SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team will make its final road trip of the 2021 spring campaign this weekend when it travels north to the Bay Area on Saturday, March 27 for a single match at San José State. The Aztecs-Spartans clash is scheduled to commence at 2 p.m. PT, with links to streaming video and live stats available on GoAztecs.com.
QUICK HITS
> SDSU (5-8, 5-8 MW) is coming off arguably its biggest victory in recent memory after posting a five-set upset at Boise State (25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-13) on March 20. The Broncos entered the contest with a 10-2 record and a second-place standing in the Mountain West race after posting four consecutive 3-0 sweeps.
> With the win, the Aztecs snapped a three-match losing streak to Boise State and emerged triumphant at Bronco Gym for just the fourth time since 2011.
> As a result, San Diego State finds itself in seventh place in the Mountain West race behind Colorado State (6-5, 6-5 MW), Fresno State (6-5, 6-5 MW) and Air Force (6-6, 6-6 MW).
> On the flip side, San José State (4-8, 4-8 MW) has tumbled into eighth place, one-half match behind the Aztecs, after dropping five of six sets in a pair of losses last weekend at league-leading UNLV.
> SDSU senior libero Lauren Lee was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week on March 22 after posting a career-high 36 digs at Boise State, which is tied for the most in the conference this year and ranks fifth in program history.
SERIES RECORD VS. SAN JOSÉ STATE
> The Aztecs lead the all-time series 22-12 in 34 varsity meetings vs. the Spartans dating back to 1977.
> San Diego State sports a 12-4 record at home vs. SJSU, a 7-8 mark in San Jose and a 3-0 ledger on a neutral court.
> Since San José State joined the Mountain West in 2013, the Aztecs have posted a 7-5 record in 12 meetings versus the Spartans, including a 3-3 mark in San Jose.
> Four of the last five matches against SJSU have been extended to five sets, including the last encounter when San Diego State jumped out to a 2-0 lead before holding off a furious Spartan comeback for the win (25-14, 25-23, 21-25, 26-28, 16-14) at home on Sept. 26, 2019.
> In that match, the two sides combined for 35 ties and 17 lead changes over the final three sets in a marathon match that lasted 2 hours and 39 minutes.
> Collectively, the Aztecs hit just .171, including a .113 clip over the final four sets. After committing two attack errors in the opening frame, San Diego State was plagued by 35 miscues over the remainder of the contest, allowing the SJSU to climb back into contention.
> Among 2021 Aztec returners, Victoria O'Sullivan led all players with 20 kills in that match and hit .310, while Erin Gillcrist finished with six put-aways. Camryn Machado, who is sidelined this season with an injury, also excelled in that contest with 56 assists and 16 digs.
SAN JOSÉ STATE AT A GLANCE
> After opening the month with three victories in four matches, San José State (4-8, 4-8 MW) came up empty in its road trip to UNLV last weekend, March 19-20, dropping four of five sets in two losses. The Spartans fell short in the opener, 19-25, 14-25, 25-23, 17-25, before experiencing a sweep in the series finale, 17-25, 22-25, 16-25. Prior to Saturday's clash with the Aztecs, SJSU will play host to New Mexico on Thursday, March 25. Offensively, middle blocker Haylee Nelson (3.57/set) and outside hitter Latavehai Lousi (3.30/set) enter the weekend ranked fourth and fifth in the Mountain West in kills, respectively, while middle blockers Allyson Alden (.318) and Ryann Thomison (.317) occupy the ninth and 10th spots in hitting percentage. In addition, setter Mia Schafer finds herself among the conference leaders, ranking fifth in assists (7.98/set), while libero Sarah Smevog (3.62/set) is seventh in digs. As a team, the Spartans rank among the top half of the MW in assists (4th - 11.79/set), kills (5th - 12.57/set), service aces (5th - 1.72/set) and digs (14.43/set). However, SJSU is last in the conference in blocks (1.45/set) and opponent hitting percentage (.247). The Spartans sport three players from San Diego County on their roster, including Alden (San Marcos HS), Schafer (La Costa Canyon HS) and Yazmin Pitpit (Scripps Ranch HS). Head coach Trent Kersten is in his first year at the helm of the San José State program after spending five years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at TCU from 2015-19. During his tenure with the Horned Frogs staff, Kersten's 2019 recruiting class was ranked fifth in the country by Volleyball Magazine and sixth by Prep Volleyball. Kersten played three seasons at UCLA, where he ranked among the nation's top 15 in hitting percentage (.387) and blocks (1.08/set) as a senior in 2015.
AZTECS AMONG MW LEADERS
> On the strength of her 36 digs (7.2/set) at Boise State, Lauren Lee has climbed into third place in the Mountain West this week with 4.17 digs per set.
