SAN DIEGO – San Diego State opens its 21st season of Mountain West volleyball competition this weekend when it battles San José State and Nevada. The Aztecs will play host to the Spartans on Thursday, Sept. 26, beginning at 6 p.m. PT, before traveling to the Silver State to face the Wolf Pack on Saturday, Sept. 28, starting at 1 p.m. PT.
In addition to live stats, both contests will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network on GoAztecs.com.
Through 11 matches, San Diego State has equaled its best start since 2011 and 2012 when it posted identical 7-4 records to begin those seasons.
The Aztecs have compiled a 161-159 record in MW competition since the league's inception in 1999. However, SDSU is 230-148 in program history against teams in the current conference alignment thanks in part to renewed rivalries with Fresno State and San José State.
The Aztecs are 10-10 all-time in MW openers and will be looking to snap a two-match losing skid in conference lid-lifters after falling to Fresno State in three sets at home last season.
SERIES RECORDS
> Despite dropping a pair of narrow five-set decisions to the Spartans a year ago, San Diego State still owns a 21-12 record against San José State in the all-time series.
> The Scarlet and Black is 12-4 versus the Spartans at home, but has lost two in a row at Aztec Court after wining four straight on The Mesa against their northern California rivals between 2009 and 2016.
> Since San José State joined the Mountain West in 2013, SDSU has posted a 6-5 record in 11 meetings versus the Spartans.
> Hannah Turnlund and Tamia Reeves are the Aztecs' top returners from the last meeting vs. San José State. Turnlund blasted 15 kills and added three block assists, while Reeves hit .667 for the match with 12 kills and no errors in 15 attempts to go with six block assists. In addition, Loren Teter scooped up 15 digs, while Gabi Peoples finished with a double-double on 33 assists and 14 digs.
> The SDSU-SJSU clash was the Aztecs' 11th match that went five sets during the 2018 campaign, the highest single-season total in program history.
> San Diego State is 11-3 against Nevada in 14 previous encounters and has won eight straight, including a pair of four-set victories last season.
> SDSU is 3-3 all-time vs. the Wolf Pack in Reno. The Aztecs' last loss in the series occurred at Virginia Street Gym in a 3-1 setback on Oct. 17, 2014.
> Erin Gillcrist (.429) tied for match-high honors with 15 kills in last season's road victory over Nevada, while Reeves hit .533 with eight put-aways of her own and no errors . Not to be outdone, Teter finished with 15 digs to tie for match-high distinction as well.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> San José State (5-6) is coming off a split last weekend at the Big Apple Tournament in New York, defeating Long Island in four sets before dropping a narrow 3-2 decision to Columbia. After posting a 17-12 record in 2017 followed by a 16-11 mark in 2016, the Spartans have posted back-to-back winning seasons from the first time since the 2000 and 2001 campaigns. Individually, SJSU has been paced this season by sophomore middle blocker Haylee Nelson, who has knocked down 3.30 kills per set (132 overall), which ranks eighth in the Mountain West. The Spartans have three outside hitters averaging over two kills per set, including junior Latahevai Lousi (2.37), freshman Makayla Lewis (2.36) and senior Caitlin Bettenay (2.17). In addition, senior middle blocker Thaliana Grajeda finds herself among the MW leaders, occupying the second spot in hitting percentage (.391) as well as the fifth position in service aces (0.35/set). Sophomore libero Sarah Smevog anchors SJSU's defense with an average of 4.03 digs per set (161 overall), which ranks fifth in the league, while fellow classmate Mamie Garard (6.32 assists/set) and senior Kaitlynn Zdroik (5.12 assists/set) have split time at the setter position. As a team, the Spartans are hitting .206 on the season, but have limited the opposition to a .190, which ranks fifth in the MW. SJSU is also among the conference leaders in services aces (2nd, 1.6/set) and digs (5th, 14.1/set). The Spartans are guided by head coach Jolene Shepardson, who is in her sixth season in Silicon Valley after a three-year stint at CSU Bakersfield. 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 110-139.
> Nevada (10-2) is off to its best start since 2001 when it opened with an 11-1 mark. The Wolf Pack captured three victories in its home tournament last weekend, defeating Southern Utah (3-2), Gonzaga (3-0) and California Baptist (3-2) to extend its winning streak to seven straight. Junior Kayla Afoa was named MVP of the Nevada Invitational and collected Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting 44 digs (3.38/set) and 13 blocks (1.0/set) in the three wins. Entering the weekend, the versatile Wolf Pack outside hitter finds herself among the league leaders in kills (3rd, 3.67/set), points (3td, 4.35/set), service aces (6th, 0.35/set) and digs (8th, 3.72/set). In addition, Nevada has received a boost from freshman middle blocker Sydney Petersen, who leads the MW with 1.43 blocks per set (66 overall) and ranks seventh with a .340 hitting percentage, while senior setter Dalyn Burns occupies the third spot in the league with an average of 10.26 assists per set. Along with Afoa, senior Ryan Blackwood has supported the Wolf Pack's defensive efforts with a team-leading 3.89 digs per set, which ranks sixth in the MW. Burns was a teammate of Aztec outside hitter Hannah Turnlund at Presentation High School in San Jose. California. As a team, Nevada leads the conference in digs (17.24/set) and assists (12.35/sets) while ranking second in kills (13.17/set), third in blocks (2.50/set) and fifth in hitting percentage (.220). The Wolf Pack are coached by Lee Nelson, who is in his fifth 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 is 59-72.
ON THE HORIZON
Following Saturday's clash, the Aztecs will continue their Mountain West schedule with two home matches next week, locking horns with UNLV on Thursday, Oct. 3, before squaring off against New Mexico on Saturday, Oct. 5. The Aztecs' match with the Rebels is slated for a 6 p.m. PT start, while their engagment vs. the Lobos is set to get underway at 2 p.m. PT.
Volleyball Prepares for Mountain West Openers
