SAN DIEGO – San Diego State continues its non-conference schedule this weekend when it heads to the Valley of the Sun for the GCU Invitational, Sept. 13-14, in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Aztecs open the tournament on Friday when they battle UC Riverside inside GCU Arena, starting at 4:30 p.m. MST/PDT. The Aztecs will then square off against two additional opponents on Saturday, Sept. 14, locking horns with Eastern Washington at 10 a.m. MST/PDT, followed by a clash with the host Lopes at 7 p.m. MST/PDT.
Live stats will be available throughout the weekend, while SDSU's match at Grand Canyon will feature streaming video with a link available on GoAztecs.com.
SERIES RECORDS
> San Diego State owns a 12-2 record against UC Riverside, including a tough five-set defeat in the last encounter between the two squads at the Denver Invitational in 2017. The Aztecs and Highlanders have met at a neutral site on two previous occasions, with the Scarlet and Black emerging victorious at the UCLA Invitational in 1976 and the Titan Invitational at Cal State Fullerton in 1985. SDSU is 149-109 against current members of the Big West and will be looking to snap a four-match losing skid against that conference.
> The Aztecs have captured all three meeting vs. Eastern Washington, including a three-set triumph in 2015 at the Outrigger Resorts Challenge in Honolulu, Hawaii. SDSU also registered a pair of wins over the Eagles in the 1984 Loyola Marymount Invitational and the 1986 Fullerton Classic. The Aztecs are 19-6 all-time vs. the current alignment of the Big Sky Conference.
> San Diego State and Grand Canyon will be battling one another for the first time ever on Saturday. The Aztecs are 11-1 overall against three members comprising the current Western Athletic Conference lineup, including unblemished marks vs. Seattle (4-0) and New Mexico State (1-0), along with a 5-1 record against CSU Bakersfield.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> UC Riverside (3-3) posted a 1-2 mark at the USF Invitational last weekend, sandwiching a 3-0 sweep of Nevada between a pair of narrow five-set losses to host San Francisco and Purdue Fort Wayne. Freshman outside hitter Ashley Dittman leads the Highlanders with 3.36 kills per set (84 overall) to go with a team-high nine service aces, while junior middle blocker Yuliya Ushakova tops the squad with 16 total blocks and has been averaging 2.32 kills as well (58 overall). The UCR cause has also been aided by freshman middle blocker Isabella Scarlett, who boasts a .359 hitting percentage to go with 10 total blocks, while junior Morgan Kline has seen the majority of action at the setter position, dishing out 9.40 assists per set. Through six matches, the Highlanders lead the Big West Conference in kills (14.1) while ranking second in assists (13.0) and digs (15.6). Head coach Michelle Patton-Coleman is in her seventh season at UCR after spending five years at San Francisco State, where she led the Gators to a pair of NCAA Division II regional appearances in 2009 and 2012.
> Eastern Washington (2-5) has dropped three straight matches, including a 3-0 whitewash at Seattle in its last outing on Tuesday. The Eagles are led by freshman middle blocker Nicoletta Capizzi, who owns a .306 attack percentage to go with 1.93 kills per set (52 overall) and 16 total blocks, while sophomore middle blocker Ashlyn Blotzer tops the squad with 11 services aces to with 14 total blocks and 45 kills (1.67/set). In addition, junior setter Ana Puala Zandona averages a team-high 7.65 assists (199 overall), while junior libero Puaoolelagi Sao anchors EWU's back row with 4.00 digs per set (108 total). As a team, the Eagles lead the Big Sky Conference with 49 service aces, but rank in the bottom half in the league in kills (8th, 10.52) and hitting percentage (11th, .118). EWU is coached by Lisa Flores-Cloud, who is her second year at the helm of the Eagles program after serving a five-year stint as an assistant at Drake University, where she spent her final two seasons as the Bulldogs' associate head coach.
