Aztecs Gearing Up for Three-Match Homestand

SAN DIEGO -- After a lengthy road swing, the San Diego State volleyball team finally returns to the friendly confines of Aztec Court this week to play its first three home matches of the 2025 campaign, Sept. 18-20, wrapping up its non-conference schedule in the process.

> The Aztecs will face a pair of crosstown adversaries when UC San Diego invades The Mesa on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT, followed by a clash with San Diego on Friday at the same 7 p.m. starting time, before locking horns with Yale on Saturday at 1 p.m.
> Along with live stats, all three matches will air live on the Mountain West Network. 
> All fans in attendance at Thursday’s clash will be able to pickup team posters and schedule magnets, while free Aztec t-shirts will be presented to the first 250 spectators at Friday’s match vs. USD. In addition, Saturday’s giveaway features free SDSU roller banners to the first 250 patrons.
> San Diego State posted a 2-1 record up the freeway at the Long Beach State Tournament last weekend, overcoming a 2-1 deficit to record a dramatic  five-set victory over Oregon, which has been receiving votes in the last four AVCA Division I coaches polls. Buoyed by their good fortune, the Aztecs continued with a sweep of UC Riverside before falling to host Long Beach State in the tournament finale.

SERIES RECORDS
> San Diego State has emerged triumphant in all 15 encounters with UC San Diego dating back to 1977.
> The Aztecs last played the Tritons in the opener of the UCSD Invitational on Sept. 7, 2023, when they recorded a three-set sweep (25-19, 25-22, 25-21).
> Among returners, Madison Corf led all players with 14 kills in that match, hitting .565 after committing just one error in 23 attempts. In addition, Taylor Underwood finished with six put-aways of her own, while Sarena Gonzalez dished out 25 assists.
> Collectively, the Scarlet and Black posted a season-high .311 efficiency and maintained a sizable 50-31 advantage in kills. Despite trailing in team blocks (6.0 to 5.0), SDSU also owned the statistical edge in digs (31-28) and served up three aces to help fuel the victory. 
> The two schools also battled one another at the 2022 SDSU Invitational when the Aztecs notched a four-set victory (25-22, 25-20, 26-28, 25-20) in UCSD’s first meeting with the Aztecs as a Division I member.
> As a team, SDSU owned a decisive 67-42 advantage in kills and served up seven aces to help spark its win, overcoming a 14.0 to 9.0 deficiency in team blocks. In addition, the Aztecs outhit the Tritons .270 to .183 and maintained a sizable 51-42 margin in digs while benefiting from 20 opponent attack errors.
> Individually, Corf was on fire in that match as well, leading all players with 15 kills, while Gonzalez totaled 30 assists.
> Prior to that contest, SDSU and UCSD last faced one another in 1993, when the Aztecs registered a 3-0 sweep in the San Diego City Championships held at Point Loma Nazarene.
> San Diego State enters the weekend with a 171-115 record against current members of the Big West Conference.
> The Aztecs last faced the Toreros in 2022, when it dropped a four-set decision ((25-20, 13-25, 14-25, 12-25) at Jenny Craig Pavilion after USD entered the contest with a No. 8 national ranking.
> San Diego State came out firing on all cylinders, hitting .433 in the first set on 15 kills in 30 attempts with just two errors. However, SDSU was stymied for the remainder of the match, compiling a meager .048 attack percentage on a combined 24 kills against 19 errors in 104 swings over the final three frames.
> Collectively, USD out-hit the Scarlet and Black .373 to .134, maintaining the statistical advantage in kills (56-39), digs (51-43) and team blocks (8.0 to 6.0).
> With the loss, SDSU dropped to 27-33 in the all-time series against the Toreros. 
> Since 1977, the Aztecs are 14-15 vs. USD at home, 10-17 on the road and 3-1 on a neutral court.
> Saturday’s match will mark San Diego State’s first encounter with Yale in program history. 
> The Aztecs have faced four Ivy League teams in volleyball action, posting a collective 7-0 record against Brown (3-0), Harvard (2-0), Cornell (1-0) and Penn (1-0). SDSU has yet to play Columbia, Princeton or Dartmouth.
> SDSU’s last encounter with an Ivy League school occurred in its 2014 home opener with a 3-1 triumph over Brown.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
> Since the beginning of the 2009 campaign, Aztecs have amassed a 130-85 (.605) record at home, highlighted by a 14-0 mark during the 2012 season when SDSU captured the Mountain West championship.
> The Aztecs posted a 10-2 ledger at Peterson Gym last year, marking their first season with double-digit home victories since the 2017 campaign, when the Scarlet and Black went 10-5.
> SDSU is  8-8 in its last 16 home openers after posting a 3-1 decision over DePaul in its 2024 lid-lifter.
> With their victory over the Blue Demons last year, the Aztecs are 30-19 in home openers since the program’s inception in 1976.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> After a season-opening victory over Eastern Washington at home, UC San Diego (1-8) has dropped eight matches in a row, including three losses to Northern Arizona, Southern Utah and Texas Tech last weekend at the Lumberjack Classic in Flagstaff, Arizona. UCSD has faced one other Mountain West school this year, suffering a three-set sweep at Boise State on Sept. 4. Offensively, the Tritons are led by sophomore Molly McCluskey, who ranks third in the Big West with 3.84 kills per set, while freshman Maria Fernanda Afonso (2.17) is also averaging over two put-aways per frame. In addition, freshman Maija Nepszy occupies the sixth spot in the league in assists (8.10/set), while sophomore Paulina Baillie is slotted ninth in digs (3.13/set). At the net, senior Jasmine Saran tops the squad with 30 blocks, followed by McCluskey, who has 15 blocks to her credit this year. Collectively, the Tritons rank eighth in the Big West in both kills (12.00/set) and digs (12.91/set) while occupying the ninth position in blocks (1.95/set) and the 10th spot in service aces (1.22/set). UCSD is also hitting .138 as a team, which is last in the conference. The Tritons are led by second-year head coach Melanie Greene, a San Diego State graduate who spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach with the Aztecs from 2011-23. A three-year starter at outside hitter for SDSU from 2004-06, Greene averaged 3.46 kills and 2.73 digs per set while leading the team in kills and finishing among the top three in digs each season.

