Aztecs Prep for SDSU Invitational

SAN DIEGO – After opening the season in the Pacific Northwest last weekend, the San Diego State volleyball team returns to "America's Finest City" to host the SDSU Invitational, Sept. 5-7, inside Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.

The Aztecs commence their 2024 home schedule on Thursday when they square off against DePaul at 6 p.m. PT, followed by a Friday evening matchup with Portland State at the same starting time. SDSU will wrap up tournament play with a Saturday showdown vs. Tulane, beginning at 3 p.m.

Three other matches will feature Tulane battling Portland State on Thursday, before the Green Wave tackle DePaul on Friday. Those two encounters are set to get underway at 3 p.m. PT. In addition, the Vikings and Blue Demons will lock horns on Saturday at noon.

All tournament matches will feature live stats, while Thursday's SDSU-DePaul clash and Saturday's Aztecs-Green Wave encounter will air live on the Mountain West Network. Links to both platforms can be found on GoAztecs.com. In addition, fans can download the free Mountain West Network app on their smartphones or connected TVs through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV or Roku. Mobile applications can be downloaded from the iOS App Store and Google Play.

PROMOTIONS
For Thursday’s home opener, free SDSU phone fans will be distributed to the first 250 fans in attendance, while free roller banners will be distributed on Saturday in celebration of the Aztecs’ Youth Volleyball Night promotion.

Additionally, free SDSU calendar keychains will be given away prior to Saturday’s tournament finale.

ISU TOURNAMENT REWIND
The Aztecs opened their 2024 campaign with a 2-1 record at the Idaho State Tournament, Aug. 30-Sept. 1, sweeping the host Bengals and Seattle sandwiched around a grueling five-set defeat to CSUN.

Following the season-opening event, Shea Rubright, Taylor Underwood and Gianna Bender were named to the all-tournament team.

A transfer from Washington State, Rubright led the Scarlet and Black in several categories, including hitting percentage (.483), points (45, 4.09/set), total blocks (13) and service aces (6). The SDSU middle blocker combined for 32 kills (2.91/set), committing just three errors in 60 attempts across three matches.

Additionally, Underwood paced the Aztecs with 36 kills and 3.27 kills per set last weekend, finishing second on the squad with 43 points (3.91/set) and 12 total blocks. The Norco, California, native twice surpassed the double-digit barrier in kills, featuring a team-high 18 put-aways against CSUN to go with a career-high five blocks (1 solo).

A freshman libero from Hudsonville, Michigan, Bender anchored the back row of a defense that limited the opposition to a collective .149 hitting percentage in SDSU’s two victories over Idaho State and Seattle. In her first three collegiate matches, she led the Aztecs with 40 digs and 3.64 digs per set, surpassing the double-digit plateau in that statistic in the final two contests of the tournament.

SDSU also received an added boost from freshman Talea Mitchell vs. Seattle, as the Aztec middle blocker led all players with 16 kills, finishing with a .696 efficiency after completing 23 attempts without an error. She also flashed her versatility with six individual blocks, including a solo stop in her first career start.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Since the beginning of the 2009 campaign, Aztecs have amassed a 120-83 (.591) record at home, highlighted by a 14-0 mark during the 2012 season when SDSU captured the Mountain West championship. The Aztecs are 7-8 in their last 15 home openers and will be looking to reverse a four-match slide after falling to Fresno State (2020), UCLA (2021), California (2022) and Oregon (2023) in consecutive lid-lifters at Aztec Court. SDSU is 29-19 in home openers since the program's inception in 1976.

SERIES RECORDS
The Aztecs have played DePaul on one previous occasion, posting a three-set sweep (25-14, 25-14, 25-19) in the second match of the Blue Demons’ home tournament on Sept. 17, 2011.

San Diego State sports a combined 7-1 record against five schools in the current alignment of the Big East Conference. In addition to DePaul (1-0), the Aztecs own unblemished marks against Villanova (2-0), Seton Hall (2-0) and Providence (1-0) while splitting a pair of encounters with Creighton (1-1).

SDSU has yet to face Marquette, St. Johns, Xavier, Butler, Georgetown or Connecticut in non-conference play.

After winning four consecutive matches against Portland State, the Aztecs dropped a narrow three-set decision (22-25, 22-25, 19-25) to the Vikings on the road last year at the season-opening Rose City Showdown. Despite a deadlock in team kills (40-40), the Aztecs committed five more attack errors (17-12), finishing with a lower hitting percentage (.221 to .311) in that contest.

