SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team opens its season-ending homestand on Thursday, Nov. 18, when it takes on Nevada in a Mountain West match, starting at 7 p.m. PT inside Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.
In addition to live stats, a link to streaming video via the Mountain West Network will be available on GoAztecs.com.
Prior to the Aztecs-Wolf Pack encounter, representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps will be on hand to present head coach Brent Hilliard with the program's AVCA Team Academic for its performance in the classroom during the 2020-21 academic year.
SDSU (7-21, 4-12 MW) will be looking to snap a three-match losing streak after dropping a three-set decision at New Mexico on Nov. 13 (23-25, 23-25, 13-25).
Against the Lobos, senior Victoria O'Sullivan surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau (1,006) in a Scarlet and Black uniform after posting a match-high 15 put-aways. With her performance, the SDSU outside hitter became the seventh Aztec player to record over 1,000 career kills since 2003, joining Deja Harris (1,298; 2014-18), Andrea Hannasch (1,242; 2009-12), Hannah Turnlund (1,123; 2016-19), Raegan Shelton (1,076; 2010-13), Aspen McPartland (1,030; 2001-03) and Lauren Salisbury (1,004; 2007-10).
In addition, O'Sullivan needs just 27 put-aways to reach 400 kills for the season, which would make her just the fourth SDSU player in the Mountain West era (since 1999) to reach that milestone behind McPartland (413; 2003), Alexandra Psoma (407; 2016) and Melanie Greene (404; 2006).
Along with O'Sullivan's output at UNM, the Aztecs received six kills from Jordyn Goldsmith, while Zoi Faki recorded five put-aways of her own and tied for match-high honors with nine digs. Elsewhere, Ashley Vanderpan (16 assists) and Kennedy Feuerborn (10 assists) split the setting duties for the fifth match in a row, while Natalie Smith came up with seven digs.
However, the Lobos out-hit the Aztecs .323 to .123 and maintained the statistical advantage in kills (44-37) and team blocks (9.0 to 3.0). Still, the Aztecs were in prime position after building a pair of late leads in first two sets until UNM rallied to escape on both occasions.
Entering Thursday's contest, the Aztecs occupy the ninth spot in the conference standings with a 4-12 mark and a 7-21 record for the seasons. On the final weekend of the regular season, SDSU finds itself five matches behind sixth-place Boise State (9-7), which is clinging to the final spot in the Mountain West Championship, just ahead of Wyoming (8-8). The top six teams in the conference will qualify for the MW Championship, Nov. 24-26 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For the season, the Aztecs occupy the fifth spot in the conference with 11.64 assists per set while ranking sixth in digs (12.81/set) and seventh in both kills (12.54/set) and hitting percentage (.212). In Mountain West matches, SDSU has fared slightly better offensively, ranking third in assists (11.87/set), fourth in kills (12.84/set) and sixth in hitting percentage (.219).
Individually, O'Sullivan has climbed into the second spot in the league this week with a team-leading 3.73 kills per set, which ranks 90th in the country. In addition, her 373 overall is good for 62nd nationally as of Nov. 17.
On Oct. 28, O'Sullivan launched a collegiate-best 24 kills in a narrow 3-2 setback to Utah State and followed that effort with another 23 put-aways two days later in a four-set defeat to Boise State, which are tied for the third- and fifth-highest single-match totals, respectively, in the conference so far this year. With those efforts, the Aztec senior has also collected over 20 kills in consecutive matches for the first time in her career.
Additionally, O'Sullivan has posted double-digit kills in 23 of her previous 25 starts and has surpassed that barrier in 55 of her last 70 appearances dating back to the start of the 2019 campaign.
Elsewhere, senior Natalie Smith ranks fifth in the Mountain West for all matches with an average of 3.59 digs per set. Smith's 27 digs vs. Houston Baptist on Aug. 27 is tied for the fourth-best showing in the conference this season and is tops for a three-set match. In addition, the SDSU libero posted 22 scoops vs. UC Riverside on Sept. 18, which is tied for the third-best total in a three-set contest.
Fellow classmate Zoi Faki has also provided the Aztecs a boost defensively, with the Pitt transfer posting double-digit digs in seven of her last 11 appearances, including a season-high 13 scoops at Air Force on Nov. 11. During this stretch, the Athens, Greece, native has averaged 2.51 digs per set, compared to a pace of 1.92 digs per frame in her first 12 matches for the Scarlet and Black.
Not to be outdone, Faki has reached double figures in kills in five of her last eight outings, including a career-high 20 non-returnables against Colorado State on Oct. 21.