> With her totals, Lee has surpassed the double-digit dig plateau in 11 of 13 matches, including a current streak of five. Over her last five outings vs. Wyoming, Utah State and Boise State, Lee has scooped up 5.32 digs per set, raising her season average from 3.39 to 4.17 during that stretch.
> Victoria O'Sullivan remains among the conference leaders as well, occupying the seventh spot with 3.15 kills per set.
> O'Sullivan had her streak of double-digit kills this season snapped at seven matches on Feb. 27, but has still logged 10 or more put-aways in 31 of her last 42 appearances dating back to the 2019 fall campaign.
> O'Sullivan is tied for the seventh-highest kill total for a single match in the Mountain West this season and is tied for the third-most in that category for a four-set contest after launching 20 non-returnables in the Aztecs' 3-1 triumph at home over New Mexico on Feb. 20.
> Meanwhile, Ashley Vanderpan is holding on to the ninth spot with an average of 6.74 assists per set despite splitting time with Kennedy Feuerborn at the setter position.
> Vanderpan has recorded 30 or more assists in five matches this season, with the Aztecs posting a 4-1 record in those contests. Her 38 helpers in a sweep of New Mexico on Feb. 19 rank as the fourth-highest assist total for a three-set match in the MW so far this year. She also played a key role in the Aztecs' five-set victory at Boise State with 31 assists.
> Collectively, San Diego State occupies the seventh position in kills (11.91/set), assists (11.30/set) and digs (13.72/set) while ranking eighth in hitting percentage (.171). Conversely, SDSU opponents have posted 12.11 digs per set on Aztec attacks, which ranks last in the conference, and have managed just 11.64 kills per set against the Scarlet and Black, which is fourth from the bottom in the league.
NOTABLE
> With their 3-2 victories over Utah State and Boise State, the Aztecs have won consecutive five-set matches for the first time since defeating West Virginia and Arkansas on consecutive nights at the SDSU/USD Invitational, Sept. 6-7, 2019. The Scarlet and Black also played consecutive five-setters on Oct. 19 and Oct. 24, 2019, but fell short at Air Force and vs. Boise State at home, respectively.
> After its five-set comeback victory over Utah State on March 12, San Diego State additionally snapped a 14-match losing streak when trailing 0-2 in sets.
> In their three previous victories prior to the Boise State and Utah State wins, the Aztecs have grabbed a 2-0 lead in sets.
> The last time SDSU emerged victorious after falling behind by two sets occurred in the aforementioned match vs. West Virginia in 2019.
> In their victory Utah State, the Aztecs had four players log double-digit kill totals in the same match for the first time this season: O'Sullivan (12), Blair (12), Tautua'a (11) and Andrea Walker (11).
> SDSU is 3-1 this season when having three or more players surpass double figures in kills after posting an 8-3 mark in that category last year.
> The Aztecs are 5-0 this season when leading in kills and logging a greater attack percentage. In addition, SDSU is unbeaten this year at 4-0 when holding the opposition to an attack percentage under .200.
> Victoria O'Sullivan has been SDSU's leader or co-leader in kills in nine of 13 matches this season. The junior outside hitter has logged 10 or more put-aways in 30 of her last 41 starts dating back to the 2019 fall campaign.
> The 15 kills by Heipua Tautua'a against Nevada on Feb. 26 marked the first time this season that an Aztec player other than O'Sullivan led the team in that statistic. Erin Gillcrist finished with eight put-aways vs. the Wolf Pack in the series finale, while Tautua'a, Maddie Lenn and Nya Blair all shared the team lead in the series opener at Wyoming on March 5. In addition, Blair set a career-high will 18 kills at Boise State on March 20.
> Setter Ashley Vanderpan owns three of San Diego State's four double-doubles this season vs. Fresno State on Feb. 13 (30 assists, 11 digs), against Nevada on Feb. 26 (34 assists, 12 digs) and at Boise State on March 20 (31 assists, 11 digs), marking the first three times she's accomplished the feat during her career.
> SDSU's other double-double belongs to Tautua'a, who notched 11 kills and 11 assists in its five-set triumph over Utah State on March 12, helping the Aztecs snap a five-match losing streak.
> Erin Gillcrist recorded her two highest hitting percentages of the season vs. New Mexico (.750) on Feb. 20 and against Nevada (.500) on Feb. 26, combining for 16 kills on 26 swings with just one error in those two matches.
> In her first collegiate appearance, Gabriella Spaethling came off the bench in the fourth set against Nevada on Feb. 26 and recorded her first career kill and dig.
ON THE HORIZON
> Following its Bay Area venture, San Diego State closes out its 2021 spring schedule with a pair of home matches vs. Air Force (April 1) and Colorado State (April 3).
Aztecs Gearing Up for Saturday Skirmish at SJSU
