Sept. 27, 2017
Match Week Preview
San José State (9-4, 1-1 MW) at San Diego State (6-9, 0-2 MW)
Thursday, Sept. 28 | 6 p.m. PT | Aztec Court
Series: SDSU 20-9
Nevada (4-10, 2-0) at San Diego State (6-9, 0-2 MW)
Saturday, Sept. 30 | 1 p.m. PT | Aztec Court | San Diego, Calif.
Series: SDSU 7-3
SAN DIEGO - After a season-long six-match road swing, San Diego State returns to the friendly environs of Montezuma Mesa this week to face San José State and Nevada. The Aztecs will battle the Spartans on Thursday, Sept. 28, beginning at 6 p.m. PT, before engaging the Wolf Pack on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. PT.
In addition to live stats, both matches will be streamed on GoAztecs.com, including Saturday's clash via the Mountain West Network. SDSU is 12-6 in Mountain West home openers since the league's inception in 1999. However, the Aztecs are 7-1 in home conference lid-lifters under head coach Deitre Collins-Parker. The Scarlet and Black's lone blemish during that stretch occurred in 2015, when it dropped a 3-0 decision to Wyoming.
Thursday's contest marks the first time San Diego State will engage SJSU in a Mountain West home opener. In conference home openers against current MW members, the Aztecs are 2-0 vs. Fresno State, 1-0 against Air Force, Nevada, UNLV and Utah State, 3-1 vs. New Mexico, 1-1 against Wyoming and 0-3 vs. Colorado State.
SERIES RECORDS
> San Diego State owns a 20-9 all-time record against San José State after the teams split their two matches a year ago, with each side winning on its home floor.
> The Aztecs are 12-2 versus the Spartans at home and have won four straight on The Mesa against their northern California rivals dating back to 2009.
> Since San José State joined the Mountain West in 2013, SDSU has posted a 5-2 record in seven meetings versus the Spartans.
> In last season's sweep at home over SJSU, Alexandra Psoma led the Aztecs with 17 kills and hit .438, while Hannah Turnlund (.316) launched 10 non-returnables of her own.
> The two teams battled through 14 ties and four lead changes in the opening set before the Aztecs prevailed by a 28-26 count. SDSU soon completed the sweep after capturing the final two frames (25-17, 25-21), hitting .364 during that stretch.
> The Aztecs are 7-3 against Nevada in 10 previous encounters, having won four straight, including a pair of victories in 2016.
> SDSU is 6-0 all-time versus the Wolf Pack at Aztec Court.
> In last season's 3-0 triumph over Nevada at home, Psoma (.364) led the Scarlet and Black with 10 kills, while Deja Harris (.571, 4 block assists), Ashlynn Dunbar (.444) and Alexis Cage (.368) finished with nine put-aways each.
> As a team the Aztecs outhit the Wolf Pack .396-.262, including a .500 clip in the third set when it knocked down 14 shots on 28 swings with no errors.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> San José State (9-4, 1-1 MW) split its first two Mountain West matches on the road last week, dropping a 3-1 decision to Nevada before outlasting Air Force in five sets. Offensively, the Spartans boast three players among the conference leaders in kills, including junior Giulia Gavio (5th, 3.56/set), sophomore Fernanda Vido (6th, 3.47/set) and senior Nandyala Gama (10th, 3.25/set), who also ranks sixth with a .331 hitting percentage. In addition, senior Breann Robinson (10.07 assists/set), junior Luiza Andrade (4.27 digs/set) and senior Jamie Hirai (0.31 service aces/set) occupy the fifth spot in their respectively statistical categories this week. Gavio claimed the first MW Offensive Player of the Week honor of the 2017 season on Aug. 28, after posting 29 kills and 14 digs in SJSU's victory over Pepperdine, while Gama logged the league's second-highest of the year (.650, 15-2-20) in a win over Nebraska-Omaha on Sept. 8. The Spartans lead the MW in opponent hitting percentage (.165) and service aces (1.51/set), while occupying the top half of the conference in kills (3rd, 13.47/set), attack percentage (4th, .220) and assists (4th 12.49/set). San José State is coached by Jolene Shepardson, who is entering her fourth season in the Silicon Valley capital. Prior to her arrival at SJSU, Shepardson served as head coach at CSU Bakersfield from 2011-13 following a stint as an assistant at Virginia Tech in 2010. The former Jolene Patton played collegiately at South Florida, helping the Bulls to a pair Conference USA regular-season co-championships in 2000 and 2002. Her career record stands at 81-112.
