Aztecs Prep for Three Matches at Santa Clara Mission Classic

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State volleyball team makes its second straight excursion to northern California this week when it visits Silicon Valley for the Santa Clara Mission Classic, Sept. 11-13, in Santa Clara, California.

The Aztecs open tournament play on Friday when they battle the host Broncos starting at 7 p.m. PT, followed by a Saturday showdown with California at 4 p.m., before squaring off against Cal State Bakersfield in Sunday's finale at 1 p.m.

All three matches will feature live stats, while Friday's clash with Santa Clara will air live via subscription basis on ESPN+. In addition, SDSU's final two matches vs. Cal and CSU Bakersfield will include a video-only stream. Links all platforms will be available on GoAztecs.com.

San Diego State has commenced its inaugural season of volleyball competition as Pac-12 members, joining conference stalwarts Oregon State and Washington State, along with former Mountain West rivals Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and Utah State, while Gonzaga and Texas State complete the revived circuit.  

OPENING SERVE
> San Diego State split two matches at the Aggie Invitational in Davis, California, last week, sweeping host UC Davis (28-26, 25-23, 25-19) before dropping a hard-fought decision in four sets to Cal Poly (22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 24-26). 
> Offensively, freshman standout Layla Austin paced the Scarlet and Black with 29 kills (4.14/set) during the road trip, while Ella Schabort blasted 22 put-aways of her own (3.14/set), followed by Annabelle De Jager (15 kills, 2.14/set) and Tessa Schouten (14 kills, 2.00/set).
> Austin led all players with 15 kills (5.00/set) and a .359 hitting percentage in the sweep of UC Davis , committing just one error in 39 attempts against the defending Big West regular season champions. The following day vs. Cal Poly, she logged her first career double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs.
> In addition, Schouten recorded a team-high 12 blocks (1.71/set) for the week, flashing her all-round game vs. Cal Poly when she set season highs in kills (9), block assists (7) and digs (3).
> Not to be outdone, setter Kendall Mairs completed two additional double-doubles, featuring a career-high 41assists against Cal Poly when she also collected 12 digs after logging a 33-assist, 13-dig effort vs. UC Davis.

SERIES RECORDS
> San Diego State will face Santa Clara for just the fifth time in program history on Friday.
> The Aztecs won their inaugural meeting against the Broncos in 1985 but have dropped three straight matches in the series, including a five-set nail-biter (25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-23, 12-15) in the last encounter between the two programs at the Fullerton Classic in 2012.
> SDSU owns a 6-3 advantage in nine all-time meetings against Cal but have dropped the past two matches, including a 3-1 defeat  (21-25, 28-26, 12-25, 22-25) at the 2025 season opener in Berkeley, California. 
> Among returners, Ella Schabort tied for team-high honors with 13 kills in that contest, while Kendall Mairs (25 assists) and Zara Stewart (17 digs) topped the squad in their respective categories.
> The Aztecs captured their first five meetings against Cal State Bakersfield from 1992 to 2015 before dropping a narrow five-set decision at Peterson Gym in the 2018 season opener, the last time the two programs squared off.

MATCH CONNECTIONS
> San Diego State setter Kendall Mairs squared off against Santa Clara middle blocker Danielle Brown on five occasions as prep players in the state of Washington. Brown's Puyallup High School team defeated Mairs' Camas High squad in all five meetings between 2021-23, according to MaxPreps.
> Santa Clara sports three players who attended San Diego County high schools, including senior middle blocker Grace Flanagan, who graduated from Torrey Pines High in 2023, while redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kaia Grieve is a 2024 alumna of The Bishop's School in La Jolla. In addition, freshman middle blocker Allison Dzieciuch graduated from Cathedral Catholic High School in 2026.
> Aztec freshman outside hitter Layla Austin and California freshman setter Anna Flores were prep rivals in the state of Texas, where they faced each other nine times between 2022-25. Flores' Keller High team posted a 5-4 record against Austin's Southlake Carroll squad, according to MaxPreps.
> Cal State Bakersfield head coach Kristen Wright was a four-year starter at the University of San Diego (2001-04), where she played for current Aztec head coach Brent Hilliard, who was an assistant on the Toreros' staff at the time. The former Kristen Hurst received AVCA All-America honorable mention and first-team AVCA all-region accolades as a senior in 2004 after helping USD to its first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance that season.
> CSUB junior libero Analiese Gagliano is a 2023 graduate of Patrick Henry High in San Diego.