> Grand Canyon (5-1) is off to its best start since joining the Division I ranks in 2013 after recording a 2-1 ledger in its last tournament at the Gonzaga Invitational. The Lopes opened with a tough five-set loss to Ball State before rebounding with a four-set conquest of the host Bulldogs, followed by a sweep of Montana. Individually, GCU has been paced by junior outside hitter Yeny Murillo, who is averaging 3.28 kills per set (82 overall), while senior outside hitter Melody Horton (2.75/set, 57 overall) and junior opposite hitter Sarah Hagge (2.63, 57 overall) have contributed over two kills per frame as well. In addition, sophomore middle blocker Kaira Moss has displayed her versatility with a team-high 30 blocks (1.3/set) to go with 2.04 kills (47 overall) to go with a .324 hitting percentage, which is tops along the Lopes' frontline, while freshman Klaire Mitchell has handled the bulk of the setting duties, dishing out 9.19 assists per set (239 overall). Along the back row, junior libero Teagan DeFalco has provided much of the defense support, positing an average of 4.08 digs per set (106 overall). Collectively, GCU leads the Western Athletic Conference with a .255 hitting percentage and 15.3 digs per set while ranking third in kills (12.4/set) and fourth in blocks (58.0 total). The Lopes are guided by fourth-year head coach Tim Nollan, who spent 10 season as an assistant at USC.
SDSU/USD INVITATIONAL CAPSULE
> San Diego State posted a 2-1 record last weekend when it co-hosted the SDSU/USD Invitational.
> The Aztecs opened with a dramatic victory over West Virginia after rallying from two sets down.
> Against the Mountaineers, SDSU recorded a .117 attack percentage over the first two sets before turning the tables with a .352 clip over the final three frames.
> Individually, outside hitter Victoria O'Sullivan hit .487 for the match, blasting a career-high 22 kills to go with three block assists.
> The Aztecs also received double-digit put-aways from outside hitter Hannah Turnlund (19) and middle blocker Tamia Reeves (10), while libero Loren Teter tied for match-high honors with 15 digs.
> Not to be outdone, setter Camryn Machado logged her fourth straight double-double after dishing out a personal-best 57 assists to go with 13 digs.
> Fueled by its good fortune, San Diego State outlasted a pesky Arkansas squad in another fierce five-set battle the next day.
> The Aztecs and Razorbacks traded punches with alternating set scores until the final frame, where Turnlund and O'Sullivan launched two kills apiece during a decisive 4-1 run that closed off the set after Arkansas overcame a 7-1 deficit to forge an 11-11 tie.
> O'Sullivan hit .371 vs. the Razorbacks and collected a team-high 19 kills, while Turnlund surpassed the double-digit plateau once again with 15 non-returnables.
> The two sides were nearly identical in team statistics, with San Diego State maintaining the upper hand in hitting percentage (.270 to .260), kills (61-59) and total blocks (8.0-7.0), while Arkansas held a slight edge in assists (58-55) and digs (43-42).
> After playing consecutive five-setters less than 24 hours apart, the Aztecs were unable to sustain the momentum in their weekend finale last Saturday night, dropping a 3-0 decision to visiting Arizona.
> SDSU was outhit .437 to .185 for the match while trailing in kills (46-37), digs (30-23) and total blocks (5.0-2.0).
> O'Sullivan once again led the Aztec charge against the Wildcats with 10 kills, while Reeves posted a sparkling .462 hitting percentage (8-2-13).
> San Diego State captured the first-ever meetings vs. West Virginia and Arkansas, but slipped to 20-10 all-time vs. Arizona.
O'SULLIVAN SHINES
> Celebrating her 19th birthday last weekend, Victoria O'Sullivan rose to the occasion, averaging a team-high 3.92 kills per set while leading the Aztecs with a .381 hitting percentage at the SDSU/USD Invitational.
> O'Sullivan registered double-digit kills in all three matches, including a career-high 22 put-aways vs. West Virginia. She also hit .487 against the Mountaineers, including a .750 clip in the pivotal fifth frame when she blasted six kills with no errors on eight swings to help the Aztecs rally from an 0-2 deficit in sets.
> O'Sullivan returned with a team-high 19 kills and a .371 attack percentage vs. Arkansas, coming through in the clutch once again with six kills in the fifth set, including two on SDSU's final four points after the Razorbacks rallied from 7-1 down to tie the score at 11-11.
> The Aztec sophomore also finished with five block assists in the tournament, including three vs. WVU.
> With her performance, O'Sullivan has logged double-digit kills in all six matches this year after posting just three last season.
STRONG START
> Despite the loss to Arizona, San Diego State enters the weekend with a 4-2 record, marking its best six-match start to a season since 2012 when the Aztecs opened with a 5-1 ledger.
> Overall, SDSU is 13-9 in its last 22 matches since Sept. 29, 2018, after starting last season with a 1-14 record.
Volleyball Set for Three Matches at GCU Invitational
