SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team reaches the midway point of its Mountain West schedule this week when it battles conference contenders Boise State and Utah State.
The Aztecs will play host to the second-place Broncos on Thursday, Oct. 19, starting at 6 p.m. PT, before traveling to the Beehive State to lock horns with the front-running Aggies on Saturday, Oct. 21, beginning at 1 p.m. MT/noon PT.
In addition to live stats, both contests will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com. Fans can also watch the live action on their smartphones and TVs by downloading the MW app.
Boise State and Utah State are the two Mountain West teams the Aztecs will face once during the regular season.
Thursday's home clash with the Broncos has been designated as Women in Sports Appreciation Night, and free Title IX 50th anniversary water bottles will be distributed to the first 250 fans.
San Diego State will be looking to put the brakes on a four-match losing streak following a narrow 3-2 defeat at Fresno State on Oct. 12 (25-23, 12-25, 25-19, 26-28, 9-15) and a hard-fought four-setter at Nevada ((21-25, 25-22, 14-25, 21-25) two days later.
With their results, the Aztecs (7-12, 2-6 MW) find themselves in a three-way tie for ninth place in the conference standings along with San José State and Nevada.
During SDSU's road trip last weekend, opposite hitter Taylor Underwood combined for 36 kills (4.00/set), while Cara Braun and Julia Haynie launched 19 put-aways each (2.11/set). In addition, defensive specialists McKenna Douglas (3.22) and Bailey Darnell (3.00) averaged three digs or better, with the latter serving up two aces.
Underwood posted her second-highest kill total of the season against Fresno State, leading all players with 21 put-aways, while Braun turned in a clutch performance with a career-high 14 non-returnables, hitting .346 for the match after committing just five errors in 26 attempts. Another reserve, Reagan Merk tied her collegiate best as well with seven kills, finishing behind Haynie, who floored eight shots on the night.
As a team, the Aztecs owned the statistical advantage in kills (60-52) and digs (63-55) but committed 10 more attack errors (29-19) to finish with a .200 hitting percentage, while the Bulldogs registered a .236 efficiency and maintained the edge in team blocks (13.0 to 9.0) and service aces (9-2) to help secure their victory.
In the decisive fifth set, SDSU built a pair of early three-point leads, including a 5-2 advantage, before Fresno State crafted a 5-0 run that put the Bulldogs in front for good at 7-5. The Aztecs cut the margin to one, but the Bulldogs closed with an 8-3 rush to clinch the match.
Against Nevada, the SDSU attack was once again paced by Taylor Underwood, who blasted a match-high 15 kills, while Haynie put away 11 shots, posting a .421 hitting percentage with three errors in 19 attempts. In addition, the Aztecs received a spark off the bench from Mikela Labno, who knocked down nine kills of her own, while Reno native Amber Keen (.385) launched a season-high six non-returnables in her first return to her hometown.
Despite maintaining a 56-49 edge in kills, San Diego State was out-hit .302 to .180 by the Wolf Pack, who held a decisive 15.0 to 2.0 advantage in team blocks and a 9-2 margin in service aces to help fuel their victory.
As of Oct. 18, Underwood ranks 10th in the Mountain West for all matches in kills (3.07/set) and aces (0.34/set), while Fatimah Hall is slotted 10th in assists (5.86/set). In addition, Haynie occupies the fifth position with a .355 hitting percentage, while Douglas ranks eighth in digs (3.57/set).
In conference matches, Underwood (3.54/set) has maintained her hold on the fifth spot in kills, while Douglas is slotted sixth in digs (3.66/set). Elsewhere, Hall (6.23 assists/set) and Haynie (.295 pct.) rank 10th in their respective categories during MW action.
Against Air Force on Oct. 5, Underwood (.481) smashed a career-high 31 kills, which represents the highest figure in the Mountain West this season. Additionally, the Aztec opposite hitter set a school record for put-aways in the rally scoring era (since 2001) and logged the highest kill total by an SDSU player since Martina Vitkova-Engels (37) and Carrie Mapes (33) combined for 70 non-returnables in the Aztecs' five-set triumph over Wyoming in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament during the sideout era on Nov. 25, 1997.