AUSTIN AWESOME
> Freshman sensation Layla Austin has made an immediate impact in her first season with the Aztecs, climbing to third in the Pac-12 rankings with an average of 4.12 kills per set, which is good for 39th nationally as of Sept. 10.
> A former prep All-American from Southlake, Texas, Austin has led the Scarlet and Black with double-digit kills in four of five matches this year, highlighted by a collegiate-best 18 put-aways vs. UC Irvine at the Husky Invitational on Aug. 30.
> Against the Anteaters, Austin committed just one error in 39 attempts for a .586 hitting percentage, which marks the highest efficiency in the Pac-12 so far this season.
> For her efforts, Austin earned a spot on the Husky Invite all-tournament team.
> Additionally, Austin has posted two of the Aztecs' other top hitting percentages of the season, including  a .400 clip (17-5-30) vs. IU Indy on Aug. 28 and a .359 efficiency (15-1-39) against Cal Poly on Sept. 4.
> Not to be outdone, Austin ranks fourth on the squad with 34 digs (2.00/set) and has contributed seven blocks and three service aces.

SETTING AN EXAMPLE
> Setter Kendall Mairs is off to a blazing start this season, posting double-doubles in four of five matches this season.
> The Aztec sophomore ranks third in the Pac-12 with 9.53 assists per set and has dished out 30 helpers or more on four occasions.
> The Camas, Washington, naive is also slotted seventh in the conference with 3.18 digs per set.
> At the Aggie Invitational last weekend, Mairs set a career-high with 41 assists and collected 12 digs in the weekend finale against Cal Poly after posting 33 assists and a season-best 13 digs vs. UC Davis.
> Mairs' total of 33 assists at UCD mark the second-highest total for a three-set match in the Pac-12 this season.

NEWCOMERS CONTRIBUTING
> Eight of the Aztecs' 10 newcomers have seen action this season, with four of those players appearing in all 17 sets.
> Along with Layla Austin's elite production,  SDSU has received steady contributions from middle blockers Tessa Schouten and Taelyn Bentley.
> A transfer from Saint Mary's, Schouten leads the team with 20 blocks and 1.18 blocks per set, the latter of which ranks fifth in the Pac-12. In addition, the Aztec junior occupies the third spot on the team with 30 kills (1.76/set).
> At the Aggie Invitational against Cal Poly, Schouten set season highs with nine kills, seven block assists and three digs. 
> Meanwhile, Bentley is currently slotted second in the Mountain West with a .356 hitting percentage while occupying the third position on the team in blocks (12, 0.71/set) and the fourth spot in kills (29, 1.71/set).
> At the Husky Invitational, Bentley logged season highs of eight kills (vs. IU Indy) and five block assists (vs. UC Irvine).
> Defensive specialist Nazare Judd has also played in all 17 sets for the Scarlet and Black this year, earning a start against Cal Poly at the Aggie Invitational when she scooped up a season-high six digs.
> A San Diego native who returned to her hometown after spending her freshman season at San José State, Judd has collected 17 digs for the year (1.00/set) to go with six setting assists. 
> Elsewhere, Ole Miss transfer Annabelle De Jager has appeared in 14 of 17 sets this season, ranking fifth on the team with 24 kills (1.71/set) while adding 18 digs (1.29/set) and seven blocks.

