SAN DIEGO – San Diego State closes out the home portion of its 2019 schedule this week when it battles Fresno State and Air Force inside Aztec Court at Peterson Gym. SDSU will face the Bulldogs on Tuesday, Nov. 12, before squaring off against the Falcons two nights later on Thursday, Nov. 14. Both contests are slated for a 6 p.m. PT start and will feature streaming video via the Mountain West Network.
The Aztecs will hold a Taco Tuesday promotion in conjunction with their match vs. Fresno State, with the first 150 fans in attendance receiving a free taco. In addition, SDSU will conduct its Senior Night festivities prior to the Air Force clash, celebrating the accomplishments of Hannah Turnlund, Tamia Reeves, Loren Teter and Sam McGrath.
QUICK HITS
> The Aztecs (12-13, 5-9 MW) opened their homestand last week against the top two teams in the Mountain West, falling in three close sets to both second-place Wyoming (22-25, 23-25, 24-26) and 13th-ranked Colorado State (21-25, 23-25, 23-25).
> Fresno State and Air Force will be traveling to "America's Finest City" determined to halt their own prolonged losing streaks. The Bulldogs have dropped five straight matches, while the Falcons are winless in their last four outings.
> As a result, SDSU, Fresno State and Air Force join San José State in a four-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings with a 5-9 record.
> The Aztecs are 11-2 this year when blasting more kills than the opposition and are 11-4 when recording a greater hitting percentage. The Scarlet and Black is also 7-0 this season when capturing the first two sets.
> Senior middle blocker Tamia Reeves leads the Mountain West with a .407 hitting percentage, which is good for 14th in the nation entering the week.
SERIES RECORD VS. FRESNO STATE
> Despite a three-set loss (24-26, 22-25, 19-25) in Fresno on Oct. 14, the Aztecs still lead the all-time varsity series against the Bulldogs 31-14.
> In that previous encounter, Hannah Turnlund led SDSU with 19 kills and registered her third-highest hitting percentage of the year at .361, while Victoria O'Sullivan launched nine put-aways of her own.
> Collectively, the Aztecs totaled almost as many kills as Fresno State (46-44) and maintained a sizeable advantage in digs (43-29), but were plagued by eight more attack errors and finished with far fewer team blocks (9.5-2.0).
> SDSU built a trio of seven-point leads in the opening set and led 24-21 before the Bulldogs stole the frame with five straight points, including three via service ace.'
> The Aztecs are 16-4 against Fresno State in San Diego all-time, but had their five-match home winning streak against the Bulldogs snapped last year in the Mountain West opener on Sept. 21, 2018.
SERIES RECORD VS. AIR FORCE
> The Aztecs lead the all-time series, 37-8; however, the Falcons have captured six of the last nine meetings.
> In addition, SDSU has lost three straight to Air Force, all on the road, including a narrow 3-2 setback (13-25, 25-15, 25-16, 22-25, 11-15) earlier this season on Oct. 19.
> Despite posting a greater hitting percentage (.214 to .183) and maintaining the edge in team blocks (12.0-8.0), the Aztecs finished with fewer kills (65-48) and digs (66-62).
> SDSU captured the second and third sets, hitting at a .442 clip during that span with only four attack errors (27-4-52). However, the Scarlet and Black posted a mere .080 hitting percentage in the other three frames, combining for just 21 kills (21-14-88).
> Consequently, the Aztecs lost for the first time this year when holding a 2-1 lead in sets and when limiting the opposition to a .200 attack percentage or lower.
> SDSU was paced by Hannah Turnlund, who floored 11 shots against the Falcons to surpass the 1,000-kill plateau for her career, while Erin Gillcrist and Victoria O'Sullivan recorded 10 put-aways each.
> In addition, Gillcrist hit .476 on the afternoon, committing no errors on 21 attempts, while Andrea Walker logged nine kills to go with a career-high seven block assists.
