend when it hits the road to battle Utah State and Boise State. The Aztecs will square off against the Aggies on Thursday, Sept. 21, beginning at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT in Logan, Utah, before engaging the Broncos on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT in Boise, Idaho.
In addition to Gametracker stats, both matches this week will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network on GoAztecs.com.
San Diego State has compiled a 143-141 record in MW competition since the league's inception in 1999. However, the Aztecs are 212-130 in program history against teams in the current conference alignment thanks in part to renew rivalries with Fresno State and San José State.
SDSU is 10-8 all-time in MW openers and have won three straight in conference lid-lifters, including a five-set triumph over Utah State at home last season.
SERIES RECORDS
> San Diego State owns a 12-5 record against Utah State after the teams split their two encounters a year ago, with each side winning in five sets on its home floor.
> The Aztecs are 2-2 in four previous trips to Logan.
> In last season's loss on the Aggies' floor, SDSU was led by Deja Harris (6 blocks) and Alexandra Psoma (4 blocks), who launched 12 kills apiece, while Ashlynn Dunbar finished with 11 non-returnables of her own. In addition, Indigo Thompson dished out 20 assists, while Devyn Pritchard anchored the Aztecs' back row with 11 digs.
> In that contest, SDSU led 6-5 in the fifth set before USU closed with a 10-5 run that featured three combined blocks.
> The Aztecs have dropped five straight matches against Boise State to fall to 6-6 in the all-time series.
> SDSU is 2-3 inside Bronco Gym all-time.
> In the Aztecs' last visit to the Treasure Valley in 2016, the Scarlet and Black came out on the wrong end of a three-set decision to eventual Mountain West champions.
> In that matchup, Psoma led SDSU with 10 kills and recorded five digs, while Alexis Cage totaled seven kills eight digs and one block.
> The Aztecs last won in Boise during the 2013 campaign when it posted a 3-0 sweep. Baylee Little is SDSU's lone holdover from that squad, posting four kills and one block assist as a freshman.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> Utah State (8-4) has won four of its last five, including a pair of victories on the road last week at Weber State (3-0) and Southern Utah (3-1). The Aggies return seven letterwinners and four starters from last year's squad that posted a 14-16 overall record and finished seventh in the Mountain West with an 8-10 mark. USU was picked sixth in the league's preseason coaches poll last month. Individually, the Aggies are led by senior outside hitter Lauren Anderson, who ranks second in the MW with 4.09 kills per set, while junior defensive specialist Tasia Taylor (5.02 digs/set) and freshman setter Jaysa Funk (10.71 assists/set) occupy the second spot as well in their respective statistical categories. In addition, junior middle blocker Lauren O'Brien finds herself among the conference leaders in hitting percentage (4th, .379) and blocks (10th, 1.05/set), joining senior middle blocker Carly Lenzen (9th, 1.14 blocks/set). Taylor was named the league's defensive player of the week after recording a career-high 28 digs against Southern Utah last Saturday. As a team, USU enters the weekend ranked among the top half of the MW in digs (3rd, 15.23/set), hitting percentage (4th, .222), blocks (4th, 2.43/set), assists (4th, 12.49/set), service aces (4th, 1.35/set) and kills (5th, 12.93/set). The Aggies are coached by Grayson DuBose, who is in his 12th season on the Logan campus, sporting a career record of 174-171.
> Boise State (7-5) posted a 1-2 mark in its second home tournament of the year, suffering a narrow 3-2 loss to No. 1 Minnesota and a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Oregon State before salvaging the weekend with a 3-0 shutout of Idaho State. The Broncos, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year after ending Colorado State's streak of seven consecutive Mountain West titles, were picked second in the league's preseason coaches poll. Boise State returns nine letterwinners, five starters and the libero from last season's team that posted a 26-7 record and a 16-2 mark in conference play before falling to Stanford in the second round of the NCAAs. The Broncos are led by outside hitter Sierra Nobley, who ranks eighth in the country with a MW-leading 4.88 kills per set. The Boise State senior has taken over the top spot on the league's all-time charts with 1,677 career kills. In addition, senior libero Maddi Osburn occupies the eighth position nationally with a conference-best 5.88 digs per frame, while senior setter Jayme-Lee Bulda ranks seventh in the MW with 9.16 assists per set. The Broncos have also received a boost from junior outside hitter Sabryn Roberts, who is second on the squad with 3.10 kills per set. As a team, Boise State lead the league in kills (14.40/set), assists (13.51/set) and digs (16.65/set). Head coach Shawn Garus is in his ninth season at the helm of the Bronco program, boasting a 258-231 career record and a 150-112 mark at the school. Garus is the two-time reigning Mountain West Coach of the Year and was tabbed the AVCA Region Coach of the Year in 2016.
DENVER INVITATIONAL REWIND
> San Diego State captured the Denver Invitational title last weekend after recording a 2-1 record to wrap up its non-conference schedule.
