SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State volleyball team opens its highly anticipated 2024 season this weekend when it travels to the Gateway of the Northwest for the Idaho State Tournament, Aug. 30-Sept. 1, at Reed Gym in Pocatello Idaho.
The Aztecs commence tournament play on Friday when they square off against the host Bengals in an early-evening clash, beginning at 6 p.m. PT, before locking horns with CSUN and Seattle on successive days. Saturday’s encounter with the Matadors is scheduled to get underway noon PT, while Sunday’s finale is slated for a 9 a.m. PT start.
Along with live stats, all tournament matches will air live on ESPN+ via subscription basis, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com.
FOR OPENERS
> San Diego State’s record stands at 24-24 in season openers since the program attained varsity status in 1976. The ISU Tournament represents the Aztecs’ fifth season-opening event on the road in the last 10 years, following the 2015 USF Invitational in San Francisco, Calif., the 2019 FGCU Homewood Suites Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., the 2021 Sam Houston Bearkat Invitational in Huntsville, Texas and the 2023 Rose City Showdown in Portland, Ore. Additionally, the Scarlet and Black opened an abbreviated 2021spring slate with a pair of conference matches at UNLV after the 2020 fall schedule was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
> SDSU emerged victorious in its season opener last year, defeating Cal State Fullerton in four sets (21-25, 25-19, 30-28, 25-16) at the Rose City Showdown. The Aztecs maintained the statistical advantage in kills (58-40), digs (69-60) and total blocks (14.5-10.0) to help key their fifth-straight victory over the Titans. In addition, the SDSU defense held Fullerton to a .090 hitting percentage for the afternoon, including a minus-.179 clip in the decisive fourth set.
> Among Aztec returners, Taylor Underwood blasted 14 kills to tie for match-high honors, while Madison Corf launched 12 non-returnables of her own. Elsewhere, Fatimah Hall dished out a match-high 47 assists, completing a double-double with 12 digs in her collegiate debut, while McKenna Douglas anchored the SDSU back row with 21 scoops.
SERIES RECORDS
> The Aztecs have won both previous meetings against Idaho State, posting a pair of three-set sweeps in the rally scoring era at Cal State Fullerton’s Mikasa Collegiate Preview in 1988 (15-6, 15-8, 15-4) and SDSU’s own ASICS Grand Prix tournament in 1993 (15-11, 15-2, 16-14).
> The Aztecs boast a 21-8 record against current members of the Big Sky Conference, including an unblemished 5-0 mark against Eastern Washington, whom the Scarlet and Black will face at the Gonzaga Tournament on Sept. 21. In addition, SDSU is 4-1 all-time against Portland State, whom it will face in the second match of the San Diego State Invitational on Sept. 6.
> Last season, the Aztecs split two matches against those aforementioned Big Sky opponents, dropping a three-set decision to Portland State at the Vikings’ own Rose City Showdown before reversing their fate with a whitewash of Eastern Washington at the Gonzaga Tournament.
> San Diego State has won 11 of 15 all-time meetings against CSUN in a series that was launched in 1985. However, the two sides have not faced one another since 2017 when the Matadors claimed a three-set triumph in the final match of the Aztec Invitational.
> SDSU is 169-113 against current Big West schools in program history, including a 2-1 mark last season. The Aztecs defeated Cal State Fullerton and UC San Diego sandwiched around a home loss to UC Santa Barbara.
> San Diego State owns a 4-0 record against Seattle, featuring a five-set thriller in the last meeting between the two squads at the 2018 Aztec Invitational.