> San Diego (5-3) received two votes in the latest AVCA Division I coaches poll after posting a pair of five-set victories over Arizona and Washington last weekend at the Husky Invitational in Seattle. Following the tournament, middle blocker Maya Kitna was named West Conference  Defensive Player of the Week after combining for 12 blocks (4 solo) and 10 digs in the two wins. Prior to their showdown with the Aztecs, the Toreros will play host to Yale at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Thursday night. USD has faced two ranked teams already this season at the highly competitive Trojan Invitational in Los Angeles, falling to then-No. 13 Creighton in four sets on Sept. 5, before suffering a narrow 3-2 defeat to then-No. 22 USC the next night. In addition, the Toreros have played one other Mountain West school this year, edging Utah State in a five-set thriller on Aug. 29 at the Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Offensively, USD is led by junior Nemo Beach, who leads the West Coast Conference in overall kills (130), which is tied for 50th in the nation as of Sept. 17, while ranking third in the league with 3.61 kills per set. In addition, sophomore Isabel Clark finds herself among the WCC leaders, occupying the third spot in overall kills (114) and the ninth position in kills per set (3.17). Not to be outdone, sophomore setter Kylie Munday tops the conference with 336 overall assists, which is tied for 21st nationally, while ranking third in the league with 9.33 assists per set. Elsewhere, senior Olivia Bennett is slotted second in the WCC with 125 digs while occupying the seventh position with 3.47 digs per set. At the net, Kitna is tied for third in the league with 37 total blocks and ranks 10th with 1.06 blocks/set. Although USD ranks just 10th in the WCC with 11.44 kills per set, the Toreros are slotted fourth with a .239 team hitting percentage. Conversely, USD occupies the second spot in the conference with 83 total blocks and ranks fifth with 2.29 blocks per set. Now in her 27th year with the program, head coach Jennifer Petrie has led the Toreros to the NCAA Tournament on 22 occasions during her career, highlighted by a Final Four appearance in 2022. That season, she garnered AVCA National Coach of the Year accolades and was named AVCA Pacific South Region Coach of the Year for the third time in her career. Petrie is also a seven-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year recipient and has coached 65 first-team all-WCC honorees.

> After losing three straight to open the 2025 campaign, Yale (2-3) won two home matches last weekend, edging previously unbeaten UConn in a five-set thriller before sweeping Northeastern. Junior middle blocker Laurece Abraham was named Ivy League Player of the Week after hitting .512 with an average of 2.40 kills and 1.00 digs per set across three matches, including a previous loss at Fairfield on Sept. 10. Entering the week, Abraham ranks second in the Ivy League with a .447 hitting percentage for the season and is slotted 10th with an average of 0.80 blocks per set (16 overall). Redshirt freshman Ava Poinsett, a San Diego native, is the Bulldogs’ top offensive threat, averaging 3.67 kills per set, which ranks second in the conference, while Abraham (2.35), senior Lauren Kellen (2.24) and fellow classmate Gigi Barr (2.06) are all averaging over two put-aways per frame. In addition, sophomore setter Bethanie Wu is slotted second in the Ivy League with 9.81 assists per set, while Poinsett (0.43/set) and Barr (.355) ranked seventh in service aces and hitting percentage, respectively. Elsewhere, junior libero Arya Jue anchors Yale’s back row with an average of 2.81 digs per set, which is good for 10th in the conference. As a team, the Bulldogs lead the Ivy League with .299 hitting percentage while ranking fourth in kills (12.76/set), assists (11.29/set) and service aces (1.38/set). Additionally, Yale is slotted sixth in blocks (1.67/set) and seventh in digs (12.10/set). Head coach Erin Appleman, who graduated from San Diego State in 1990 and is the winningest coach in Bulldog volleyball history after taking the reins of the program in 2003. She has guided Yale to 13 Ivy League championships, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, six seasons of 20-plus victories, and was the first Ivy coach to lead a team to an NCAA Tournament victory.

