SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team closes out its 2021 spring campaign on Saturday when it plays host to Colorado State on Aztec Court at Peterson Gym. First serve is set for 1 p.m. PT, with links to live stats and streaming video via the Mountain West Network on GoAztecs.com.
Heading to its final match of the season, SDSU (5-9, 5-9 MW) is tied for eighth in the Mountain West with Utah State, trailing fifth-place Fresno State (8-6, 8-6 MW), Air Force (7-6, 7-6 MW) and San José State (6-9, 6-9 MW). The Aztecs were slated to host Air Force on April 1; however, a COVID-19 issue within the Falcon program forced a cancellation of the match, which will not be rescheduled.
SDSU is coming off a three-set road loss (18-25, 18-25, 17-25) at San José State on March 27. The Aztecs were out-hit .372 to .169 for the match, as the Spartans maintained a 43-29 advantage in kills and a 6.0 to 4.0 edge in team blocks to help fuel their victory.
In that contest, SDSU was led by Victoria O'Sullivan, who blasted eight kills, while Heipua Tautua'a displayed her versatility with seven put-aways of her own to go with eight digs and a pair of blocks, including a solo stop.
For the season, O'Sullivan leads the Aztecs with 3.12 kills per set, which ranks ninth in the Mountain West entering the weekend, while Nya Blair (2.17), Andrea Walker (2.09) and Tautua'a (2.02) are also averaging over two kills per set.
Along the back row, the Scarlet and Black has received a boost from Lauren Lee, who occupies the third spot in the conference this week with 4.10 digs per set. In the Aztecs' 3-2 upset at Boise State on March 20, the SDSU libero recorded a career-high 36 digs, which is tied for the highest total in the league this year and ranks fifth in school history.
For her efforts against the Broncos, Lee was named MW Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career.
SDSU's defensive efforts also include Tautaua'a, who ranks second on the squad with 2.86 digs per set, while senior captain Erin Gillcrist leads the team with 34 total blocks (0.68/set), followed by O'Sullivan (26, 0.52/set) and Andrea Walker (24, 0.73/set).
The Aztecs' setting duties have been split this season by Ashley Vanderpan and Kennedy Feuerborn. Vanderpan has logged eight starts at the position, averaging 6.56 assists per set (315 overall), which ranks ninth in the Mountain West. Feuerborn, meanwhile has six starts to her credit and has dished out an average of 3.97 helpers per set (151 overall).
Not to be outdone, Vanderpan owns three of SDSU's double-doubles this season, including a 31-assist, 11-dig performance in the Scarlet and Black's dramatic victory at Boise State. The Aztec redshirt sophomore also handed out a season-best 40 helpers in SDSU's 3-1 triumph over New Mexico at home on Feb. 20.
Collectively, the Aztecs are hitting .171 for the year and averaging 11.78 kills per set, which ranks eighth in the Mountain West, while their average of 1.84 blocks per set is seventh.
On the flip side, Colorado State (9-5, 9-5 MW) owns the conference's longest current winning streak at four matches and has climbed into third place in the MW race behind UNLV (12-0, 12-0 MW), which has already clinched the league title, and Boise State (10-5, 10-5 MW).
Individually, the Rams are led by senior outside hitter Breana Runnels, who ranks second in the MW with 4.05 kills per set, while sophomore Jacqi Van Liefde (2.47), freshman Kennedy Stanford (2.21) and freshman middle blocker Karina Leber (2.02) are average over two kills per set. Van Liefde is a San Diego area native who prepped at Eastlake High School in Chula Vista.
In addition, junior middle blocker Sasha Colombo (.360) and Leber (.312) find themselves among the league leaders in hitting percentage, occupying the third and 10th positions, respectively.
Not to be outdone, setter Ciera Zimmerman leads the MW with 9.77 assists per set, while libero Alexa Roumeliotis tops the conference with 5.02 digs per frame.
As a team, Colorado State ranks second in the league with a .234 hitting percentage and 13.08 kills per set while ranking third in digs (14.54/set) and fourth in service aces (1.69/set). However, the Rams have allowed opponents to hit at a .208 clip, which is just seventh in the MW.
Colorado State has won 11 consecutive matches vs. the Aztecs to raise its record to 45-16 in the all-time series. SDSU posted its last victory against the Rams in 2013, upsetting the No. 9 CSU squad on the road, which marked the last time the Scarlet and Black knocked off a ranked opponent.
Prior to Saturday's contest, San Diego State will recognize its four seniors, Erin Gillcrist, Lauren Lee, Abby Pugh and Camryn Machado, as part of Senior Day festivities.
Aztecs Prepare for Season Finale vs. Colorado State
