SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team continues its road swing on Saturday, Oct. 1, when it ventures to the Silver State for a showdown with UNLV, starting at 1 p.m. PT inside Cox Pavilion.
After dropping its MW opener at home to San José State on Sept. 22, the Aztecs (4-10, 2-1 MW) have won two straight matches and find themselves tied for third in the conference standings with the Rebels, Boise State and Utah State.
SDSU is coming off its first sweep of the season on Tuesday with a 3-0 whitewash (25-18, 25-21, 25-21) at Fresno State. Collectively, the Aztecs posted their highest hitting percentage of the 2022 campaign with a .349 clip, maintaining a 42-38 advantage in kills to go with a season-best 10 service aces to complete their first sweep in Fresno since 1996.
Individually, SDSU was led by Mikela Labno's 12 kills, while McKenna Douglas set a career-high with five service aces. In addition, the Aztecs received nine kills and two blocks assists from Kayla Rivera, while Julia Hayne (2 block assists) notched a collegiate-best .636 hitting percentage after launching seven non-returnables of her own in 11 swings without an error.
Despite sitting out the third set against Fresno State, freshman Madison Corf still leads the team with 2.51 kills per set, tying Heipua Tautua'a (2.41/set) for the top spot with 118 put-aways overall, while Labno (2.33/set) and Rivera (2.13) are also averaging over two non-returnables per frame.
In addition, Douglas has moved into the fifth position among the Mountain West leaders in service aces (0.38/set), while Haynie occupies the sixth spot with a .341 hitting percentage. Elsewhere, Elly Schraeder is slotted seventh in the conference this week in blocks (1.02/set).
As a team, San Diego State ranks sixth in the league in assists (11.58/set) and seventh in kills (12.33/set).
Aztec setter Noa Miller's six service aces against UC San Diego on Aug. 27 is tied for the second-highest total in the Mountain West this season, while Rivera's .647 hitting percentage (12-1-17) vs. Pepperdine on Sept. 3 is tied for the third-best efficiency in the conference thus far.
In addition, Douglas' 26 digs vs. Nevada on Sept. 24 mark the fifth-best total in a four-set match this season in the Mountain West, while Schraeder's nine overall blocks vs. Army West Point on Aug. 27 is also tied for the fifth-highest figure in the league this year.
On the other hand, UNLV (11-3, 2-1 MW) posted its own 3-0 sweep of Fresno State (25-19, 25-17, 25-21) at home on Thursday night. The Rebels out-hit the Bulldogs .327 to .127 and held the statistical advantage in kills (46-31) and team blocks (7.0 to 5.0) to help fuel their win.
Individually, junior outside hitter Isabel Martin (.300) and junior right-side hitter Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos (.417, 3 aces) led the UNLV attack with 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while senior setter Jhenna Gabriel handed out 33 assists.
For the season, Gabriel leads the Mountain West in assists (10.51/set), which is good for 29th in the country, while Martin (4.00/set) and Arretche-Ramos (3.52/set) rank third and fifth in the conference in kills, respectively.
In addition, freshman libero Maya Sands (4th, 3.86 digs/set; 4th, 0.39 aces/set), sophomore middle blocker Dakota Quinlan (7th, .319 pct.) and junior middle blocker Jordyn Freeman, a Rancho Bernardo High graduate (10th, .299 pct), also find themselves among the conference leaders entering the weekend.
Collectively, the Rebels are perched atop the Mountain West in assists (12.92/set) and kills (13.75/set), which rank 18th and 27th in the nation, respectively. Additionally, UNLV finds itself among the top half of the conference in hitting percentage (3rd, .245), opponent hitting percentage (3rd, .190), digs (4th, 13.63/set), blocks (4th, 2.21/set).
The Aztecs lead the all-time series vs. the Rebels 29-25 since the two programs first met in 1985.
SDSU has emerged victorious in two of its last three trips to Vegas, including last season when it overcame a 2-1 deficit to record a dramatic 3-2 triumph (25-22, 16-25, 11-25, 25-23, 15-11). Despite trailing in every statistical category, the Aztecs posted more team blocks (5.0 to 1.0) over the final two sets while benefiting from nine UNLV attack errors overall and five wayward serves during that span to help key their comeback.
Among SDSU returners, Tautua'a flashed her versatility with eight kills, 12 digs and a team-high three block assists, while Haynie contributed six kills, four digs, and assisted on two other rejections.
In the fifth and deciding set, the teams combined for five ties and four lead changes before Tautua'a and Haynie combined on a block during a pivotal 3-0 run that gave the Scarlet and Black a 9-6 lead it would not relinquish. Tautua'a also came up big defensively in the final frame with five of her digs.
The Rebels have played just four matches at Cox Pavilion this season, posting a 3-1 record on their home floor and a combined 8-2 ledger in road/neutral contests.
UNLV is guided by Dawn Sullivan, who enters her fifth season as head coach after spending 13 years as an assistant at Iowa State, including the last six as associate coach. Last season, the Kansas State alumna directed the Rebels to a 28-9 overall record, culminating in a postseason title at the National Invitational Volleyball Championships (NIVC). Following the spring 2021 campaign, Sullivan was named Mountain West Coach of the Year after leading UNLV to the conference championship with a 12-0 mark and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Sullivan's career record stands at 94-36.
Following Saturday's encounter, SDSU returns to the road for a pair of matches next week at Utah State (Oct. 6) and Boise State (Oct. 8).
Aztecs Set for Saturday Showdown at UNLV
