COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The San Diego State volleyball team was picked to finish sixth in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll released Wednesday by the conference office.
In a vote of the league's 11 head coaches, the Aztecs received 53 votes, trailing defending conference champion UNLV (98 pts, 8 first-place votes), Boise State (90 pts, 2 first-places votes), Colorado State (80 pts, 1 first-place vote), Wyoming (69 pts) and Fresno State (61 pts), which occupied the top five spots in the poll, respectively.
Air Force (46 pts) was pegged for a seventh-place finish behind SDSU, while San Jose State (41 pts), Utah State (29 pts), New Mexico (26 pts) and Nevada (12 pts) rounded out the poll.
SDSU, which finished eighth in the MW standings during an abbreviated 2021 spring campaign with a 6-9 record, returns eight players from that squad, including senior Victoria O'Sullivan, who received all-conference recognition for the first time in her career after averaging 3.25 kills per set, which ranked seventh in the Mountain West. In addition, Aztec outside hitter totaled double-digit kills in 11 of 15 matches last spring and ranked second on the squad with 32.0 total blocks.
Also back in the mix for the Scarlet and Black this season are senior middle blocker Andrea Walker, who finished third on the team with an average of 2.09 kills per set and 24.0 total blocks, and sophomore outside hitter Heipua Tautua'a, who ranked second with 99 kills and 140 digs (2.86/set) last spring.
Second-year head coach Brent Hilliard welcomes an influx of 10 talented newcomers to the Aztec roster this fall, including Division I transfers Natalie Smith (libero/Michigan) and Zoi Faki (outside hitter/Pittsburgh), along with international standouts Sara Mukaj (middle blocker/Modena, Italy) and Kalani Ruri (setter-opposite/Kawerau, New Zealand), and former prep star Mikela Labno (outside hitter/Hilmar, Calif.).
San Diego State opens its 2021 fall schedule with an exhibition match on Saturday, Aug. 21, when it plays host to UC Irvine, starting at noon PT inside Peterson Gym. The Aztec will commence their regular-season slate at the Bearkat Invitational, Aug. 27-28, in Huntsville, Texas. SDSU will square off against Houston Baptist and host Sam Houston on the first day of the event (Aug. 27) before wrapping up their excursion to the Lone Star State with another match vs. SHSU (Aug. 28).
The Aztecs' regular-season home opener is set for Friday, Sept. 10 against UCLA, beginning at 7 p.m. PT. Season tickets are just $40 for SDSU home volleyball matches and are now on sale at GoAztecs.com.