> Nevada (4-10, 2-0 MW) emerged victorious in its first two conference matches, defeating the aforementioned SJSU squad at home 3-1, before sweeping Air Force on the road. With the results, sophomore Ayla Fresenius collected Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors after averaging 3.57 digs and 1.14 blocks per set in the two matches. The Wolf Pack and Aztecs have played two common opponents during the non-conference slate, with Nevada falling to Portland State (3-1) and Gonzaga (3-0), while SDSU emerged victorious against those two foes. Individually, the Wolf Pack are led by sophomore Shayla Hoeft, who enters the week among the MW leaders in kills (7th, 3.38/set). In addition, Nevada has received a boost from sophomore setter Dalyn Burns, who occupies the third spot in the conference with 10.12 assists per set, while fellow classmate and defensive specialist Cameile Davey ranks ninth with 3.81 digs per frame. Collectively, the Wolf Pack are fourth in the MW this week with 14.69 digs per set, while their 12.60 kills and 2.05 blocks per set rank seventh and eighth, respectively. Nevada also finds itself in the ninth position with a .223 opponent hitting percentage. The Wolf Pack are coached by Lee Nelson, who is in his third season on the Reno campus after spending three years as an assistant at Miami (Fla.) from 2012-14. Prior to his stint with the Hurricanes, Nelson was the associate head coach of the men's program at UC Santa Barbara. His career record stands at 35-39.
AZTECS AMONG MOUNTAIN WEST LEADERS
> Entering the second weekend of conference play, Deja Harris and Devyn Pritchard are among the MW leaders in various categories.
> Harris ranks fourth in the conference with a .361 hitting percentage and occupies the eighth spot with 1.11 blocks per set.
> Pritchard also landed in the eighth position this week with 3.96 digs per set.
> As a team, SDSU ranks among the top half of the conference in kills (5th, 12.98/set) and assists (5th, 12.17/set).
NOTHIN' LIKE HOME COOKIN'
> In 38 seasons of Aztec volleyball, San Diego State has compiled a 373-187 record (.666) at home, which represents the second-best home winning percentage among current Mountain West members.
> Last season, the Scarlet and Black posted an 11-6 mark on Aztec Court at Peterson Gym compared to a 3-8 ledger in true road matches. In addition, SDSU went 3-1 in neutral-site encounters during the 2016 campaign.
> In head coach Deitre Collins-Parker's tenure, the Aztecs have amassed a 70-32 record (.686) at home, including a 14-0 mark during the 2012 season when SDSU captured the Mountain West championship.
WEEKLY WRAP
> San Diego State is coming off a pair of losses on the road last week at Utah State (3-1) and Boise State (3-0).
> Against the Aggies on Sept. 21, the Aztecs captured the opening set 25-21, but dropped the final three frames (23-25, 14-25, 19-25), hitting just .026 during that stretch.
> Individually, SDSU was led by Hannah Turnlund, who finished with 12 kills, while the trio of Alexandra Psoma, Deja Harris and Ashlynn Dunbar launched nine non-returnables each. In addition, Devyn Pritchard anchored the back row with 20 digs, while Dunbar collected 14 scoops of her own. Indigo Thompson also got into the act with 23 assists, while Baylee Little tied for match-high honors with four block assists.
> The Aztecs ended their season-long road swing at Boise State, falling in three sets (22-25, 16-25, 18-25).
> Against the Broncos, Turnlund (.462) paced the SDSU attack with eight kills, while Dunbar and Alexis Cage blasted seven put-aways apiece. In addition, Pritchard led all players with 16 digs, while Gabi Peoples handed out a match-high 30 assists.
> For the weekend, Turnlund finished with a team-high 2.86 kills per set, followed by Dunbar (2.29 kps, 3.14 dps) and Harris (2.00 kps, 5 blocks), while Pritchard (5.14 dps) and Gabi Peoples (8.80 aps) topped the squad in their respective categories.