SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball program was predicted to finish third in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll released Wednesday by the conference office in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In addition, senior Taylor Underwood earned a spot on the preseason all-MW team in a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches.
Collectively, the Aztecs received 96 points and two first-place votes, trailing only Utah State (114 pts, 7 first-place votes) and defending conference champion Colorado State (106 pts, 3 first-place votes), while Fresno State (86 pts) and Boise State (73 pts) rounded out the top five.
Elsewhere, UNLV and Wyoming shared the sixth position in this year’s poll with 72 points apiece, while MW newcomer Grand Canyon (61 pts) was slotted eighth, followed by New Mexico (37 pts), Nevada (32 pts), San José State (31 pts) and Air Force (12 pts).
Wednesday’s preseason prognostication was San Diego State’s highest since 2018, when the Scarlet and Black was pegged for a third-place finish as well. The Aztecs were also predicted to finish third the year before in 2017 after claiming the top spot in the 2013 preseason MW poll.
The top six teams in the final conference standings will qualify for the Mountain West Championship, set for Nov. 26-29, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A native of Norco, California, Underwood garnered all-Mountain West accolades for the second straight second season in 2024 after posting team highs in kills (356) and kills per set (3.18), the latter of which ranked 10th in the league.
Additionally, Underwood blasted 10 or more kills in 22 matches, tying her season high with 18 put-aways on five occasions. The Aztec opposite hitter also collected 60 digs and finished third on the team with a career-high 59 blocks, including a collegiate-best six solo stops, helping the Scarlet and Black clinch a spot in the MW Championship for the second time in three years.
Last season, Underwood set a career high with a .542 hitting percentage (min. 7 kills) after launching 14 kills on 24 attempts with just one error in a home sweep of Wyoming on Oct. 19, 2024.
Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Brent Hilliard, the Aztecs return 10 letterwinners from last year’s squad that posted a 20-10 record, their best mark since the 2012 campaign. SDSU finished fifth in the Mountain West standings with an 11-7 conference record, defeating Fresno State in the first round of the MW Championship before falling to eventual champion Colorado State in the semifinals.
The Aztecs open their 2025 campaign with an exhibition match at UC Irvine on Saturday, Aug. 23, at noon PT. SDSU commences its regular-season slate the following week when it squares off against California and San Francisco at the Golden Bears’ home tournament, Aug. 29-30, in Berkeley, Calif.
Season tickets for SDSU's 12-match home schedule are now on sale and may be purchased online HERE.
2025 MOUNTAIN WEST PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL TEAM
| Player | Class | Pos | School |
| Taylor Underwood | Sr. | OPP | San Diego State |
| Bre Mitchell | Sr. | L | Boise State |
| Addison Haluska | Sr. | OPP | Fresno State |
| Basia Latos | So. | OH | UNLV |
| Tierney Barlow | Sr. | MB | Utah State |
| Kaylie Kofe | So. | S | Utah State |
| Paige Lauterwasser | Jr. | OH | Wyoming |
MW PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Addison Haluska, Sr., OPP, Fresno State
2025 MW PRESEASON POLL (First-place votes in parentheses)
|
1. |
Utah State (7) |
114 |
|
2. |
Colorado State (3) |
106 |
|
3. |
San Diego State (2) |
96 |
|
4. |
Fresno State |
86 |
|
5. |
Boise State |
83 |
|
T6. |
UNLV |
72 |
|
T6. |
Wyoming |
47 |
|
8. |
Grand Canyon |
61 |
|
9. |
New Mexico |
37 |
|
10. |
Nevada |
32 |
|
11. |
San José State |
31 |
|
12. |
Air Force |
12 |