SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team wraps up its 2019 campaign this week with a pair of Mountain West road matches at Utah State and Boise State. The Aztecs will battle the Aggies on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT, before facing the Broncos on Saturday, Nov. 23, starting at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT. Both encounters will feature live stats as well as streaming video via the Mountain West Network.
QUICK HITS
> SDSU completed its final homestand of the year with wins over Fresno State and Air Force. The Aztecs swept the Bulldogs (25-15, 27-25, 25-13) in a match that was played at San Diego City College due to a power outage affecting the San Diego State campus on Nov. 12. Two days later, the Scarlet and Black grounded the Falcons in four sets (25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22) to highlight the team's Senior Night festivities.
> With the victories, SDSU is tied with Nevada for fifth-place in the Mountain West standings at 7-9, one match behind fourth-place Boise State.
> If the Aztecs split their final two contests, they will assure themselves of their sixth winning campaign in the last nine years.
> SDSU has posted a 23-20 overall record since Sept. 29, 2018, after starting last season with a 1-14 ledger.
> The Aztecs are13-2 this year when blasting more kills than the opposition and are 13-4 when recording a greater hitting percentage. SDSU is also 8-0 this season when capturing the first two sets.
> Senior middle blocker Tamia Reeves ranks second in the Mountain West with a .396 hitting percentage, which is good for 24th in the country entering the week, while redshirt sophomore Camryn Machado occupies the No. 2 spot in the conference with 10.49 assists at the setter position, which ranks 48th nationally.
SERIES RECORD VS. UTAH STATE
> The Aztecs lead the all-time series against the Aggies 16-6, including a 3-3 mark in six previous trips to Logan.
> SDSU has won four straight vs. Utah State, including a three-set triumph at Aztec Court on Oct. 26 (25-19, 25-20, 25-22).
> In that encounter, the Aztecs maintained a distinct edge in kills (46-31) and digs (48-27) while serving up a season-high 10 aces.
> Individually, SDSU was paced by Hannah Turnlund's 14 kills, while Tamia Reeves floored 10 shots of her own, finishing with a season-high .714 hitting percentage with no errors on 14 attempts.
> The Aztec cause was also buoyed by Camryn Machado, who dished out 41 assists, while Loren Teter scooped up 19 digs, both of which marked team season-highs for a three-set match.
> San Diego State's collective 46 kills and 48 digs also represented season-highs for a three-set match.
SERIES RECORD VS. BOISE STATE
> The Broncos have won seven of the last 10 meetings vs. the Aztecs to take a 9-8 lead in the all-time series.
> SDSU will be looking to avenge a tough five-set defeat to Boise State at home on Oct. 24 (18-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 13-15).
> In that contest, the Aztecs maintained the statistical advantage in hitting percentage (.225 to .163), kills (59-57) and digs (57-41) while matching the Broncos with a season-high 14 team blocks.
> However, the Aztecs were undone by eight Boise State service aces while committing seven errant serves of their own in the close loss.
> In the fifth and deciding set, SDSU led 5-2 but could not sustain the momentum, as the Broncos reeled off a timely 9-3 run to vault in front for good.
> Individually, the Aztecs were led by Hannah Turnlund, who launched 21 kills, which marked her second-best total of the season and third-highest of her career.
> SDSU also received double-digit kills from Victoria O'Sullivan (13) and Erin Gillcrist (11), while Tamia Reeves (7 kills) matched her career-high with eight total blocks, including two solo stops.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> Utah State (2-26, 2-14 MW) has recorded just two wins this season, both in five-set fashion, knocking off San José State at home on Oct. 3, followed by road victory at New Mexico on Oct. 12. In two road matches on consecutive evenings last week, the Aggies were swept at then-No. 12 Colorado State (15-25, 22-25, 13-25) before suffering a similar fate at Wyoming (19-25, 19-25, 8-25). Collectively, USU is among the league's best blocking teams, occupying the fourth spot with an average of 2.48 per set, which is good for 41st in the nation entering the week, while junior Bailey Downing (1.11/set) and sophomore Corinne Larsen (1.10/set) and rank seven and ninth in the conference individually. However, the Aggies are last in kills (8.91/set), hitting percentage (.132) and digs (11.56/set). Offensively, Downing has racked up 151 kills for the season, while Larsen and senior Izzie Belnap have recorded 129 put-aways apiece, followed closely by sophomore Whitney Solosabal (125). Belnap (Utah Valley) is one of two NCAA Division I transfers on the Aggie squad, joining fellow classmate Heidi Carpenter (Nicholls State), who tops the squad with an average of 5.21 assists at the setter position. Anchoring the USU back row is freshman Grace DuBay, who tops the squad with 3.14 digs per frame (254 overall). Earlier this season, DuBay set a school record for a three-set match with 27 digs vs. Weber State. USU is guided by head coach Grayson DuBose, who owns a career record of 189-230 in nearly14 seasons on the Logan campus. He is the second-longest tenured coach in the Mountain West behind Colorado State's Tom Hilbert, who is in 23rd year at the helm of the Rams program.
