Oct. 18, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
Match Week Preview
Boise State (11-9, 4-4 MW) at San Diego State 9-12, 3-5 MW)
Thursday, Oct. 19 | 6 p.m. PT | Aztec Court
Series: Boise State 7-6
Utah State (12-8, 4-4 MW) at San Diego State 9-12, 3-5 MW)
Saturday, Oct. 21 | 1 p.m. PT | Aztec Court | San Diego, Calif.
Series: SDSU 12-6
AZTECS RETURN HOME TO FACE BOISE STATE, UTAH STATE THIS WEEK
> San Diego State opens the second half of its 2017 Mountain West schedule this week when it plays host to Boise State and Utah State at Aztec Court.
> SDSU will battle the Broncos on Thursday, Oct. 19, starting at 6 p.m. PT, before engaging the Aggies on Saturday, Oct. 21, beginning at 1 p.m. PT.
> In addition to live stats, both matches will be streamed on GoAztecs.com via the Mountain West Network with Aztec alumnus Chris Ello calling the action.
> The first 250 fans in attendance for the SDSU-Boise State match will receive a free pink rally towel in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
> The Aztecs clash with Utah State has also been designated Kid's Club Day. Free T-shirts will be distributed to the first 250 fans, with a poster-making station available for kids.
> SDSU split two road matches last week, defeating New Mexico in four sets before suffering the opposite fate at UNLV.
> With the results, the Aztecs find themselves in a five-team logjam for sixth place in the Mountain West with a 3-5 conference record.
> San Diego State is 9-0 this year when maintaining a higher hitting percentage and 4-0 when outblocking its opponent.
SERIES RECORD VS. BOISE STATE
> The Broncos have won the last six meetings against the Aztecs to grab a 7-6 lead in the all-time series.
> SDSU is 4-3 vs. Boise State in San Diego.
> The Aztecs dropped a three-set decision (22-25, 16-25, 18-25) to the Broncos in the first encounter between the two squads on Sept. 23 in Boise.
> In that matchup, Hannah Turnlund paced the SDSU attack with eight kills and a .462 hitting percentage, while Ashlyn Dunbar and Baylee Little registered seven put-aways apiece. However, Boise State posted a greater collective attack percentage (.292-.097) while maintaining the upper hand in kills (40-33) and total blocks (8.0-5.0) to help key its win.
> The Aztecs last defeated the Broncos on Nov. 21, 2013, in a four-set triumph at home. Little is the lone SDSU veteran from that contest, when she posted two kills and one dig as a freshman.
SERIES RECORD VS. UTAH STATE
> Despite dropping a four-set decision to the Aggies on the road earlier this season, the Aztecs still maintain a 12-6 lead in the all-time series.
> SDSU has won four straight vs. Utah State at Aztec Court and is 9-1 against the Aggies in San Diego all-time.
> In last month's setback at USU, the Scarlet and Black captured the opening set, but fell short in the final three frames (25-21, 21-25, 14-25, 19-25), hitting just .043 during that stretch.
> Individually, the Aztecs were paced by Turnlund's 12 kills, while Dunbar, Deja Harris and Alexandra Psoma launched nine non-returnables apiece.
> Overall, the Aggies maintained the statistical advantage in hitting percentage (.233-.103), kills (56-46), digs (65-64) and total blocks (8.0-7.0) to snap SDSU's three-match winning streak in conference openers.
> In the Aztecs' home victory over Utah State last season, SDSU rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win in five sets (26-28, 25-19, 24-26, 25-7, 15-13). Psoma totaled 18 kills, while Harris finished with 14 put-aways and hit .545 in the contest. In addition, Indigo Thompson posted a career-high 58 assists.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> Boise State (11-9, 4-4 MW) has dropped four straight matches, including a pair of 3-0 road losses to Utah State (17-25, 19-25, 19-25) and Air Force (21-25, 30-32, 25-27) last week. In those two defeats, the Broncos hit just .150 and posted a combined seven team blocks. For the season, Boise State has been paced by outside hitter Sierra Nobley, the preseason Mountain West Player of the Year who leads the conference with 4.80 kills per set despite missing four matches to open MW play. The Bronco senior is the conference's record holder with 1,750 career kills. On Sept. 1, Nobley posted the league's highest kill total so far this season with 32 put-aways in a five-set triumph over Sacramento State. In addition, fellow classmate Maddi Osburn tops the MW with 5.36 digs per set at the libero position, while junior outside hitter Sabryn Roberts occupies the seventh spot with 3.36 kills per frame. Elsewhere, junior setter Jaymee-Lee Bulda finds herself among the conference leaders in assists (5th, 9.40/set), while sophomore Janell Walley, who has sat out the last three matches, is 10th with a .286 hitting percentage. As a team, Boise State leads the MW in kills (14.10/set), assists (13.21/set) and digs (15.60/set) while ranking third in attack percentage (.223). However, the Broncos are just seventh in the league with 2.21 blocks per set and rank eighth in service aces with 1.10 per frame (72 overall). Boise State is 2-4 on the year in true road matches. Head coach Shawn Garus is in his ninth season at the helm of the Bronco program, sporting a 262-235 career record and a 154-116 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.