Among returners, SDSU was paced by Madison Corf, who finished with 11 kills and hit .474 for the match, committing just two errors in 19 attempts, while Kat Cooper blasted six put-aways of her own.

With its season-opening sweep of Idaho State on Aug. 30, the Aztecs are now 22-8 against current members of the Big Sky Conference.

SDSU is 2-1 in three all-time meetings vs. Tulane, including a heart-breaking defeat at the 2011 Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans when the Green Wave rallied to complete a reverse sweep (25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 21-25, 16-18). Prior to that match, the Aztecs swept Tulane in consecutive seasons, winning at each team’s home tournament in 2001 and 2002.

San Diego State owns a combined 17-6 ledger against 12 of the 14 schools in the current alignment of the American Athletic Conference. Along with Tulane (2-1), the Aztecs boast winning records against North Texas (4-0), Tulsa (2-0), UTSA (2-0), Memphis (1-0), South Florida (1-0), UAB (1-0) and Rice (3-2). Conversely, the Scarlet and Black is 1-2 against Wichita State and 0-1 vs. Temple but has yet to face Charlotte and East Carolina.

TOURNAMENT CONNECTIONS
Aztec opposite hitter Taylor Underwood began her collegiate career at DePaul, earning a spot on the Big East all-freshman team after ranking third on the Blue Demons with 264 kills (2.47/set) while occupying the sixth spot with 36 blocks (0.34/set).

DePaul sports two players on its roster who attended San Diego County high schools. Senior outside hitter Hanna Karl played her final three prep seasons at Sage Creek High in Carlsbad, while freshman setter Amanda Saeger is an alumna of Cathedral Catholic High.

Additionally, Portland State outside hitter Devon DeNecochea was a three-year letterwinner at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego.

Meanwhile, Tulane sophomore setter Zoe Rachow graduated from Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista. Rachow’s father, Judd, played tight end at San Diego State from 1989-91 and is now the athletic director at Otay Ranch High.

Aztec defensive specialist Keira Herron and Green Wave setter/right-side hitter Ava Derbes played at rival high schools in College Station, Texas. Herron’s College Station High team posted a combined 8-0 record against Derbes’ A&M Consolidated High’s squad from 2019-21.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
Entering the weekend, Shea Rubright leads the Mountain West with a .483 hitting percentage, which ranks 25th in the nation as of Sept. 4. The Aztec middle blocker is also slotted third in the conference in service aces (0.55/set) while occupying the 10th position in blocks (1.18/set) and the 11th spot in kills (2.91/set).

Elsewhere, Gianna Bender ranks fourth in the league with 3.64 digs per set, while Taylor Underwood is slotted eighth with 3.27 kills per frame.

Additionally, the setting duo of Fatimah Hall (5.64/set) and Andrea Campos (5.55/set) occupy the eighth and ninth positions in assists, respectively.

Not to be outdone, Amber Keen finds herself among the MW leaders, tying for eighth in blocks (1.25/set) while ranking 10th in hitting percentage (.297).

SDSU boasts three of the top hitting performances in the Mountain West thus far, including Talea Mitchell’s league-best .696 clip (16-0-23) vs. Seattle, while Keen’s .500 efficiency (13-3-20) against Idaho State ranks third, followed by Rubright’s .393 pace (13-2-28) vs. CSUN.

In addition, Rubright’s four service aces against Seattle is tied for the top spot in the league, while Mitchell shares the eighth position with 6.0 blocks in that same contest.

Not to be outdone, Underwood blasted 18 kills vs. CSUN, which is tied for seventh in the conference.

As a team, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in kills (14.55/set), blocks (3.00/set) and assists (13.55/set) while ranking second in hitting percentage (.269). On the national level, SDSU’s assist average is good for 17th place as of Sept. 4, while its kill and block averages are slotted 18th.

San Diego State’s .366 attack percentage vs. Seattle and its 68 kills against CSUN mark the second-best team performances in the league for those statistical categories so far this season.

In addition, the Aztecs posted 12.0 team blocks in those two matches, which is tied for fifth in the conference. 