After winning two encounters with Sacramento State and CSUN at its home tournament in mid-September, Nevada (3-24, 0-16 MW) has fallen on hard times with a winless conference schedule thus far. The Wolf Pack's other victory this season occurred in a 3-0 decision over San Francisco at the UC Davis Tournament on Sept. 4.
Nevada has been swept 12 times in Mountain West play this season, including a 3-0 whitewash (29-27, 25-17, 25-20) at the hands of SDSU in the conference opener for both teams on Sept. 23 in Reno.
The Aztecs survived a strenuous opening set, where the two teams combined for 16 ties and seven lead changes, before the Scarlet and Black pulled away in the final two frames. SDSU limited the Wolf Pack to a minus-.029 hitting percentage over those final two sets to help snap a three-match losing streak in the head-to-head series.
Victoria O'Sullivan tied for match-high honors with nine kills, snapping her streak of nine straight starts with double-digit put-aways. However, the Aztecs shared the wealth offensively, as Julia Haynie recorded eight kills and five block assists, while Heipua Tautua'a and Mikela Labno launched seven non-returnables apiece. Tautua'a displayed her versatility in that contest, finishing with 11 digs, three block assists and a pair of service aces, while Andrea Walker knocked down four kills and came up with four block assists in just her second start of the year.
As a team the Aztecs maintained the statistical advantage in kills (39-31), digs (46-38), team blocks (11.0 to 8.0) and aces (7-4) to help fuel their victory.
Individually, Nevada boasts four players who are averaging over two kills per set, including senior right side Kyla Waiters (2.77), followed by junior middle blocker Sydney Petersen (2.34), freshman outside hitter Sia Liilii (2.16) and sophomore outside hitter Reka Monteleone (2.08).
In addition, senior libero Kaila Spevak occupies the fourth spot in the Mountain West for all matches with 3.62 digs per set, while junior setter Andrea Alcaraz, a native of nearby Poway, ranks fifth with 7.60 assists per frame. Not to be outdone, Peterson finds herself among the conference leaders this week with 1.03 blocks per set.
As a team, the Wolf Pack are eighth in the league in digs (12.63/set) and ninth in blocks (1.98). However, Nevada ranks at the bottom of the MW in kills (10.96/set), hitting percentage (.147) and opponent hitting percentage (.257)
The Aztecs are 12-6 against the Wolf Pack in 18 all-time matches dating back to 2011 but will be looking to snap a two-match slide against Nevada in San Diego after dropping a home series last February during the shortened spring campaign.
Despite SDSU's modest 1-8 record at Peterson Gym this year, three of the Aztecs' last four home matches have been extended to five sets, as the Scarlet and Black held 2-1 leads against Fresno State (Oct. 7), Colorado State (Oct. 21) and Utah State (Oct. 28).
Six of San Diego State's seven victories this season have been recorded when the Aztecs have finished with more kills and digs, as well as a greater hitting percentage.
SDSU has lost four matches this season when posting a better efficiency, with three occurring in five-set defeats. The Aztecs out-hit Sam Houston in their final match of the Bearkat Invitational on Aug. 28 (.230 to .179) before experiencing the same fate at home vs. Fresno State on Oct. 7 (.247 to .201). In addition, San Diego State suffered a 3-2 shaving at home against Utah State on Oct. 28 despite outhitting the Aggies .206 to .146. Two days later, the Aztecs posted a better efficiency vs. Boise State (.255 to .214) but fell short in four sets.
San Diego State has dropped seven matches this year when posting more kills than the opposition, including its last five home encounters vs. UNLV (42-32), Fresno State (62-56), Colorado State (64-62), Utah State (65-46) and Boise State (63-45). The Aztecs also recorded more kills in that five-setter at Sam Houston on Aug. 28 (59-52) and a four-set home defeat to No. 25 San Diego on Sept. 11 (57-49).
The Aztecs are 4-0 when hitting above .300 this season, including a season-high .400 clip in their 3-0 upset at Boise State on Oct. 14. The Scarlet and Black also notched a .384 efficiency in a sweep at UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 3, followed by a .337 pace in a hard-fought whitewash of Air Force on Oct. 2. In addition, SDSU finished with a .303 hitting percentage in a blanking of UC Riverside at the Wildcat Classic.
Following Thursday's clash, San Diego State will close out its regular-season slate on Saturday, Nov. 20, when it plays host to San José State at 1 p.m. PT. Prior to the Aztecs-Spartans showdown, SDSU will hold a special ceremony to highlight Senior Day festivities.