Aztecs Continue Homestand vs. UNLV, Fresno State

SAN DIEGO -- Fresh off a hard-fought 3-0 sweep of Air Force last Saturday, the San Diego State volleyball team resumes its busy stretch with an additional pair of home matches this week against defending Mountain West champion UNLV and Fresno State inside Aztec Court at Peterson Gym. The Aztecs will battle the Rebels on Tuesday, Oct. 5, before tangling with the Bulldogs on Thursday, Oct. 7. First serve for both matches is set for 7 p.m., with links to live stats and streaming video via the Mountain West Network available on GoAztecs.com.

QUICK HITS
> SDSU finds itself in a three-way tie for fifth place in the MW standings after splitting two encounters with New Mexico and Air Force. The Aztecs dropped a 3-1 decision to the Lobos (20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 21-25) on Sept. 30, but began the new month on a winning note with a thrilling three-set triumph over the Falcons (26-24, 27-25, 25-21). 
> The SDSU attack is led by senior Victoria O'Sullivan, who ranks sixth in the Mountain West with an average of 3.39 kills per set. The Aztec outside hitter has posted double-digit kills in 11 of her previous 13 starts and has surpassed that plateau in 43 of her last 58 appearances dating back to the start of the 2019 campaign. 
> The first 200 fans attending the SDSU-UNLV clash will receive a free taco as part of the Aztecs' Taco Tuesday gameday promotion.
> San Diego State's return engagement with the Rebels has been rescheduled for Monday, Nov. 1, at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, starting at 6:30 p.m. PT. The contest was originally slated for Tuesday, Nov. 2.

SERIES RECORD VS. UNLV
> Since the two programs first met in 1985, the Aztecs lead the all-time series against the Rebels, 28-22.
> SDSU is 18-5 vs. UNLV at home and has captured 10 of the last 13 meetings on The Mesa.
> However, the Aztecs have dropped five of their last six encounters with the Rebels, including a pair of defeats in Las Vegas to open the 2021 spring campaign. SDSU was dealt a 3-0 whitewash in the opener (22-25, 21-25, 10-25) before falling four sets in the finale (25-19, 18-25, 19-25, 15-25). 
> In the first match, the Rebels out-hit the Aztecs .310 to .147, owning a 44-30 advantage in kills and a 44-34 edge in digs to spoil the SDSU head coaching debut of Brent Hilliard.
> Individually in that contest, Victoria O'Sullivan paced the Scarlet and Black with 11 kills, hitting .300 on 30 attempts with just two errors, while Heipua Tautua'a launched six non-returnables of her own to go with a team-high 10 digs.
> The following night, the Aztecs outhit the Rebels .452 to .242 in the opening frame, knocking down 15 kills with just one error in 31 attempts. However, SDSU was unable to maintain its hot start, stumbling to a .163 clip the rest of way, while UNLV posted a .296 attack percentage during that span, including a .361 pace in the final set.
> In all, the Rebels served up 12 aces and maintained the advantage in kills (55-47) and total blocks (7.0-3.0) to help fuel their victory. 
> Individually, SDSU was paced by O'Sullivan, who launched 13 kills and hit .333, while Andrea Walker (.316) blasted nine put-aways of her own and contributed two block assists.

SERIES RECORD VS. FRESNO STATE
> Since the first varsity meeting between the two teams back in 1980, the Aztecs lead the all-time series against the Bulldogs 33-15.
> The Aztecs are 18-5 against Fresno State in San Diego all-time after splitting two matches at Peterson Gym during last spring's shortened campaign. SDSU suffered a 3-1 defeat in the opener (25-22, 16-25, 18-25, 18-25) before rebounding with a 3-0 whitewash in the finale (25-19, 26-24, 25-20), which gave Brent Hilliard his first victory as head coach of the Aztecs.
> In the victorious encounter, San Diego State maintained a 41-29 advantage in kills, limiting Bulldogs to a .060 hitting percentage, as the visitors committed 22 errors on the day. In addition, the Aztecs held the statistical edge in digs (58-50) and team blocks (9.0-8.0) to secure its first win of the spring.
> Individually, SDSU was once again led by Victoria O'Sullivan, who launched a team-high 11 kills, while Andrea Walker (.389) floored eight non-returnables of her own.
> In addition, Heipua Tautua'a and Ashley Vanderpan scooped up 11 digs with the latter notching her first career double-double after dishing out 30 assists.
> In the opener previous night, the Aztecs matched the Bulldogs with 45 kills and held a sizable 51-36 advantage in digs but were undone by 34 attack errors,  hitting just .087 for the night, compared to the visitors, who finished with a .246 clip and maintained the upper hand in team blocks (17-10) to go with nine service aces.