MATCH CONNECTIONS
> UCSD head coach Melanie Greene is a San Diego State graduate who spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach with the Aztecs from 2011-23. A three-year starter at outside hitter for SDSU from 2004-06, Greene averaged 3.46 kills and 2.73 digs per set while leading the team in kills and finishing among the top three in digs each season.
> Triton assistant coach Kara Barkdoll Coy served as San Diego State’s volleyball operations assistant from 2018-23.
> SDSU senior setter Sarena Gonzalez and UCSD senior middle blocker Jasmine Saran faced one another as conference rivals on their respective high school teams in Temecula. Gonzalez’s Temecula Valley squad split two matches with Saran’s Great Oak team in 2021, as each side claimed a 3-2 victory on their home courts during the regular season.
> Gonzalez also squared off against Triton setter Marleena Catalan on opposing high school teams. Gonzalez’s Temecula Valley squad dropped a three-set decision to Catalan’s Vista Murrieta team in conference play during the 2021 campaign.
> Friday’s match against USD marks Brent Hilliard’s third encounter against his former team after accepting the head coaching position at SDSU in January 2020. Hilliard was an assistant with the Toreros for 19 years, serving as the program’s associate head coach from 2007-19. 
> Second-year Aztec assistant coach Kristen Gengenbacher was a star setter at USD from 2014-17, earning West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors as a senior to go with third-team AVCA All-America recognition after leading the Toreros to the WCC championship and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
> SDSU middle blocker/outside hitter Talea Mitchell and USD outside hitter Nemo Beach faced one another as high school players in Arizona. In a 2022 non-conference tournament match, Mitchell’s Millennium squad defeated Beach’s Chandler Hamilton squad 2-1 in sets. Mitchell, a junior in that contest, posted five kills and one dig, according to MaxPreps, while Beach, a senior that season, completed a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs.
> Aztec freshman setter Bella Jones and Torero sophomore outside hitter Isabel Clark also found themselves on opposing benches as prep players. As a junior in 2023, Jones’ Redondo Union squad dropped a four-set decision in a non-conference match to Mater Dei High, featuring Clark, who was a senior on that team. 
> Yale head coach Erin Appleman graduated from San Diego State in 1990 after playing two seasons as a setter with the Aztecs in 1988 and 1989, following her transfer from USIU (now Alliant International University). The former Erin Tomblin ranks fifth on SDSU’s all-time charts with 3,144 career assists.
> Three players on Yale’s roster prepped at San Diego County high schools, including middle blocker Cam Bolane (Pacific Ridge School), libero Yuri Park (Rancho Bernardo) and outside hitter Ava Poinsett (Francis Parker).
> SDSU opposite hitter Natalie Hughes and Yale setter Bethanie Wu faced one another as prep players in Texas. During the 2022 campaign, Hughes’ McKinney North High School team split a pair of district matches against Wu’s Lovejoy High squad, claiming a 3-1 victory at home before suffering the opposite fate on the road later in the season. According to MaxPreps, Hughes tallied 22 kills and five solo blocks in McKinney North’s win, while Wu dished out 45 assists and collected four digs. In the rematch, Hughes totaled 12 kills and four solo blocks, while Wu finished with 40 assists.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
>    As of Sept. 17, libero Zara Stewart is slotted sixth in the Mountain West with 3.45 digs per set.
>    Amber Keen’s career-best .650 hitting percentage (14-1-20) vs. Oregon at the Long Beach State Tournament marks the second-best efficiency in the league so far this season.
>    Kendall Mairs served up five aces against LSU at the Flo Hyman Classic on Sept. 5, which marks the fourth-best total in the MW this season.
>    Campbell Hague and Ella Schabort recorded four aces apiece vs. Omaha at the same tournament the following day, which tied for the fifth-highest figure in the league.
>    Entering the weekend, San Diego State is slotted fourth in the Mountain West in service aces (1.61/set), while ranking fifth with a .172 opponent hitting percentage.
>    The Aztecs’ 14 service aces against Omaha represents the top team performance in the conference so far this season.
>    In addition, SDSU’s 14 aces matched its highest total since Nov. 23, 2001, in a three-set triumph over Denver at the Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Arizona.

ON THE HORIZON
> San Diego State opens its 27th and final season of Mountain West competition next week, when it hits the road for matches at Fresno State (Sept. 25) and San José State (Sept. 27).