> The Redhawks are one of two teams SDSU has faced in the current alignment of the Western Athletic Conference. The Aztecs suffered a three-set defeat to Grand Canyon at the 2019 GCU Invitational.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> Idaho State posted an 8-20 record during the 2023 campaign, tying Eastern Washington for seventh place in the Big Sky with a 6-10 mark in conference play. The Bengals registered a 4-8 record at home last season and a combined 4-12 ledger in road/neutral matches. Last week, ISU was pegged for an eighth-place finish in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll. ISU is led by senior Jamie Streit, who ranked eighth in the conference last year with a team-high 3.31 kills per set (278 overall) while occupying the third spot on the squad with 2.49 digs per frame (217 overall). The Bengal outside hitter logged six double-doubles in 2023, including a 26-kill, 14-dig performance in a home loss to EWU. Streit also collected a season-high 18 digs in a road victory at Portland State. In addition, ISU welcomes back senior setter Aliyah Sopo’aga and sophomore middle blocker Marci (Richins) Bell. Sopo’aga ranked fifth in the Big Sky last season with 7.48 assists per set (636 overall), while Bell was slotted sixth with 1.05 blocks per frame (88 overall). Additionally, Bell totaled 36 block solos, which ranked third in the league. Along the back row, Aliyah’s twin sister Asiah Sopo’aga occupied the fourth spot on the team in 2023 with 2.48 digs per set (233 overall) while contributing 56 setting assists and service aces. Collectively, the Bengals ranked third in the Big Sky last season in digs (15.22/set) and fourth in blocks (2.24/set) but were just sixth in kills (12.28/set) and eighth in hitting percentage. ISU is guided by head coach Sean Carter, who enters his third season at the helm of the Bengal program after spending the previous eight years as associate head coach at Wichita State.
> CSUN was picked to finish ninth in the Big West preseason coaches poll released on Aug. 21. The Matadors are under the direction of first-year head coach Aquiles Montoya, who arrives in the San Fernando Valley after spending the previous four seasons as associate head coach and director of recruiting at Portland State. In 2023, CSUN placed 10th in the Big West with a 4-14 mark against conference foes, posting a 6-23 record overall. Last season, the Matadors finished with a 3-7 mark at home and a combined 3-16 in road/neutral matches. CSUN went 1-3 against a pair of Mountain West opponents, splitting a home-and-away series against Fresno State sandwiched between a pair of losses to San José State in separate tournaments at the Santa Clara/SJSU Invitational and the USF Challenge. Individually, opposite hitter Leah Miller is the Matadors’ top returning threat after ranking second on the squad with 2.30 kills per set (260 overall) and 0.50 blocks per frame (56 overall). In addition, sophomore Taylor Dunlap is CSUN’s lone returning setter after finishing second on the team with 4.36 assists per set (253 overall) while contributing 59 digs and 10 service aces. Elsewhere, middle blocker Iye Okolo is back in the mix after collecting 53 blocks, including 11 solo stops, the latter of which ranked second on the squad. As a team last season, the Matadors were slotted eighth in the Big West in kills (11.60/set), hitting percentage (.176) and blocks (1.90/set).
> Like CSUN, Seattle also welcomes a new head coach in Don Behnke, who moved to the Emerald City after serving four seasons in the same capacity at Division II Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington. The Redhawks were picked to finish last in the 2024 Western Athletic Conference preseason coach poll announced on Aug. 23. Nevertheless, senior outside hitter Arianna Bilby was named to the preaseason all-WAC team after ranking third in the conference last year with 3.56 kills per set (345 overall). She also finished second in the WAC and 32nd in the nation with 11.01 attacks per set while recording 11 double-doubles to go with a trio of all-tournament team selections. Also back in the mix are sophomore setter Elif Teksoy and senior libero Katlyn Sipes, who finished among the league leaders during the 2023 campaign. Teksoy ranked fifth with 8.90 assists per set (863 overall), while Sipes was slotted 10th with 3.30 digs per frame (294 overall). The Redhawks also return their top middle from a year ago in junior Marley Hardgrave, who collected a team-high 78 blocks (0.82), including 12 solo rejections, while contributing 134 kills (1.41/set). Collectively, Seattle ranked sixth in the WAC last season in blocks (2.01/set) but finished 10th in hitting percentage (.160) and 11th in kills (10.58/set).
UNDERWOOD EARNS PRESEASON ALL-MW HONORS
> San Diego State junior Taylor Underwood was named to the seven-player all-Mountain West preseason volleyball team in a vote of the league’s 11 head coaches on Aug. 14.
> A 2023 transfer from DePaul, Underwood made a huge splash in her first year on The Mesa, earning first-team all-MW honors after finishing sixth in the league with 3.38 kills and 3.88 points per set against conference foes during the regular season.
> The Norco, California, native compiled double-digit kill totals in 16 of 18 MW matches and led the Aztecs with 20 service aces (0.28/set) vs. MW opponents.
> In a home match against Air Force, Underwood (.481) smashed a career-high 31 kills, which marked the third-highest figure in the conference during the 2023 campaign. 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 victory over Wyoming in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament during the sideout era on Nov. 25, 1997.
