COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – San Diego State volleyball was picked to finish eighth in the Mountain West by league head coaches on Wednesday morning.
Defending Mountain West champion Colorado State was picked to win the conference, claiming all 10 possible first-place votes. Wyoming, UNLV, Boise State, and San Jose State rounded out the top five, respectively, while Fresno State and New Mexico claimed the sixth and seventh place spots. Air Force, Utah State, and Nevada finished behind SDSU in the preseason poll at No. 9-11, respectively.
The Aztecs return 15 members from last year's team. After an injury-plagued start to the 2018 season left the Aztecs at 1-14, SDSU finished their season with a 9-7 record over their final 16 matches and finished eighth in the Mountain West.
Among those returners include senior outside hitter Hannah Turnlund (2.78 k/s), senior middle blocker Tamia Reeves (0.75 b/s, .273 hit %), and redshirt junior defensive specialist Loren Teter (led 2018 team with 2.65 d/s).
SDSU welcomes four true freshmen to the program in 2019 (Nya Blair, Alexis Durand, Elise Park, Gabriella Spaething) while welcoming a pair of transfers in redshirt freshman Ashley Vanderpan (Syracuse) and redshirt junior middle blocker Abby Pugh (Wichita State).
The Aztecs begin their 2019 regular season at the Florida Gulf Coast Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. against Akron on Aug. 30. SDSU then hosts the SDSU/USD Invitational from Sept. 6-7 where the Aztecs serve as host to West Virginia, Arkansas, and Arizona.
Prior to the official start of the 2019 season, SDSU will host UC Irvine for an exhibition on Aug. 23.