Heading into the weekend, Underwood has surpassed the double-digit kill barrier in seven straight matches, while Douglas has posted 10 or more digs in nine consecutive outings.
Not to be outdone, Underwood's career-high five aces against both Denver and Eastern Washington are tied for the fifth-best output in the conference 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 Hall are the only Aztecs to play all 70 sets this season, while Sarena Gonzalez and Elly Schraeder have just missed four and seven sets, respectively.
Collectively, San Diego State sits among the top of half the conference in two statistics for all matches this week, ranking second in both kills (13.10/set) and assists (12.26/set). In addition, the Aztecs are slotted seventh in hitting percentage (.207), ninth in digs (12/46/set) and 10th in service aces (1.26/set).
SDSU's total of 77 team kills and 75 assists vs. Air Force are the highest single-match totals in the conference so far this season, while its 50 put-aways and 48 helpers at UCSD are tied for the third-best figures in the league for a three-set contest this year.
In MW matches, the Aztecs rank third in assists (12.23/set), fifth in kills (13.00/set) and seventh in digs (12.94/set).
On the national level, the Scarlet and Black occupies the 60th position with 12.26 assists per set and the 67th spot with 13.10 kills per set as of Oct. 18. In the third RPI ratings of the year, San Diego State ranks No. 192 in the nation, one of nine Mountain West teams in the top 200 along with Utah State (24), Colorado State (66), New Mexico (115), Boise State (120), Wyoming (122), Air Force (124), UNLV (126) and San José State (184).
SDSU owns a 4-7 record in matches following a loss this season. In addition, the Aztecs are 1-4 in Thursday contests and 3-5 when playing on a Saturday this year.
Picked to finish sixth in the 2023 Mountain West preseason coaches poll, Boise State (10-2, 6-2 MW) enters Thursday's match in sole possession of second place in the conference standings after splitting a pair of matches last weekend. The Broncos were upended at home by Utah State (22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 20-25) before rebounding with a narrow sweep at San José State (25-23, 25-19, 25-23). Boise State sports a 7-2 record at home this season while combining for a 3-6 mark in road/neutral contests.
Offensively, the Broncos are led by opposite hitter Paige Bartsch, the 2023 preseason choice for MW Player of the Year who tops the league with 4.99 kills per set in all matches, which ranks third in the nation as of Oct. 18. In addition, the Boise State junior is slotted third in the country with a conference-leading 0.64 aces per set. In the MW opener vs. Colorado State on Sept. 21, she served up seven aces, which is tied for the top figure in the league this year before blasting 30 kills against Wyoming two days later.
In addition, the Broncos' fortunes have been bolstered by middle blocker Annie Kaminski (2.15 kills/set), who occupies the eighth spot in the MW with a .319 hitting percentage and ranks 11th with 1.01 blocks per frame, while outside hitter Anabel Kotzakov is averaging over two put-aways per set as well (2.01).
Elsewhere, setter Noelani Helm finds herself among the conference leaders this week, ranking fifth in assists (8.54/set), while libero Breanna Mitchell is slotted sixth in both digs (3.69/set) and service aces (0.36/set)
As a team, Boise State leads the conference in service aces for all matches (1.91/set), which ranks 22nd in the nation entering the weekend. Additionally, the Broncos occupy the third position in the conference in digs for the season (14.69/set) but are just seventh in kills (12.75/set) and eighth in both hitting percentage (.197) and blocks (2.19/set).
However, Boise State has ramped up offensive production in MW play, ranking second in kills (13.32/set) and sixth in hitting percentage (.212) to go with its conference-leading 2.13 aces per set. Additionally, opponents are hitting just .197 against the Broncos in MW matches, marking the third-worst efficiency in the MW.
Head coach Shawn Garus is in his 15th season in charge of the Boise State program, sporting a 370-301 career record and a 255-181 mark at the school. Garus captured back-to-back Mountain West Coach of the Year honors (2015-16) to go with 2016 AVCA Region Coach of the Year accolades.
The Broncos own a slim 12-11 advantage against the Aztecs in a series that dates back to 2005. However, the Aztecs hold a 6-5 edge in 11 matches played in San Diego after posting a 3-1 triumph ((25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21) on Nov. 3, 2022, which gave the Scarlet and Black its first home victory over Boise State since 2017.
