Aztecs Continue MW Slate at CSU, Wyoming

SAN DIEGO – After a brief respite on The Mesa, the San Diego State volleyball team returns to the road this week when it travels to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains to battle Colorado State and Wyoming in a pair of Mountain West matches.
 
The Aztecs will lock horns with the Rams in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Thursday, Sept. 28, beginning at 7 p.m. MT (6 p.m. PT), before continuing north to Laramie, Wyoming, for a clash with the Cowgirls on Saturday, Sept. 30, starting at 7:30 p.m. MT (6:30 p.m. PT).
 
In addition to live stats, both contests will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network on GoAztecs.com and on the MW app.
 
SDSU split its first two conference showdowns last week, dropping a hard-fought 3-2 nail-biter at UNLV on Sept. 19, before regrouping to defeat San José State in four sets on Sept. 23 in its lone scheduled home contest over a nine-match span from Sept. 7-30.
 
With their results, the Aztecs (6-7, 1-1 MW) find themselves tied for fifth in the conference this week, one match ahead of Colorado State and Wyoming, both of which are off to 0-2 starts in MW play.
 
Against the Spartans, the Aztec attack was paced by Taylor Underwood, who hit .321 for the match, smashing 13 kills on 28 attempts with four errors, while Mikela Labno reached double figures in that category as well with 10 put-aways of her own.
 
Neither side hit very well last Saturday, with SJSU maintaining a slight advantage in that statistical category (.194 to .180). After an opening set that witnessed the Scarlet and Black muster only eight kills against eight attack errors in 34 swings, SDSU hit .242 the rest of the way to pull out the win.
 
As of Sept. 26, middle blocker Julia Haynie ranks third in the Mountain West with a .397 hitting percentage, while Underwood is also slotted third in service aces (0.41/set).
 
Likewise, libero McKenna Douglas (3.38 digs/set) and setter Fatimah Hall (5.52 assists/set) are slotted 10th in the MW in their respective statistical categories.
 
Collectively, the Aztecs find themselves among the top of half the conference in several categories, ranking fourth in both kills (12.86/set) and assists (11.95) while occupying the fifth position in hitting percentage (.214) and service aces (1.57/set). On the national level, SDSU ranks 98th in both assists and kills per set.
 
The Aztecs' total of 50 team kills at UCSD are tied for second-highest total in the conference thus far for a three-set match. Similarly, SDSU's 48 overall assists in that same contest are also tied for the second-best number for a three-set match.

Individually, Underwood's career-high five aces against both Denver and Eastern Washington are tied for the fourth-best performance in the Mountain West this season, while Hall's 47 assists vs. Cal State Fullerton in the season opener are tied for the fifth-highest total in a four-set match.
 
Underwood, Douglas and Fatimah Hall are the only Aztecs to play all 44 sets this season, while Corf and Heipua Tautua'a have missed just one set apiece.
 
SDSU is 2-3 following a victory this season. In addition, the Aztecs are 1-1 in Thursday matches and 2-3 when playing on a Saturday this year.
 
Picked to finish third in the 2023 Mountain West preseason coaches poll, Colorado State (6-7, 0-2 MW) dropped a pair of matches in its conference-opening road trip, losing a 3-2 nail-biter at Boise State (17-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-20, 12-15) before falling in four sets at Utah State (20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 13-25).
 
The Rams posted a 6-5 mark in non-conference play, highlighted by victories over then-No. 10 Kentucky (3-1) at home on Aug. 25 and at intrastate rival Colorado (3-2) on Sept. 14.
 
CSU is led by junior Malaya Jones, who ranks 10th the MW as of Sept. 26 with 3.20 kills per set, while senior Annie Sullivan (2.69) and Kennedy Stanford (2.41) are also averaging over two put-aways per frame.
 
In addition, senior Emery Herman finds herself among the conference leaders, ranking third in assists (9.40/set), while sophomore Katie Yoshimoto is slotted ninth in digs (3.40/set).
 
Collectively, the Rams occupy the third spot in the league with a .270 hitting percentage for all matches and rank sixth in both kills (12.45/set) and assists (11.43/set). In addition, CSU is slotted eighth in both digs (12.52) and blocks (1.93/set) but ranks last in opponent hitting percentage (.259) and service aces (1.24/set).
 
The Rams are under the guidance of first-year head coach Emily Kohan, who was elevated to the position after spending seven seasons as an assistant with CSU program, including the last four as associate head coach. With Kohan on staff, the Rams qualified for postseason play on five occasions and captured four Mountain West titles while boasting 32 all-conference players.
 
Prior to her arrival in Fort Collins, Kohan served a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Oregon State from 2012-15. She was a four-year captain at Iowa during her playing career (2005-08), earning her bachelor's degree in business administration in 2009.  
 
Despite trailing the all-time series to Colorado State 48-18, San Diego State emerged victorious in its last visit to Moby Arena with a thrilling 3-2 triumph (23-25, 25-19, 26-28, 25-20, 15-12) in the first round of the 2022 Mountain West Championship.
 
