Aztecs Continue Road Swing at Gonzaga Invitational This Weekend

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State concludes the non-conference portion of its 2024 regular-season schedule this weekend when it returns to the Pacific Northwest for the Gonzaga Invitational, Sept. 20-21, in Spokane, Washington.

The Aztecs open the three-team event at Charlotte Y. Martin Centre on Friday when they face the host Zags, beginning at 5 p.m. PT. On Saturday, SDSU wraps up its brief weekend stay with a showdown against Eastern Washington, starting at noon.

Live stats will be available throughout the tournament, while Friday’s encounter with Gonzaga will air live on ESPN+ via subscription basis. Links to both platforms will be available on GoAztecs.com.

San Diego State will be traveling to the Evergreen State for its second straight appearance in the Gonzaga Invitational after posting a pair of 3-0 sweeps against the same two teams last season.

The Aztecs are coming off victories over UC Riverside and California Baptist at the CBU/UCR Challenge last weekend in Riverside, improving to 6-2 after the first eight matches of the season for the first time since 2019.

Two additional wins over the Zags and Eagles this week would give the Scarlet and Black an 8-2 non-conference record for the first time since 2007.

CBU/UCR CHALLENGE REWIND
The Aztecs traveled up the freeway for the CBU/UCR Challenge, Sept. 13-14, overcoming an early deficit to knock off UC Riverside in four sets (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21) before completing a sweep of California Baptist (25-11, 25-22, 25-22).

Following the event, outside hitter Jasmine Davis and setter Andrea Campos were named to the all-tournament team.

A transfer from Connecticut, Davis returned to the starting lineup last weekend, combining for 22.5 points (3.21/set), 15 kills (2.14/set), 23 digs (3.29/set) and seven service aces in seven sets across two matches. The SDSU graduate student posted a .300 efficiency for the tournament, committing just three errors in 40 attempts.

Against UCR, Davis just missed a double-double, finishing with nine kills, 16 digs and four aces, with the latter two statistics marking season highs. Thanks in part to Davis’ defensive efforts, SDSU held the Highlanders to their second-lowest hitting percentage of the year with a .133 clip.

In the Aztecs’ blanking of host CBU the following day, Davis hit a season-best .375 on six kills without an error in 16 attempts. Late in the third set of that contest, the Redondo Beach native knocked down a key kill, giving SDSU a 23-20 lead and thwarting a Lancer rally in the process.

Meanwhile, Campos earned her first two starts at setter in a Scarlet and Black uniform, combining for 41 assists (5.86/set), eight digs and two aces. Against UCR, the Villanova graduate transfer recorded her second-highest assist total in a four-set match this year with 25 helpers before dishing out 16 dimes vs. CBU the following day.

Thanks in part to Campos’ assistance, the Aztecs logged their second-best team hitting percentage for the season with a .352 pace against the Lancers, as four players hit .300 or higher for the match, including Shea Rubright (.700), Kat Cooper (.500), the aforementioned Davis (.375) and Natalie Hughes (.357).

Additionally, Taylor Underwood paced the Aztecs with 23.5 points, 21 kills and 3.00 kills per set last weekend while adding three block assists. Against UCR, the Norco, California, native led all players with 16 put-aways and served up one ace.

Not to be outdone, Kat Cooper amassed 19.5 points, 17 kills and 2.43 kills per set to go with a .500 hitting percentage and five block assists.  Against CBU, the Aztec middle blocker tied for match-high honors with a collegiate-best 10 kills, committing just two errors in 16 attempts. She also equaled her career high with four block assists.

AZTEC TIDBITS
SDSU has posted more kills than the opposition in all eight matches this season. In addition, the Aztecs have logged a greater hitting percentage in seven outings this year.

San Diego State has already recorded hitting percentages over .300 in four matches, surpassing its total of three for the entire 2023 campaign.

The Aztecs have limited opponents to a .200 efficiency or less in five of eight matches this year, winning all five encounters.

SDSU has had at least one player compile double-digit kills in all eight matches, with three or more individuals accomplishing the feat in four contests.

The Aztecs are 3-2 in matches following a win this season and are 2-0 following a loss.

San Diego State is 3-0 when leading after two sets and 3-1 when tied after two frames.