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Picked to finish fourth in the Big East preseason coaches poll, DePaul posted a 3-0 record at Bradley University’s CEFCU Invitational last weekend in Peoria, Illinois, defeating Southern Indiana and the host Braves in five-set thrillers sandwiched around a sweep of St. Thomas. Outside hitter Jill Pressly garnered Big East Offensive Player of the Week accolades, while fellow graduate student Rachel Krasowski earned the league’s Defensive Player of the Week award.

Pressly averaged 4.23 kills per set (55 overall) and contributed five service aces across three matches. After launching 13 kills in each of the first two encounters, the Plano, Texas, native saved her best for last with a career-high 29 put-aways in the tournament finale against Bradley.

Meanwhile, Krasowski collected 81 digs last weekend, for an average of 6.23 scoops per set. The Blue Demons libero compiled 28 digs against both Southern Indiana and Bradley while amassing 25 scoops vs. St. Thomas, all of which were match highs.

With her efforts, Krasowski enters the week ranked second in the nation in total digs and fourth in digs per set as of Sept. 4, while Pressly’s kill average is slotted 52nd in the country.

Additionally, Katelynn Oxley enters the week ranked third in the Big East with a .481 hitting percentage, while fellow middle blocker is slotted ninth with 1.08 blocks per set.

Elsewhere, senior setter Ashley Cudiamat occupies the seventh spot in the conference with 5.31 assists per set.

Last season, DePaul finished with an 18-15 overall record and a fifth-place standing with a 9-9 mark against Big East foes.

Portland State will be looking for its first victory of the 2024 campaign after dropping all three matches at its own tournament last weekend, the Rose City Showdown presented by Hotel Vance. The Vikings were swept by San Francisco and California before dropping a hard-fought 3-2 decision to Nevada.

Portland State has spread the wealth offensively this season, with five players averaging over two kills per set, including Makayla Lewis (2.64), Naomi White (2.45), Taylor Hunter (2.33) Carisa Barron (2.27) and Delaney Nicoll (2.00)

Hunter ranks third in the Big Sky Conference with a .381 hitting percentage and is slotted ninth with 1.33 blocks per set. However, the Viking middle blocker exited the fourth set of the Nevada match on Sunday with a knee injury.

Along with Hunter and White, setter Ella Hartford, libero Paige Stepaniuk and outside hitter Carisa Barron find themselves among the Big Sky leaders as well.

Hartford occupies the second position with 9.45 assists per set, while White ranks fourth with a .359 hitting percentage. In addition, Stepaniuk (3.36) and Barron (3.18) are slotted fourth and fifth in digs per set, respectively. Stepaniuk and Barron collected 21 digs apiece vs. Nevada, becoming the first set of PSU teammates to accomplish the feat in the same match since Ellie Snook (21) and Makayla Lewis (20) on Nov. 18, 2021.

Lewis, meanwhile, surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau for her career with 14 put-aways in that same contest vs. the Wolf Pack.

After logging a fifth-place standing in the Big Sky with a 9-7 mark in conference play and a 16-12 overall record last year, Portland State was once again predicted to finish fifth in the conference’s preseason coaches poll.

Meanwhile, Tulane opened its 2024 season at New Mexico’s Lobo Invitational where the Green Wave outlasted UC Irvine in a five-set nail-biter sandwiched between a pair of 3-1 losses to host UNM and North Dakota.

Outside hitter Sami Jacobs, an Alabama transfer, averaged a team-high 3.23 kills per set (42 overall) for the tournament, which ranks eighth in the American Athletic Conference heading into the week.

In addition, middle blocker Sabrina Skyers is slotted eighth the league with a .388 hitting percentage through three matches, while setter Zoe Rachow, a San Diego native, occupies the ninth position with 5.62 assists per frame.

Defensively, Jacobs topped the squad with 3.00 digs (39), while Skyers collected a team-high 12 blocks in Albuquerque.

Green Wave outside hitter Avery Burks earned a spot on the preseason all-AAC team after averaging 3.29 kills per set in 2023, garnering the league’s Freshman of the Year accolade in the process.

Tulane was picked to finish 12th in the AAC preseason coaches poll after posting a 6-25 overall record and a 2-17 ledger in conference play last year.

UP NEXT
Following the SDSU Invitational, the Aztecs return to the court next week, when they square off against UC Riverside and California Baptist as part of the UCR/CBU Challenge in Riverside, California. SDSU will face the Highlanders on CBU’s home floor on Friday, Sept. 13 at 2:30 p.m. before battling the host Lancers on Saturday, Sept. 14 at noon.