> Boise State (16-11, 8-8 MW) is still fourth in the conference race despite dropping four of its last five, including a pair of 3-0 setbacks on the road last weekend against Wyoming (26-28, 20-25, 16-25) and then-No. 12 Colorado State (21-25, 19-25, 15-25). Prior to Saturday's clash with the Aztecs, the Broncos will play host to Fresno State on Thursday evening. Offensively, Boise State sports three outside hitters averaging over two kills per set, including freshman Lauren Ohlinger (2.89), who ranks 10th in the league entering the week, followed by senior Janell Walley (2.64), who also occupies the fourth spot in the MW with a .362 hitting percentage, and sophomore Shae Duffy (2.27). Not to be outdone, sophomore middle blocker Jessica Donahue leads the conference in blocks (1.54/set) and ranks seventh in hitting percentage (.32), while sophomore setter Danielle Boss is third in assists (9.93) and ninth in service aces (0.30/set). Additionally, freshman middle blocker Alyssa Wissinger landed in the eighth position this week with a clip of 1.11 blocks per set, while freshman libero Allison Casillas ranks ninth in digs (3.20/set). As a team, Boise State finds itself among the top half of the conference in several categories, including blocks (2nd, 2.94/set), digs (4th, 14.23/set), service aces (4th, 1.40/set) and hitting percentage (5th, .211). The Broncos are just seventh in the league with 12.52 kills per set, but have limited the opposition to the fourth-worst hitting percentage in the MW (.194). Head coach Shawn Garus is in his 11th season at the helm of the Boise State program, sporting a 302-262 career record and a 194-143 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.
TURNLUND'S TURN
> With her 11 put-aways in road match at Air Force on Oct. 19, senior Hannah Turnlund broke the 1,000-kill plateau for her career and has now blasted 1,099 non-returnables in an Aztec uniform.
> In addition, Turnlund has accumulated 3,080 attacks for her career, vaulting into ninth place on the school's all-time list in that statistic. In SDSU's home finale vs. Air Force, she launched 36 attempts to move past Mary Holland, who compiled 2,955 attacks from 1984-87.
> Turnlund has posted double-digit kill totals in 18 of 26 matches this season and 59 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 11 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.
RIVETING REEVES
> Tamia Reeves ranks second in the Mountain West this week with a .396 hitting percentage, which is good for 24th in the country, and tops the squad with 102 blocks (1.02/set), including 14 solo stuffs.
> In addition, the Carrollton, Texas, native ranks third on the team with 190 kills for the season (1.94/set) and has committed one error or less in 19 matches this year.
> The Aztecs are also 5-1 on the season when Reeves totals at least 10 kills.
> Reeves will almost assuredly rank among SDSU's single-season top 10 in hitting percentage following the 2019 campaign. Her current clip of .396 is second only to Jennifer Hamilton's pace of .412 set in 1995.
> Reeves has recorded five or more block assists in three straight matches, including a season-high seven vs. Air Force. For the season, she has finished with five blocks on 12 occasions.
DIGGIN' THE 'D'
> The Aztecs are 5-2 in their last seven matches thanks in part to an improved defense.
> SDSU is averaging 15.29 digs per set during that stretch, exactly two scoops higher than its season clip of 13.29.
> The Aztecs have also posted more team blocks than the opposition (59.0-54.0), with Tamia Reeves averaging a team-high 1.33 blocks per set in that span (32 overall), followed by Andrea Walker (0.96, 23 overall) and Erin Gillcrist (0.83, 20 overall).
AZTECS AMONG MOUNTAIN WEST LEADERS
> Entering the final week of conference play, San Diego State boasts six players among the Mountain West leaders in various categories.
> Tamia Reeves ranks second in the league with a .396 hitting percentage, which ranks 24th in the nation, and has climbed into 10th place this week with an average of 1.02 blocks per set.
> In addition, Camryn Machado jumped into the No. 2 position with an average of 10.49 assists per set, while Hannah Turnlund held down the fourth spot with an average of 3.48 kills per frame.
> Elsewhere, Loren Teter (3.57 digs/set) and Victoria O'Sullivan (3.12 kills/set) rank seventh in their respective statistics, while Andrea Walker is 10th in the league with a .305 hitting percentage.
> As a team, SDSU ranks among the top half of the conference for all matches in assists (2nd, 12.25/set), kills (3rd, 12.93/set) and hitting percentage (3rd, .236).
> The Aztecs have also yielded the second-fewest blocks as a team (2.00/set), while opponents have logged the second-worst dig average in the MW (11.60/set).
Volleyball to Finish Season at Utah State, Boise State