SERIES RECORD VS. GONZAGA
The Aztecs own a 3-1 advantage in their brief series with the Bulldogs, including a 3-0 blanking (25-23, 25-22, 25-17) at last year’s edition of the Gonzaga Invitational.

Despite a deficiency in team blocks (7.0 to 5.0), SDSU maintained the edge in most statistical categories, including kills (39-33), service aces (10-6) and digs (38-32).

Among returners, Madison Corf paced the Scarlet and Black with a match-high 12 kills, while Taylor Underwood launched eight put-aways of her own, finishing with a .300 efficiency.

Prior to last season’s contest, the Aztecs escaped with a five-set thriller over the Bulldogs at the Denver Invitational in 2017.

SERIES RECORD VS. EASTERN WASHINGTON
The Aztecs have captured all four meetings against the Eagles, including a three-set whitewash (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) in their non-conference finale last season at the Gonzaga Invitational.

Although each side committed 12 attack errors apiece in that match, San Diego State owned a sizable advantage in kills (46-28) and served up more aces (7-3) to help key the victory.

The Aztecs featured a balanced attack, with five players amassing five kills or more. Underwood led all players with 12 put-aways and tied her career-high with five service aces, while Mikela Labno also reached the double-digit plateau, flooring 10 shots on 19 swings without an error for a .526 efficiency.

Prior to last year’s engagement, SDSU recorded a four-set triumph over Eastern Washington at the 2019 GCU Invitational in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Eagles mark the Aztecs’ third Big Sky conference opponent this season after defeating Idaho State (Aug. 30) and Portland State (Sept. 6). With those victories, SDSU raised it record to 23-8 against current members of the Big Sky.

TOURNAMENT CONNECTIONS
San Diego State outside hitter Jasmine Davis and Gonzaga middle blocker Jody Smith were prep teammates at Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California. In 2018, Davis was a senior on the Redondo Union squad that posted a 35-4 record and advanced to the regional semifinals of the CIF Open Division state championships, while Smith was a junior.

Aztec right-side hitter Natalie Hughes squared off against the Zags’ libero Brianna Martin when both were high school juniors in Texas. Martin’s Prosper High team swept Hughes’ McKinney North squad in a non-conference match on Oct. 29, 2021. Hughes hit .526 in that contest with 10 kills and a pair of solo blocks, while Martin finished with seven digs and two setting assists, according to MaxPreps.

Gonzaga freshman middle blocker Hayley Ogden is a San Diego native, graduating in 2024 from Santana High School, where she earned first-team all-conference honors.

Eastern Washington associate head coach Grayson DuBose served as head coach at Utah State from 2006-2019, squaring off against the Aztecs on 15 occasions. SDSU posted an 11-4 record against DuBose’s Aggie squad during his tenure on the Logan campus.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
Entering the weekend, Shea Rubright leads the Mountain West with a .503 hitting percentage, which ranks fifth in the nation as of Sept. 18. The Aztec middle blocker also occupies the sixth position in the league in blocks (1.13/set) and the seventh spot in points (3.71/set).

Additionally, Taylor Underwood ranks seventh in the conference with a team-leading 3.19 kills per set, while Gianna Bender is slotted eighth with 3.23 digs per frame.

Elsewhere, the setting duo of Fatimah Hall (5.83/set) and Andrea Campos (5.55/set) occupy the seventh and ninth spots in assists, respectively, while Amber Keen ranks 10th with a .344 hitting percentage.

The Aztecs boast three of the top 10 hitting performances in the Mountain West thus far, including Talea Mitchell’s second-best .696 clip vs. Seattle, while Rubright’s two percentages from the SDSU Invitational (.667 vs. Tulane) and (.640 vs. Portland State) rank third and fifth, respectively. In addition, Keen’s .500 efficiency against Idaho State ranks 11th.

Not to be outdone, Rubright shares the fourth spot in the league with four service aces vs. Seattle, joining Davis, who served up four of her own against UC Riverside. Rubright also finished with a season-high eight block assists in that same match vs. the Highlanders last weekend, which is tied for sixth.

Elsewhere, Mitchell’s 16 kills against Seattle represents the fourth-best total for a three-set match in the MW this season, while Bender’s 19 digs against DePaul mark the seventh-best total for a four-set contest.