Despite a slight deficiency in team blocks (9.0 to 8.0) and service aces (8-7) in that match, SDSU maintained a sizable 55-36 advantage in kills and a 45-27 margin in digs to put the brakes on three-match slide vs. the Broncos.
Among Aztec returners, Heipua Tautua'a surpassed the double-digit kill plateau for the fourth consecutive match with 11 non-returnables, while Madison Corf floored nine shots of her own. In addition, Elly Schraeder (6 kills) tied her career high with eight block assists to lead all players, while Sarena Gonzalez handed out 15 assists.
Prior to facing the Aztecs on Saturday, Utah State will pay a visit to UNLV, The Aggies (14-5, 7-1 MW) have won four straight and have taken over sole possession of first place in the Mountain West after defeating Boise State in four sets on the road (25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 25-20) followed by a sweep at San José State (25-18, 25-20, 25-19). For the season, USU boasts a 7-1 record at home and a combined 7-4 ledger on road/neutral courts.
Offensively, the Aggies have been paced by Shelby Capllonch, who ranks eighth in the MW in both kills (3.15/set) and service aces (0.35/set) for all matches, while fellow outside hitters Tatum Stall (2.72) and Adna Mehmedovic (2.57) are also averaging over two put-aways per set.
Additionally, middle blocker Kennedi Boyd finds herself among the conference leaders, ranking seventh in hitting percentage (.345) while tying teammate Kelsey Watson for the eighth position in blocks (1.07/set). Splitting the setting chores are Leah Wilton-LaBoy (5.14 assists/set) and Beatriz Rodrigues (4.64 assists/set).
Along the back row, libero Kambree Rodriguez garnered MW Freshman and Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 16 after she averaged 4.14 digs per set with 29 total digs and a .942 reception percentage vs. Boise State and San José State. For the season, Rodriguez is slotted seventh in the MW with 3.63 digs per set.
As a team, USU leads the conference with 2.57 blocks per set for all matches, which is good for 27th in the nation as of Oct. 18. The Aggies also occupy the fourth spot in the MW in service aces (1.70/set) and assists (12.06/set) while ranking sixth in both kills (12.88/set) and hitting percentage (.211).
However, opponents are hitting just .170 against USU this season, which is the second-worst efficiency in the league and ranks 45th in the country.
Utah State is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Rob Neilson, who arrived on the Logan campus after serving as the lead assistant coach for the U.S. men's national team from 2017-19. Prior to his stint with Team USA, Neilson spent 10 years on the Brigham Young men's volleyball coaching staff, including the final two as the program's associate head coach in 2014-15. He played collegiately at BYU from 2003-06, starting at setter during the 2005 and 2006 campaigns.
Last July, Neilson and Aztec assistant Melanie Greene served as co-head coaches of a Mountain West traveling squad at the 2023 Global Challenge, held July 13-23 in Europe.
Despite losing four straight to the Aggies, the Aztecs still lead the all-time series 18-11, including a 12-3 mark in San Diego. SDSU dropped a 3-1 decision to Utah State (27-25, 18-25, 18-25, 14-25) at home in the last meeting between the two squads on Nov. 5, 2022.
After posting a .314 hitting percentage in the first set, the Aztecs combined for a .051 efficiency over the final three frames. SDSU was plagued by 25 attack errors, hitting .132 for the match, while the Aggies served up 14 service aces and maintained the statistical advantage in kills (53-40), digs (40-31) and team blocks (12.0 to 8.0) to complete the season sweep.
Among SDSU returners, Corf racked up eight kills in that contest, while Tautua'a launched seven non-returnables of her own. The Aztec cause was also buoyed by Schraeder, Haynie and Jordyn Goldsmith, who totaled four block assists each, while Gonzalez finished with 14 assists for the day.
Following Saturday's clash, San Diego State will return to the road, battling New Mexico on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 6:30 p.m. MT/5:30 p.m. PT, before engaging Air Force on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m. MT/ noon PT. The Aztecs close out the second half of their Mountain West schedule in the inverse order of teams they faced in the first half of their conference slate.
Aztecs to Face MW Front Runners This Week