> For all matches, Underwood led the Aztecs with 3.12 kills per set, surpassing the double-digit plateau in that statistic in 20 of 29 contests. She also ranked sixth in the MW with an average of 0.35 services per set (37 overall) during the regular season.
> Earlier in the year, Underwood served up a career-high five aces in a pair of victories over Denver and Eastern Washington, which was tied for the sixth-best output in the conference last season. She was one of just three players to appear in all 107 sets for the Scarlet and Black last year and was the lone Aztec to start all 29 matches.
WELCOME BACK
> Along with Underwood, the Aztecs return 10 additional letterwinners this season, including fellow juniors Madison Corf and McKenna Douglas.
> After receiving all-MW honorable mention as a freshman, Corf was slowed by an ankle injury in 2023, missing five matches after making 16 consecutive starts to begin the year. Still, the Aztec outside hitter ranked second on the team with 213 kills and 2.57 kills per set while occupying the fourth spot with 34 total blocks.
> For the season, Corf posted 10 or more kills in eight matches and was slotted fourth on the squad with 34 blocks while ranking fifth with 74 digs.
> Corf logged her best efficiency of the year against UC San Diego at the Tritons’ home tournament, hitting at a .565 clip with a match-high 14 kills against one error in 23 attempts.
> Douglas returns to anchor SDSU’s back row after finishing third in the MW with 3.83 digs per set in conference matches. The Aztec libero was also slotted fifth in the league with 3.72 digs per set for all 29 matches (398 overall) and ranked third on the squad with 66 setting assists while serving up 17 aces.
> Also back in the mix for SDSU is the setting duo of Fatimah Hall and Sarena Gonzalez.
> As a freshman, Hall led the Scarlet and Black with 627 assists and 5.86 assists per set, which ranked 10th in the Mountain West. She was also slotted third on the team with 129 digs while occupying the fourth spot with 1.79 digs per set.
> A native of Long Beach, California, Hall compiled five double-doubles on the year (assists-digs) and surpassed the 20-assist plateau on 17 occasions.
> Hall enjoyed an impressive collegiate debut in 2023 against Cal State Fullerton at the Rose City Showdown where she racked up a career-high 47 assists and four kills while adding 12 digs and one block assist in the season-opening victory over the Titans.
> Meanwhile, Gonzalez played in 28 matches with six starts, averaging 4.94 assists and 1.37 digs in the Aztecs’ 6-2 rotation. She also broke the 20-assist barrier in 11 appearances.
> Gonzalez contributed to the Aztecs’ whitewash of Denver at the UCSD Invitational where she recorded season highs of 28 assists and two service aces to go with a career-high two kills.
> Additionally, the Aztecs are looking for the continued development of middle blockers, Kat Cooper, Campbell Hague and Amber Keen.
> Cooper was slowed by an injury during her sophomore season in 2023, appearing in just 14 matches with nine starts. The Springdale, Arkansas, native tied her career high with five blocks (1 solo) in SDSU’s season-opening victory over Cal State Fullerton before finishing the year with 48 kills (1.30/set), 22 blocks (0.59/set) and 10 digs (0.27/set) across 37 sets.
> As a freshman last season, Hague played in 54 sets across 18 matches primarily as a reserve, compiling 71 kills (1.31/set), 13 block assists and 11 digs. The Cheney, Kansas, native totaled a career-high eight kills and four digs in the Aztecs’ 3-1 victory at Wyoming, helping the Scarlet and Black defeat the Cowgirls in Laramie for the second year in a row.
> Meanwhile, Keen earned a starting assignment in six of 14 matches during her rookie campaign in 2023, racking up 38 kills (1.06/set) and 24 blocks (0.67) across 36 sets. She hit .296 for the season, finishing without an attack error in seven matches while recording at least one block assist in nine different contests.
> Rounding out the list of Aztec veterans are Mikela Labno, Cara Braun and Natalie Hughes.
> An outside hitter, Labno came off the bench in 26 matches as a junior last season, ranking fifth on the team in kills (151) and kills per set (1.86). She also surpassed the double-digit kill plateau on six occasions while contributing 36 digs, 21 total blocks and four assists across 81 sets.
> Braun played seven matches as a reserve in her first tour of duty with the Scarlet and Black, posting 28 kills (1.65/set), three digs and two blocks across 17 sets. The SDSU outside hitter set career highs with 14 kills and a .346 hitting percentage while adding a block assist in a tough five-set loss at eventual Mountain West tournament champion Fresno State.
