SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team closes out its regular-season slate on Saturday, Nov. 20, when it plays host to San José State, starting at 1 p.m. PT.
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-Spartans encounter, SDSU will conduct its Senior Day festivities, celebrating the accomplishments of Zoi Faki, Natalie Smith, Brooklynn Hill, Ashley Vanderpan, Serena Hodson, Victoria O'Sullivan and Andrea Walker in a special ceremony.
The Aztecs (8-21, 5-12 MW) put the brakes on a three-match slide with a 3-0 whitewash of Nevada (25-18, 25-18, 25-21) at home on Thursday. O'Sullivan led all players with 14 kills, extending her career total to 1,020 put-aways, while Faki launched 11 non-returnables of her own.
In addition, the Scarlet and Black received 20 assists and a career-high five block assists from Kennedy Feuerborn, while Heipua Tautua'a bolstered SDSU's defense with 11 digs.
Collectively, the Aztecs recorded their fourth-highest efficiency of the season with a .323 clip, improving to 5-0 on the season when recording a hitting percentage of .300 or higher. SDSU also held the Wolf Pack to a .194 clip for the match while maintaining the upper hand in kills (45-37), digs (40-34) and team blocks (7.0 to 5.0). Thursday's match marked the seventh time this year in which the Aztecs posted more blocks than their opponent, moving to 4-3 in that scenario.
Entering Saturday's finale, SDSU occupies the ninth spot in the Mountain West standings with a 5-12 mark league play, three matches behind Wyoming and Fresno State, both of which are tied for seventh with an 8-9 ledger. Boise State (10-7) and New Mexico (10-7) clinched the final two berths in the MW Championship, as the top six teams are set to convene in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the conference tournament, Nov. 24-26.
Individually, O'Sullivan occupies the second position in the Mountain West with 3.76 kills per set and ranks third with 387 kills overall. The Aztec outside hitter needs just 13 put-aways on Saturday 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 Aspen McPartland (413; 2003), Alexandra Psoma (407; 2016) and Melanie Greene (404; 2006).
On the national stage, O'Sullivan overall kill total of 387 ranks 55th in the country as of Nov. 19, while her average of 3.76 kills per set is 86th.
On Oct. 28, O'Sullivan recorded a collegiate-best 24 kills in a narrow 3-2 defeat to Utah State and followed that effort with another 23 put-aways two days later in a four-set loss 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.
In the Aztecs' road match at New Mexico on Nov. 13, O'Sullivan surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau in a Scarlet and Black uniform after posting a match-high 15 put-aways. With her effort, the SDSU senior 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), McPartland (1,030; 2001-03) and Lauren Salisbury (1,004; 2007-10).
Additionally, O'Sullivan has posted double-digit kills in 24 of her previous 26 starts and has exceeded that barrier in 56 of her last 71 appearances dating back to the start of the 2019 campaign.
Along with O'Sullivan, libero Natalie Smith ranks fifth in the Mountain West for all matches with an average of 3.57 digs per set. Smith's 27 digs in the season-opener vs. Houston Baptist on Aug. 27 is tied for the fourth-best showing in the league this year 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.
Despite missing the last six matches, setter Noa Miller still ranks seventh in the conference with 6.01 assists per set.
Elsewhere, Faki has provided the Aztecs a boost defensively, with the Pitt transfer posting double-digit digs in seven of her last 12 appearances, including a season-high 13 scoops at Air Force on Nov. 11. During this stretch, the Athens, Greece, native has averaged 2.46 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 six of her last nine outings, including a career-high 20 non-returnables against Colorado State on Oct. 21.
For the season, the Aztecs occupy the fifth spot in the conference with 11.72 assists per set while ranking seventh in kills (12.61/set), hitting percentage (.215) and digs (12.82). In Mountain West matches, SDSU has fared better offensively, ranking second in assists (11.98/set), third in kills (12.94/set) and sixth in hitting percentage (.224).
Seven of San Diego State's eight 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 five of its last six 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).
Meanwhile, San José State (18-9, 12-5 MW) has clinched a spot in the Mountain West Championship despite falling at UNLV on Thursday in three sets (25-27, 23-25, 14-25). Despite the loss, the Spartans find themselves in third place in the conference standings, one match ahead of the Rebels, who host Nevada on Saturday.
SJSU is 8-7 this year away from its home floor, including a 1-1 mark in neutral-site matches. Conversely, the Spartans have racked up a 10-2 mark in Silicon Valley, including a 3-0 sweep (20-25, 21-25, 16-25) over the Aztecs on Sept. 25.
The teams combined for 26 ties and 11 lead changes in a tight battle. However, SDSU was out-hit .412 to .257, 7, as SJSU committed just eight attack errors for the day, knocking down 43 kills on 85 attempts to go with seven service aces to help spark its win.
Victoria O'Sullivan led the Scarlet and Black with 11 kills and hit at a .360 clip, while Jordyn Goldsmith recorded nine put-aways of her own while posting a .389 efficiency.
In addition, the Aztec cause was advanced by Andrea Walker, who tied for match-high honors with three blocks assists, while Noa Miller (17 assists) and Ashley Vanderpan (10 assists) split the setting duties.
However, SDSU could not contain the tandem of Haylee Nelson and Latahevai Lousi, who combined for 29 of San José State's 43 kills. Nelson led all players with 18 put-aways and hit .630, committing just one error on 27 attempts, while Lousi launched 11 non-returnables of her own and recorded two miscues on 22 swings for a .409 efficiency.
Despite the loss, the Aztecs still lead the all-time series 22-14 in 36 varsity meetings since 1977. San Diego State sports a 12-4 record at home vs. SJSU, a 7-10 mark in San Jose and a 3-0 ledger on a neutral floor. Since San José State' joined the Mountain West in 2013, the Aztecs have posted a 7-7 record against the Spartans, including a 4-2 mark in San Diego.
Individually, SJSU has three players among the Mountain West top 10 list in kills this week, led by senior opposite hitter Haylee Nelson, who ranks fifth with 3.41 put-aways per set, just ahead of junior outside hitter Amethyst Harper (6th, 3.37/set) and senior outside hitter Latahevai Lousi (7th, 3.34/set).
Not to be outdone, sophomore setter Mia Schafer finds herself atop the conference perch with 10.44 assists per set, which ranks 42nd nationally, while senior libero Sarah Smevog has taken over the top spot in the league with 4.46 digs per set, which is 89th in the country. Smevog, who ranks fifth in Spartan history with 1,227 career digs, picked up her third MW Defensive Player of the Week award of the season on Nov. 15.
As a team, SJSU leads the conference with 15.25 digs and 12.15 assists per set, while ranking second in kills (13.11/set) and service aces (1.89/set), the latter of which is 16th in the country entering Saturday's contest.
The Spartans boast three players from San Diego County on their roster, including Schafer (La Costa Canyon HS), sophomore middle blocker Allyson Alden (San Marcos HS) and junior middle blocker Yazmin Pitpit (Scripps Ranch HS).
San Diego State has won nine of its last 11 Senior Day matches, including a 3-0 sweep of Colorado State during the shortened 2021 spring season.