> The Aztecs opened the tournament with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to UC Riverside on Sept. 15, before storming back the following day with victories over Gonzaga (3-2) and host Denver (3-1).
> Against UCR, the Scarlet and Black rallied from a 2-0 deficit in sets, but came up short in the final frame by a 15-7 count, as the Highlanders closed with a 10-1 run.
> For the match, the Aztecs maintained a 61-51 advantage in kills, but were saddled with 35 hitting errors, compared to the UCR's 27 miscues. In addition, the Highlanders owned a slight edge in digs (67-66) and total blocks (12.5-11.0).
> Individually, SDSU was paced by middle blocker Deja Harris, who blasted 16 kills and led all players with a .464 hitting percentage to go with six blocks. In addition, outside hitter Alexandra Psoma contributed 12 put-aways of her own and served up two aces, while libero Devyn Pritchard finished with 21 digs on the afternoon.
> Against Gonzaga, the Aztecs maintained a statistical advantage in most categories, including attack percentage (.227-.153), kills (61-54), digs (62-52) and total blocks (11.0-7.0). After racing to a 2-0 in sets, however, SDSU hit a collective .019 over the third and fourth frames, allowing the Bulldogs to climb back into contention. > Unfazed, the Aztecs regained their offensive rhythm in the decisive fifth set, launching 10 kills with just four errors on 25 attempts (.280) while limiting the opposition to just four kills with four errors on 21 swings (.000).
> SDSU was paced by Harris, who hit .429 with a match-high 14 kills and seven block assists, while Psoma collected 12 non-returnables of her own.
> Against Denver, the Aztecs outhit the Pioneers .257-.231 and held a 63-56 advantage in kills and a 57-51 margin in digs, overcoming a 1-0 deficit on the set scoreboard to capture the final three frames.
> SDSU received double-digit kills from four players, including 15 apiece from Harris and Hannah Turnlund, joining Ashlynn Dunbar (14) and Alexis Cage (11).
> The kill totals for Turnlund and Dunbar represented career highs for the two Aztec outside hitters. > In addition, freshman setter Gabi Peoples got into the act with a personal-best 47 assists.
> Denver trailed 17-9 in the fourth stanza, but roared back to reach set point on two occasions, including a 25-24 spread, before SDSU closed with a 4-1 match-securing run, with Harris and Turnlund contributing two kills each.
DEJA VU FOR HARRIS
> Middle blocker Deja Harris was named Most Valuable Player of the Denver Invitational, marking the second time this season the Aztec junior received such distinction after earning the same honor following the Aztec Invitational last month.
> In three matches, Harris hit a team-high .427, averaging 3.21 kills and 1.36 blocks per set. She was also part of an SDSU defense that limited the opposition to a collective .179 hitting percentage. > Against UCR, the Las Vegas, Nevada, native knocked down a match-high 16 kills and hit .464 to go with six blocks.
> Harris completed her seventh match of the year with a .400 attack percentage or higher after hitting .429 with 14 kills vs. Gonzaga.
> In the second stanza against the Zags, she hit .625 with six kills to help the Aztecs build a 2-0 lead in sets.
> In addition, Harris also led all players in the Gonzaga match with a season high-tying seven block assists.
> She completed the weekend against Denver with a team-high 15 kills and six blocks, including three solo stops.
> In fourth set vs. the Pioneers, she hit .750 with six kills, including two during SDSU's 4-1 match-clinching run.
ALL-TOURNAMENT AZTECS-PART IV
> In addition to Harris, senior Alexis Cage and sophomore Ashlynn Dunbar were both named to the Denver Invitational all-tournament team.
> For the weekend, Cage averaged 2.14 kills and 2.86 digs per set to go with six block assists.
> The Newport Beach, Calif., product recorded two double-doubles in the tournament, finishing with 11 kills and 11 digs vs. Gonzaga, before before amassing kills and 19 digs against Denver, the latter of which marked a season high and fell one short of a personal best.
> Dunbar, meanwhile, turned in a fine all-round performance as well with 2.36 kills, 2.14 digs and 0.79 blocks per set.
> The Seabrook, Texas, native logged her first career double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs vs. Gonzaga and just missed out on another one against Denver, finishing with a personal-best 14 kills and nine scoops.
> She also tallied a season-high five block assists in the opener against UC Riverside.
AZTECS AMONG MOUNTAIN WEST LEADERS
> Entering the first weekend of conference play, Deja Harris and Devyn Pritchard are among the Mountain West leaders in various categories.
> Harris ranks third in the conference with a .409 hitting percentage and occupies the eighth spot with 1.17 blocks per set.
> Pritchard also landed in the 10th position this week with 3.78 digs per set.
> As a team, SDSU ranks among the top half of the conference in hitting percentage (3rd, .223), kills (4th, 13.23/set) and assists (5th, 12.36/set).