SAN DIEGO – After a season-long four-match road swing, San Diego State wraps the first half of its Mountain West schedule this week when it plays host to Boise State and Utah State inside Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.
SDSU will battle the Broncos on Thursday, Oct. 24, starting at 6 p.m. PT, before entertaining the Aggies on Saturday, Oct. 26, beginning at 2 p.m. PT.
Both matches will feature live stats, with a live stream of the Aztecs-Broncos clash also available on GoAztecs.com via the Mountain West Network.
In addition, the first 250 fans attending Saturday's Utah State clash will receive a free Halloween candy pail.
QUICK HITS
> SDSU will be looking to reverse a four-match skid after falling in five sets at Air Force in its last outing on Oct. 19.
> With the result, the Aztecs find themselves in a three-team tie with San José State and Utah State for eighth place in the Mountain West with a 2-6 conference record.
> Despite its recent misfortune, SDSU has still posted an 18-17 record since Sept. 29, 2018, after starting last season with a 1-14 ledger.
> The Aztecs are 8-1 this year when launching more kills than the opposition and are 5-0 when holding adversaries between a .100 and .200 hitting percentage. The Scarlet and Black is also 6-1 this season when leading 2-1 after three sets.
SERIES RECORD VS. BOISE STATE
> The Aztecs-Broncos series is tied 8-8 after the teams split their two meetings last year, with each side winning on the road.
> SDSU is 5-4 against Boise State in San Diego.
> The Broncos won the last encounter between the two squads at Aztec Court in four sets (25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22) on Nov. 3, 2018, as the Scarlet and Black was unable to recover from a slow start, hitting just .050 with 21 attack errors over the first two sets.
> Hannah Turnlund led the Aztecs with 13 kills in that match, while Erin Gillcrist hit .316 with nine put-aways of her own.
SERIES RECORD VS. UTAH STATE
> SDSU has won three straight against the Aggies, improving to 15-6 in the all-time series.
> The Scarlet and Black has won six straight vs. Utah State at Aztec Court and is 11-1 against the Aggies in San Diego all-time.
> In the last match between the two teams in "America's Finest City," SDSU posted a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-15, 25-21) on Nov. 1, 2018.
> The Aztecs logged their fourth-best attack percentage of the year, out-hitting the Aggies .300 to .128.
> Turnlund posted a .421 hitting percentage in that contest, knocking down a team-high 13 kills, while Tamia Reeves (9 kills, .333) is SDSU's other top returner.
TURNLUND'S TURN
> With her 11 put-aways at Air Force, senior Hannah Turnlund surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau for her career, having launched 1,005 non-returnables in a Scarlet and Black uniform.
> In addition, Turnlund has accumulated 2,815 attacks for her career, needing just 141 more to move into 10th place on the school's all-time list in that statistic. Angelica Jackson (1984-87) currently ranks 10th in that category with 2,955 attempts for her career.
> Turnlund has posted double-digit kill totals in 12 of 19 matches this season and 53 times in her career.
> Against Florida Gulf Coast on Aug. 31, Turnlund completed a double-double with a personal-best 24 kills to go with a season-high 16 digs, as the Aztecs dropped a narrow five-set decision.
> With that performance, the Morgan Hill, California, native secured a spot on the all-tournament team at the Homewood Suites FGCU Fort Myers Classic.
> Not to be outdone, Turnlund has racked up eight double-doubles over the last two seasons after logging none in her first two years on The Mesa. Among her standout matches was a 23-kill, 21-dig effort vs. Nevada in the next-to-last outing of the 2018 campaign.
WALKER WATCH
> Redshirt sophomore Andrea Walker has been on fire of late, posting a .405 hitting percentage in six matches since cracking the starting lineup vs. UNLV on Oct. 3.
> During that stretch, the Aztec middle blocker has committed just eight errors, knocking down 38 kills on 74 attempts to go with 18 total blocks. Against Air Force, she blasted a career-high 19 kills to go with a personal-best seven block assists.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> Boise State (12-7, 4-4 MW) will be looking to snap a three-match losing skid on Thursday after suffering a pair of home losses to No. 14 Colorado State and Wyoming last weekend. In their first encounter, the Broncos extended the Rams to five sets before falling, 25-21, 16-25, 17-25, 25-23, 8-15. Boise State benefited from 36 CSU attack errors, but could only muster 33 kills as a team, while CSU recorded 68 put-aways to keep the host school at bay. The Broncos captured the opening set in their following match, but could not sustain the momentum as the Cowgirls rallied for the victory, 23-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-16. Wyoming outhit Boise State .338 to .095 over the final two frames to win going away. Individually, the Broncos are led by senior outside hitter Janell Walley, who finds herself among the Mountain West leaders in hitting percentage (3rd, .374), kills (4th, 3.48/set) and blocks (9th, 1.04/set), while sophomore middle blocker Jessica Donahue is second in the conference with 1.52 blocks per set and ranks sixth with a .334 hitting percentage. In addition, sophomore setter Danielle Boss appears twice in this week's MW rankings in assists (3rd, 10.23/set) and service aces (6th, 0.32/set), while freshman middle blocker Alyssa Wissinger landed in the sixth position in blocks (1.16/set). Not to outdone, freshman libero Allison Casillas occupies the 10th spot with 3.45 digs per frame. As a team, Boise State ranks among the top half of the conference in several categories, including blocks (2nd, 2.93/set), digs (3rd, 14.73/set), kills (4th, 12.80/set) and hitting percentage (4th, .226). Head coach Shawn Garus is in his 11th season at the helm of the Bronco program, sporting a 298-258 career record and a 190-139 mark at the school. Garus captured back-to-back Mountain West Coach of the Year honors (2015-16) to go with 2016 AVCA Region Coach of the Year accolades.
> Utah State (2-18, 2-6 MW) has notched only two wins so far this season, both in five-set fashion, defeating San José State at home on Oct. 3, followed by road victory at New Mexico on Oct. 12. In two home matches last week, the Aggies hung tough against Wyoming, but fell short in five sets (25-13, 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 13-15), before dropping a three-set decision to No. 14 Colorado State (11-25, 13-25, 16-25). For the season, USU has three players averaging over two kills per set in junior Gabbi Shumway (2.47), freshman Hailey Cuff (2.27) and fellow classmate Madi Brunatti (2.23). In addition, junior Bailey Downing (1.08/set) and sophomore Corinne Larsen (1.04/set) rank seventh and eighth in the MW this week in blocks, respectively, while senior setter Heidi Carpenter is 10th in assists (5.80/set). Anchoring the Aggie back row is freshman Grace DuBay, who tops the squad with 3.15 digs per frame. Earlier this season, DuBay set a school record for a three-set match with 27 digs vs. Weber State. Collectively, USU is among the league's best blocking teams, ranking third with an average of 2.48 per set. However, the Aggies are last in kills (9.20/set), hitting percentage (.138) and digs (12.27/set). USU is guided by head coach Grayson DuBose, who owns a career record of 189-222 in nearly14 seasons on the Logan campus.
ON THE HORIZON
> Following Saturday's match, San Diego State embarks on its next-to-last road trip of the regular season, traveling to the Land of Enchantment for a Halloween hookup with New Mexico on Thursday, Oct. 31, before stopping over in Las Vegas for a clash at UNLV on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Volleyball Welcomes Boise State, Utah State This Week