> Utah State (12-8, 4-4 MW) has lost four of its last five, including a 3-1 setback at Air Force (24-26, 21-25, 26-24, 17-25) on Oct. 12. USU's lone victory during that stretch was a 3-0 triumph over Boise State (25-17, 25-19, 25-19) two days earlier on Oct. 10. The Aggies hit .306 against the Broncos, but posted a collective .135 clip in the four defeats during that stretch. Prior to its clash with the Aztecs, USU will travel to Fresno State for a Thursday night battle in the Central Valley. Offensivley, the Aggies have been led by senior outside hitter Lauren Anderson, who ranks second in the MW with 4.08 kills per set entering the weekend, while junior Lauren O'Brien occupies the ninth position with a .290 hitting percentage. Junior Kassidy Johnson (10.68 assists/set) and freshman Jaysa Funk (8.15 assists/set) have shared the setter responsibilities for the Aggies this year, ranking second and 10th in the conference, respectively. Along the back row, junior libero Tasia Taylor is second in the MW with 4.87 digs per set, while senior middle blocker Carly Lenzen landed in the 10th position this week with 1.09 blocks per frame. As a team, Utah State ranks among the top half of the league in every major category, including digs (2nd, 15.15/set), service aces (3rd, 1.45/set), assists (4th - 12.28/set), blocks (4th, 2.37/set), kills (5th, 12.80/set) and hitting percentage (5th, .214). The Aggies are 4-3 in true road games this season. USU is piloted by head coach Grayson DuBose, who is in his 12th season on the Logan campus, sporting a career record of 178-175.
AZTECS AMONG MOUNTAIN WEST LEADERS
> Entering the fifth week of conference play, Deja Harris, Devyn Pritchard and Gabi Peoples are among the MW leaders in various categories.
> Harris ranks fourth in the league with a .330 hitting percentage and 1.28 blocks per set.
> Pritchard climbed into the third position this week with 4.51 digs per frame.
> Meanwhile, Peoples landed in the ninth spot with 8.57 assists per set.
> As a team, SDSU ranks among the top half of the conference in kills (4th, 13.29/set), assists (5th, 12.22/set) and digs (13.33/set).
POWER TO THE PEOPLES
> Setter Gabi Peoples is enjoying a strong freshman campaign, averaging 8.57 assists and 1.54 digs in 69 sets played.
> The Beaverton, Oregon, native has cracked the starting lineup 14 times this season, including the last 13 matches.
> Over the last 10 outings, Peoples has averaged 10.39 assists, 1.66 digs and 0.68 blocks per set.
> Last week, she logged her first two career double-doubles against New Mexico (54 assists, 11 digs) and UNLV (41 assists, 12 digs).
> Not only were her 54 helpers a personal-best, the total marked the highest four-set performance in the MW this season and third-best overall.
> With her efforts, Peoples has amassed over 40 assists in each of the last four matches and seven times this year.
> In the Aztecs' victory over Air Force on Oct. 7, Peoples established a career-high with six block assists as well.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
> Over the last five matches, San Diego State has received balanced offensive production with the quartet of Alexis Cage (70), Hannah Turnlund (55), Deja Harris (54) and Ashlynn Dunbar (50) combining for 229 of the team's 270 kills (84.8 percent).
> During that stretch, Cage, Harris and Turnlund have logged double-digit kill totals on four occasions, while Dunbar accomplished the feat three times.
> Cage has been particularly effective, averaging 3.68 kills and hitting .301 in 19 sets played, compared to her season totals of 2.34 kps and .243 attack percentage.
> Against New Mexico, Cage posted her fourth double-double of the year with 21 kills and 15 digs.
DIGGIN' DEVYN
> Senior libero Devyn Pritchard has come on strong against Mountain West competition, averaging a conference-leading 5.58 digs per set in eight league matches.
> The Temecula, California, native also moved into third place in the MW this week with 4.51 digs per set in all matches.
> Last week, Pritchard recorded the top two performances in conference play this year with 29 digs apiece in road contests at New Mexico and UNLV.
> The 29 digs were just two short of her career high when she posted 31 scoops at Fresno State on Oct. 10, 2015.
> In eight sets against Lobos and Rebels, Pritchard averaged 3.1 digs more than her season clip entering the week (7.25 dps to 4.15 dps).
> For the season, she has now surpassed the 20-dig plateau in seven matches this year, including four of her last six outings.
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