> Meanwhile, Hughes saw limited action as well in 2023, appearing in eight matches with seven kills, three block assists and one dig.
NEW KIDS IN TOWN
> The prospects for the San Diego State volleyball program continue to improve after head coach Brent Hilliard retooled the Aztec roster with another stellar newcomer class for the 2024 campaign.
> SDSU’s early signing class last November featured UConn transfer Jasmine Davis along with prep standout Talea Mitchell (Goodyear, Ariz.), while another Division I transfer Shea Rubright joined the program at the semester break after two seasons at Washington State.
> During the spring and summer, the Aztecs inked two additional transfers in setter Andrea Campos (Villanova) and defensive specialist Keira Herron (Oregon State) while securing another high school star in Gianna Bender (Hudsonville, Mich.).
> An outside hitter, Davis enjoyed four productive seasons at UConn (2019-22), where she posted 897 kills (2.62/set), 830 digs (2.43/set), 151.0 blocks (0.40/set) and 91 service aces (0.20/set) while completing 22 double-doubles (kills-digs).
> As a junior in 2021, Davis enjoyed her finest campaign with the Huskies, logging career highs of 337 kills (2.74/set), 305 digs (2.48/set) and 68.0 blocks to lift the Huskies to a 24-11 overall record and a Final Four appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
> Rubright brings a wealth of experience with her to The Mesa as a middle blocker after competing for nationally ranked programs at Minnesota (2019-21) and Washington State (2022-23).
> A heavily decorated prep star at West Valley High School in Yakima, Washington, Rubright was a two-time state Gatorade Player of the Year and twice earned Columbia Basin/Big Nine Conference Player of the Year honors before receiving first-team Under Armour All-America recognition.
> As a senior, Rubright led her Rams squad to the Washington 4A state championship, posting 340 kills (4.3/set), a .505 hitting percentage, 78 blocks (1.0/set) and 47 aces (0.6/set), according to MaxPreps. She was listed as the No. 12 recruit nationally by PrepVolleyball.com and was invited to play in the Under Armour All-America match in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship.
> Meanwhile, Campos arrives on The Mesa to bolster the Aztecs’ setting corps after starting 58 of 79 matches at Villanova from 2020-23. The Pacific Palisades native finished her East Coast tenure with the ninth-best assist total in program history, dishing out 2,103 helpers to go with 497 digs and 70 service aces.
> During 2023 campaign, Campos started all 31 matches, ranking second in the Big East with a team-high 1,161 assists (9.84/set), which was slotted 47th nationally. She also occupied the third position on the squad in service aces (37, 0.31/set) while ranking fourth in digs (241, 2.04/set) and fifth in blocks (28, 0.24/set).
> Last season, Campos set a career high with 59 assists in a five-set thriller over Milwaukee at the Western Michigan Tournament and racked up over 50 helpers in back-to-back home victories over Seton Hall (52) and St. John’s (53).
> Elsewhere, Mitchell will provides additional depth at middle blocker, while Bender and Herron support the
Aztecs’ back-row efforts.
> A graduate of Millennium High School in Goodyear, Arizona, Mitchell received AVCA All-America honorable mention and all-Region 9 honors following her senior season, capped by a third consecutive state runner-up finish. She also garnered first-team all-Conference 5A accolades and was named the 5A Desert West Section co-Offensive Player of the Year after leading her squad with a .429 hitting percentage while ranking third with 244 kills.
> Bender earned second-team AVCA All-America honors following her senior season after leading Michigan’s Hudsonville High to a 45-3 overall record, as the Eagles finished with a No. 1 state and No. 19 national ranking, according to MaxPreps. She also garnered all-state, all-region and all-conference accolades after racking up 635 digs (5.3/set) during the 2023 campaign.
ON THE HORIZON
> Following the Idaho State Tournament, the Aztecs return home next weekend to play host to the San Diego State Invitational, Sept. 5-7, inside Peterson Gym. The Aztecs will open the event on Thursday with clash against DePaul, followed by Friday night encounter with Portland State. Both matchers are set to begin at 6 p.m. PT. The Aztecs will wrap up the weekend on Saturday afternoon when they lock horns with Tulane, starting at 3 p.m. PT. For ticket information, log on to GoAztecs.com.