As a team, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in kills (14.26/set), hitting percentage (.286) and assists (13.35/set) while ranking second in service aces (1.61/set). On the national level, SDSU’s kill and assist average are good for 10th and 12th, respectively, while its hitting percentage is slotted 14th as of Sept. 18.

San Diego State’s 68 kills against CSUN is tied for the third-highest team performance in the MW thus far, while three of its best attack percentages rank among the league’s top 10, including .366 vs. Seattle (4th), .352 vs. CBU (6th) and .348 against Portland State (7th).

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
After sweeping Southern Utah in its season opener, Gonzaga (1-7) has dropped seven straight matches, including three at the Boise State Classic, Sept. 13-15, in Boise, Idaho. The Zags were swept by Idaho State (25-27, 19-25, 26-28) in the tournament opener before suffering a pair of four-set defeats to Cal State Bakersfield (22-25, 27-29, 25-21, 21-25) and the host Broncos (12-25, 18-25, 25-20, 13-25).

Offensively, freshman outside hitter Raechelle Dykstra leads Gonzaga in kills (2.45/set, 71 overall), while sophomore Maggie Rickert (2.14) is also averaging over two put-aways per set.

In addition, sophomore setter Nia Damuni finds herself among the West Coast Conference leaders, ranking third in assists (9.24/set), while freshman libero Maddie Cugino occupies the seventh position in both digs (3.52/set) and service aces (0.38/set).

At the net, middle blocker Hayley Ogden is slotted eighth in the conference with an average of 1.07 blocks per set and ranks 10th with a .282 hitting percentage.

Collectively, Gonzaga ranks third in the WCC in service aces (1.62/set) and finds itself in the sixth position in digs (13.66/set). However, the Zags are slotted just 10th in hitting percentage (.156) while occupying the basement in kills (10.86/set) and blocks (1.59/set).  

Gonzaga is led by head coach Katie Wilson, who is in her third season at the helm of the Zags program. Prior to her arrival on the Spokane campus, Wilson spent seven seasons as an assistant at Notre Dame, including a four-year stint as the Irish's associate head coach. Under Wilson's tutelage, Gonzaga set a single-season program record with 179 aces during the 2022 campaign. She earned her bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Puget Sound in 1999.

Eastern Washington (3-5) won two of three matches at the Rocket Invitational last weekend in Ohio, falling to host Toledo in four sets (15-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21) before rebounding with a pair of victories over Marshall (25-16, 23-25, 25-18, 25-12) and Northern Kentucky (25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23) by the same margin.

The Eagles are led by the duo of outside hitter Kalista Lukovich (3.03/set) and middle blocker Bri Gunderson (2.71/set), who rank sixth and 12th in the Big Sky Conference in kills, respectively, entering the weekend.

A second-team all-Big Sky selection in 2023, Gunderson finds herself among the league leaders in blocks (4th, 1.45/set) and service aces (6th, 0.39/set). The EWU junior set a career-high with 11 block assists against NKU last weekend.

In addition, libero Makenna Collins has climbed into the third spot in the conference with 4.07 digs per set, while setter Kate Hatch ranks ninth with 5.16 assists per set.

 As a team, the Eagles are slotted among the top half of the Big Sky in numerous categories, ranking second in digs (17.19/set), fourth in blocks (2.60/set) and fifth in kills (12.03/set) while occupying the sixth spot in hitting percentage (.189).

On the national level, EWU’s dig and block averages are good for 18th and 36th, respectively, as of Sept. 18.

Jon Haruguchi is in his third season as head coach of the Eastern Washington program after spending the previous six years as an assistant at Northern Colorado, where he was elevated to associate head coach in December 2019. While at UNC, Haruguchi helped guide the Bears to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019 and 2021, winning Big Sky regular-season and tournament championships both seasons.

UP NEXT
Following the Gonzaga Invitational, San Diego State opens Mountain West play on the road next week when it travels to the Front Range of the Rockies to battle the Air Force Falcons on Thursday, Sept. 26 (6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT) before heading to New Mexico for a clash with the Lobos on Saturday, Sept. 28 (1 p.m. MT/noon PT).