NOTHIN' LIKE HOME COOKIN'
>    Since the beginning of the 2009 campaign, the Aztecs have amassed a 110-58 (.655) record at home, highlighted by a 14-0 mark during the 2012 season when SDSU captured the Mountain West championship.
> During the 2021 spring slate, the Aztecs fashioned a winning record at home for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons after posting
a 5-4 ledger.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
> As of Oct. 4, libero Natalie Smith ranks fourth in the Mountain West with an average of 4.19 digs per set (226 overall).
> In addition, outside hitter Victoria O'Sullivan has climbed into the sixth position with 3.39 kills per set, while setter Noa Miller ranks eighth with 6.19 assists per frame.
> Smith's 27 digs vs. Houston Baptist on Aug. 27 is tied for the third-best performance in the conference this season.
> Meanwhile, O'Sullivan's 19 kills vs. San Diego on Sept. 11 are the tied for the fourth-best effort in the league this year, while her 15 put-aways at UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 3 are also tied for the eighth-highest in a three-set match.
> Not to be outdone, the Aztecs own two of the top individual hitting percentages with a minimum of 12 kills in the Mountain West this season. Mikela Labno's .522 clip against (13-1-23) against Pepperdine at the Gaucho Invitational is 11th entering the week, while O'Sullivan's .519 efficiency (15-1-27) at UC Santa Barbara in the same tournament ranks 12th.
> Elsewhere, Serena Hodson's eight total blocks at Sam Houston on Aug. 28 is tied for the eighth-best total in the MW thus far, while Sara Mukaj's four service aces the previous day against the same Bearkat squad is tied for 10th.
> Collectively, the Aztecs occupy the sixth spot in the conference with an average of 13.30 digs per set while ranking seventh in team kills (12.30/set) and hitting percentage (.212).

O'SULLIVAN REACHES MILESTONE
> After flooring a match-high 13 shots vs. Air Force, senior Victoria O'Sullivan surpassed the 800-kill plateau for her career (806).
> The Aztec outside hitter saved her best for last against the Falcons, blasting six kills to go with an ace and two blocks (one solo) in the third set alone. She knocked down two kills and combined on a block during a pivotal 6-1 run that broke a 10-10 tie and gave the Scarlet and Black some separation.
> O'Sullivan has led or shared the team lead for kills in seven straight matches she has played and 13 times in her 15 starts this year.
> The Albany, California, native has registered double-digit kills in 11 of her previous 13 starts and has surpassed that barrier in 43 of her last 58 appearances since the start of the 2019 campaign. 

LABNO SHINES
> Freshman Mikela Labno came through with a pair of solid performances last week vs. New Mexico and Air Force when she averaged 2.57 kills per set and hit .441, which were both higher than her season marks entering the week (2.02 kps, .142)
> In all, the Aztec outside hitter combined for 18 kills on 34 swings with just three errors and tied for the team lead with five total blocks.
> Against Air Force, Labno posted her second-best hitting percentage of the year with a .474 clip,, helping the Aztecs snap a two-match slide with the 3-0 sweep. She reached double digits in kills for the third time this year with 10 put-aways in that contest, committing just one error in 19 swings. The Hilmar, California, native, totaled four of her kills in the second set and came up with the clinching point on a solo block, as SDSU prevailed in the frame, 27-25.
> Labno also finished with eight kills, three kills and four total blocks while hitting .400 vs. New Mexico.