In that contest, the sixth-seeded Aztecs were out-blocked (11.0 to 10.0) and committed more attack errors (30-21) but still managed to out-hit the No. 3 seed Rams .226 to .217 while owning a 67-55 spread in kills and a 9-3 edge in service aces to record their first win in Fort Collins since the 2013 campaign, a span of eight matches.
 
Individually, SDSU received double-digit kills from three returning players, including Madison Corf, who tied for match-high honors with 17 kills, followed by Elly Schraeder (14) and Heipua Tautua'a (10). Tautua'a logged her seventh double-double of the season after finishing with a career-high 23 digs, while Corf also completed the same feat with 13 scoops of her own.
 
At the net, Schraeder tied for team-high honors with five blocks, including a solo stop, while Haynie served up three aces to go with a seven-kill effort.
 
In the decisive fifth set, the Aztecs were seemingly in cruise control after racing to a 5-1 lead, highlighted by a Tautua'a solo block along with put-aways by Schraeder and Corf. However, CSU fashioned a 10-5 blitz, nosing in front 11-10 on a kill followed by a wayward Aztec attack.
 
Undaunted, the Scarlet and Black met the moment, as Schraeder took matters into her own hands with three late kills and a block assist, while Tautua'a added another solo rejection during a strong 5-1 closing run, which thrust the Aztecs into the semifinal round.
After posting an unblemished 11-0 record in non-conference action, Wyoming (11-2, 0-2 MW) came up empty in its first two Mountain West matches on the road, falling to Utah State in a 3-2 setback (18-25, 25-23, 15-25, 28-26, 6-15) before suffering a four-set defeat at Boise State (17-25, 22-25, 25-17, 18-25).
 
The Cowgirls and Aztecs faced one common opponent during their respective non-conference schedules, as each posted 3-0 sweeps over Eastern Washington. Wyoming defeated the Eagles (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) at the University of Portland Invitational on Sept. 9, while SDSU replicated the feat (25-21, 25-19, 25-14) on Sept. 16 at the Gonzaga Tournament in Spokane, Washington.
 
Multiple Cowgirl players are listed among the Mountain West leaders this week for all matches, including the duo of outside hitter Rylee Schulz (3.32) and middle blocker Tierney Barlow (3.22), who are slotted seventh and eighth in kills per set, respectively. Additionally, Barlow ranks second in hitting percentage (.406), fifth in blocks (1.18/set) and ninth in service aces (0.34/set).
 
Not to be outdone, setter Kasia Partyka tops the conference in assists (11.28/set), which ranks fourth in the nation as of Sept. 26, while libero Skylar Erickson is slotted eighth in the MW in digs (3.42/set).
 
As a team, Wyoming leads the league in assists (13.06/set) and kills (13.84/set), which rank 11th and 23rd in the country, respectively, entering the week. In addition, the Cowgirls occupy second position in hitting percentage (.270) and are slotted fifth in both digs (14.04/set) and blocks (2.43/set).
 
Wyoming is under the direction of first-year head coach Kaylee Prigge, who was promoted to her position after serving four seasons as an assistant with the Cowgirls, including the last two as associate head coach.
 
Prior to her tenure in Laramie, Prigge was an assistant for two years at Illinois Chicago in 2017 and 2018 after spending two stints at her alma mater, the University of Tampa (2013 and 2015-17). She is the daughter of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter.
 
San Diego State leads the all-time series against Wyoming 37-25 in 62 encounters since 1984. The Aztecs snapped a seven-match slide to the Cowgirls with a compelling 3-1 slugfest (31-29, 20-25, 25-17, 26-24) last season for their first victory in Laramie since 2012, a span of 10 meetings.
 
Among SDSU returners, the Scarlet and Black cause was aided by aided by Corf's 11-kill performance, while Tautua'a and Haynie recorded 10 put-aways each.
 
Haynie hit .474 for the day, committing just one error in 19 attempts to go with three blocks, including a solo rejection, while Mikela Labno (9 kills) compiled a .319 efficiency and contributed a career-high four block assists.
 
Not to be outdone, Sarena Gonzalez set a personal-best with 31 assists, while Schraeder came up huge defensively with seven total blocks.
 
As a team, SDSU posted more blocks (12.0 to 6.0) and maintained a slight edge in kills (62-61) while out-hitting Wyoming .312 to .279.
 
The two sides combined for 38 ties and 17 lead changes for the match, as the Aztecs gave themselves some much-needed momentum during a valiant 13-6 closing run in the opening set to overcome a seemingly insurmountable 23-18 deficit.
 
Cowgirl outside hitter Rylee Schulz hails from San Diego County, graduating from Carlsbad High School in 2022.
 
Following Saturday's visit to Wyoming, San Diego State returns to "America's Finest City" for a pair of home matches against Air Force (Oct. 5) and New Mexico (Oct. 7).