> Not to be outdone, Camryn Machado completed a double-double with 41 assists and 10 digs.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> Fresno State (12-14, 5-9 MW) has been in a tailspin of late, suffering its fifth consecutive defeat after falling to Wyoming at home in four sets (22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 19-25) last Saturday. Against the Cowgirls, junior outside hitter Jessica Sukhov blasted 15 kills, while freshman Amaria Kelley chipped in 11. However, the Bulldogs were outhit .364 to .237, as Wyoming committed just eight attack errors on the afternoon, compared to 23 miscues for the hosts. Sukhov continues to lead the MW with 4.00 kills per set, while junior libero Reagan Leonard owns a conference-best average of 4.56 digs per frame. In addition, senior setter Madelyn Halteman occupies the second spot in service aces (0.43/set, 40 overall) and ranks fifth in the league in assists (9.79/set) while freshman middle blocker Grace Doyle tops the squad with 79.0 total blocks. As a team, Fresno State is hitting .174 for the season, which ranks ninth in the MW entering the week, while their average of 12.49 kills per set is eighth.Likewise, the Bulldogs occupy the eighth spot in blocks (2.02/set), but lead the conference in service aces (1.82/set) and rank fourth in digs (14.22/set). Fresno State is 2-7 in true road matches this year, including a 1-5 mark in MW play. The Bulldogs are under the direction of second-year head coach Jonathan Winder, who was a four-time All-American and the 2007 national player of the year for the men's team at Pepperdine, where he led the Waves to the NCAA finals as a senior in 2008.
> Air Force (8-18, 5-9 MW) has dropped four straight and has not won a set since posting a 3-0 victory (25-21, 25-19, 25-18) at New Mexico on Oct. 26. The Falcons came up empty in a pair of home matches last week against San José State (24-26, 13-25, 33-35) and Nevada (20-25, 20-25, 23-25). Against the Wolf Pack, the Falcons received double-digit kills from BrookeLyn Messenger (11) and Cambria Galloway (10), but it wasn't enough as Nevada committed 11 fewer attack errors (25-14) to keep the hosts at bay. For the season, Air Force senior Denise Ssozi (2.96/set) and sophomore Bailey Keith (2.93/set) rank ninth and 10th among the Mountain West leaders in kills, respectively, while junior libero Alex King (4.20/set) occupies the fourth spot in digs. In addition, fellow classmate Andi Ahlers ranks seventh in the league in assists (8.93/set), while freshman Taleah Cooper and (54.0) and Keith (50.0) lead the team in total blocks. Collectively, the Falcons are averaging 11.92 kills per set and hitting at a .156 pace, which ranks ninth and 10th in the conference, respectively. However, Air Force is allowing the fourth-fewest kills in the MW (11.78/set) and fourth-least service aces (1.33/set). The Falcons are 3-5 in true road matches this season, including a 2-5 mark in the MW. Air Force is guided by Keith Barnett, who was elevated to head coach in the off-season after serving a four-year stint as a Falcons assistant, including the 2018 campaign as the team's associate head coach. Last season, he helped lead Air Force to a 17-15 overall record, their first winning ledger since 1999, highlighted by a program-best seven conference victories. Prior to his arrival at the Academy, Barnett was an assistant coach at West Texas A&M (2013-14) and the head coach at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (2009-12). He played collegiately at Pepperdine, where he received second-team All-American honors at setter in 2001.
TURNLUND'S TURN
> With her 11 put-aways at Air Force on Oct. 19, senior Hannah Turnlund broke the 1,000-kill plateau for her career and has hammered 1,086 non-returnables in an Aztec uniform.
> In addition, Turnlund has accumulated 3,044 attacks for her career, vaulting into 10th place on the school's all-time list in that statistic. In road matches at New Mexico and UNLV earlier this month, she combined for 88 attempts to move past Angelica Jackson, who compiled 2,955 attacks from 1984-87.
> The Aztec senior needs just 12 more attempts to move past Mary Holland (1979-82) for ninth place in that category.
> Turnlund has posted double-digit kill totals in 17 of 25 matches this season and 58 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 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 10 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.
AZTECS AMONG MOUNTAIN WEST LEADERS
> Entering the ninth week of conference play, San Diego State boasts seven players among the Mountain West leaders in various categories.
> Tamia Reeves has reclaimed the top spot with a .407 hitting percentage, which ranks 14th in the nation, while Andrea Walker is ninth in the league with a .310 clip.
> In addition, Camryn Machado is holding down the No. 3 position with an average of 10.44 assists per set, while Hannah Turnlund occupies the fifth spot with an average of 3.49 kills per frame.
> Elsewhere, Loren Teter (3.62 digs/set) and Victoria O'Sullivan (3.11 kills/set) find themselves in the seventh position in their respective statistics, while Lexie Hamrick still ranks 10th in blocks (1.00/set) despite missing the last 10 contests.
> As a team, SDSU ranks third in the conference for all matches in hitting percentage (.236), kills (12.92/set) and assists (12.24/set).
ON THE HORIZON
> Following Thursday's showdown, San Diego State will wrap up its regular-season schedule next week when it hits the road to face Utah State on Thursday, Nov. 21, before traveling to Boise State on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Volleyball to Host Fresno State, Air Force This Week