OTHER TRENDS
> All five of San Diego State's victories this season have been recorded when the Aztecs have finished with more kills and digs, as well as a greater hitting percentage.
> SDSU's lone loss when posting a better efficiency occurred vs. Sam Houston in its final match of the Bearkat Invitational on Aug. 28, when the Aztecs outhit the host Bearkats, .230 to .179 but fell short in five sets. In addition, the Scarlet and Black registered more kills in that contest (59-52).
> San Diego State also recorded more kills (57-49)  in a four-set home defeat to No. 25 San Diego on Sept. 11.
> The Aztecs are 3-0 when hitting above .300 this season, notching a season-high .384 clip in a sweep at UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 3, followed by a .337 efficiency in a hard-fought whitewash of Air Force on Oct. 2. SDSU has finished with a .303 hitting percentage in a blanking of UC Riverside at the Wildcat Classic.
> The Aztecs have dropped three matches when maintaining the upper hand in blocks, including losses to New Mexico (10.0 to 7.0), Long Beach State (8.0 to 5.0) and the second defeat at Sam Houston (12.0 to 7.0).
> San Diego State's sweep of Air Force on Oct. 2 marked the first time this season the Aztecs prevailed when an opponent hit over .200 for the match, as the Falcons finished with a .272 clip.
> When Victoria O'Sullivan posted a team-leading nine kills in SDSU's sweep at Nevada on Sept. 23, it marked the first time in three matches this year the Aztecs emerged victorious without having a player reaching the double-digit plateau in that statistic.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> Defending Mountain West champion UNLV (12-3, 3-1 MW) has won three straight to forge a five-way tie for the top spot in the conference, joining New Mexico, San José State, Colorado State and Utah State. The Rebels recorded a pair of 3-1 victories at home last week over Air Force (25-21, 25-27, 25-20, 25-18) and UNM (25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 25-19), with the latter accounting for the Lobos' first loss in MW play this season. Reigning conference player of the year Mariena Hayden captured Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week honors for the seventh time in her career after finishing the week with a team-high 31 kills (3.88/set) and nine service aces to go with 18 digs (2.25/set). For the season, the UNLV senior outside hitter leads the nation in service aces (0.77/set) while topping the MW in kills (3.77/set). In addition, senior middle blocker Kate Brennan owns a conference-best .397 hitting percentage and ranks eighth in blocks (1.08/set), just ahead fellow middle Jordyn Freeman (1.02/set). In addition, junior libero Paris Oliveira (3.48/set) and junior outside hitter Shelby Capllonch (3.02/set) occupy the sixth and 10th spots in the conference this week in digs, respectively, while sophomore setter Arien Fafard ranks ninth in assists. Freeman and fellow junior Paola Garcia hail from San Diego County. Freeman prepped at Rancho Bernardo High, while Garcia graduated from Eastlake High. As a team, UNLV leads the Mountain West in kills (13.29/set) and assists (11.83/set) while ranking second in blocks (2.44/set). In addition, the Rebels find themselves among the top half of the conference in hitting percentage (3rd, .242), digs (5th, 13.37/set) and service aces (5th, 1.79/set). Including preseason tournaments, UNLV sports a 9-2 record away from home thus far. Head coach Dawn Sullivan is in her third season with the Rebels after spending 13 years as an assistant at Iowa State, including the final six as associate head coach. Last season, Sullivan earned MW Coach of the Year honors after guiding UNLV to an undefeated 12-0 record in conference play, as the Rebels advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

> Fresno State (6-6, 2-2 MW) returned home from a seven-match road swing last week to defeat Colorado State in four sets (25-19, 25-14, 19-25, 26-24) before grinding out a three-set triumph over Wyoming (29-27, 25-22, 25-23). The Bulldogs and Aztecs faced two common opponents during their respective non-conference schedules. Fresno State edged UC Riverside, 3-2, in their own tournament last month before suffering the identical fate at Kansas State in the Wildcats' home event. Conversely, SDSU fell to K-State, 3-1, at the UCSB Gaucho Invitational before sweeping UCR, 3-0, at the Wildcat Classic in Tucson. Outside hitter Ella Rud was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week on the heels of a double-double (10 kills, 10 digs) vs. Wyoming, which marked the Bulldogs' first sweep of the Cowgirls since 2013. She also contributed nine kills and five digs in their win over CSU. Entering the week, senior outside hitter Desiree Sukhov ranks second in the conference in service aces (0.52/set) while occupying the ninth spot in kills (3.02/set). In addition, junior setter Mikayla Weiss finds herself in the fifth position with an average of 7.74 assists per set, while junior middle blocker Grace Doyle ranks ninth with a .318 hitting percentage. Elsewhere, sophomore Kasey Purry is tied for 10th with an average of 1.00 blocks per set, while junior Julia Handy tops the squad with 2.49 digs per frame followed by Sukhov (2.09/set). Also contributing to the Fresno State fortunes are junior outside hitter Amaria Kelley (2.68 kills/set) and senior outside hitter Savanah Smith (2.53 kills/set). Collectively, the Bulldogs rank third in the Mountain West in service aces (1.86/set) but find themselves in the lower half of the conference for all matches in kills (9th, 11.70/set), assists (9th, 10.91/set), digs (10th, 11.59/set) and hitting percentage (10th, .189). Fresno State is under the direction of fourth-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.

ON THE HORIZON
> Following Thursday's match vs. Fresno State, San Diego State continues its Mountain West slate next week when it travels to the Gem State for a clash with Boise State on Thursday, Oct. 14, before making a trip over to Utah State on Saturday, Oct. 16. The Aztecs-Broncos match is set for a 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT start, while the SDSU-USU encounter is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. MT/noon PT.