SDSU IN PAC-12 RANKINGS
> As of Sept. 10, Taelyn Bentley ranks second in the conference with a .356 hitting percentage, while Zara Stewart is also slotted second with 4.06 digs per set.
> In addition, Layla Austin occupies the third spot with 4.12 kills per set and the 10th position with a .263 hitting percentage.
> Not to be outdone, Kendall Mairs finds herself amongst the league leaders in multiple categories as well, ranking third in assists (9.53/set) and seventh in digs (3.18 digs/set) while tying Ella Schabort for 10th in service aces (0.35/set).
> Entering the weekend, Schabort is also slotted eighth in the conference with 3.18 kills per set.
> Elsewhere, Tessa Schouten occupies the fifth spot with 1.18 blocks per set.
> As a team, the Aztecs find themselves among the top half of the conference in several categories, ranking second in digs (14.76/set), third in assists (12.18/set) and fourth in kills (13.12/set). 
> Additionally, SDSU is slotted fifth in both hitting percentage (.210) and blocks (2.18/set) while occupying the eighth position in service aces (1.29/set).
> The Aztecs' .340 hitting percentage vs. UC Irvine marks the fifth-best team efficiency for a single match thus far in the Pac-12.
> SDSU's 57 team digs against UC Davis marks the top figure in the conference for a three-set match this season, while its 70 digs the following day vs. Cal Poly represent the second-highest total in a four-set contest.
 > Individually, Layla Austin's .586 hitting percentage (18-1-29) vs. UC Irvine represents the highest clip in the league so far this year.
> In addition, Austin leads the conference for a three-set match with 18 kills against the Anteaters, while her total of 15 put-aways at UC Davis is tied for second.  
> Elsewhere, Zara Stewart has recorded the highest dig-total in the Pac-12 for a four-set match with 21 scoops against IU Indy, while Kendall Mairs and Ella Schabort are tied for second in that category with 13 digs apiece at UC Davis. 

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
> Santa Clara (2-5) returns home after posting a 1-2 mark last weekend at the Yale Invitational in New Haven, Connecticut, where the Broncos opened with a sweep of Manhattan (25-19, 25-13, 25-20) before suffering the identical fate in a narrow loss to Hofstra (23-25, 20, 22-25), followed by another hard-fought 3-1 defeat to the host Bulldogs (24-26, 22-25, 25-23, 22-25). Prior to its excursion to the Nutmeg State, Santa Clara posted a 3-0 whitewash (25-16, 25-23, 25-21) at Cincinnati on Sept. 1. Junior right-side hitter Morgan Hayes (63 kills, 4.85/set) was named West Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week, while fellow classmate Macy Hinshaw (11.15 assists/set, 2.38 digs/set, 10 blocks) was tabbed the league's Setter of the Week. Entering this weekend's tournament, Hayes leads all team qualifiers with a .315 hitting percentage and ranks second in the WCC in kills (4.52/set), while redshirt junior outside hitter Cate Shanahan is slotted 10th in that statistic (3.08/set). In addition, Hinshaw is slotted third in the conference in assists (10.63/set), while senior libero Lexi Trapani is tied for the third in service aces (12) and occupies the fifth position in digs  (3.81/set). At the net, the Broncos are paced by junior middle blocker Bryn Shankle, a TCU transfer who ranks fourth in the conference with 24 total blocks (1.09/set). Collectively, Santa Clara finds itself among the top half of the WCC in service aces (2nd, 44), hitting percentage (3rd, .247), kills (5th, 12.67/set) and blocks (5th, 1.94/set). The Broncos are under the direction of eighth-year head coach Erin Lindsey, who spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford in 2017-18 and another in the same capacity at Illinois in 2016,  following a five-year stint as head coach at Dartmouth from 2011-15. Lindsey was a four-year starter and two-time team captain as a collegian at North Carolina from 1995-98, receiving AVCA all-region and all-ACC recognition on two occasions to go with conference Player of the Year honors as a senior.

> California (5-1) is coming off a four-set victory (25-27, 25-11, 28-26, 25-20) at South Carolina in its last outing on Sept. 8. Prior to that decision, the Golden Bears won two matches in Nacogdoches, Texas, sweeping past Loyola Chicago (25-21, 25-16, 25-14) before edging host Stephen F. Austin in a five-set nail-biter (25-18, 22-25, 12-25, 25-16, 15-11). Individually, Cal is led by the duo of outside hitters Abby Zimmerman (3.13 kills/set) and Ashley Li (2.92 kills/set), followed closely by middle blocker Sawyer Thomsen (2.79 kills/set), who ranks fourth in the ACC with a .413 hitting percentage. In addition, fellow middle Cari Bohm is slotted third in the conference with 1.53 block per set, while Zimmerman occupies the fourth spot with 13 service aces. Not to be outdone, setter Anna Flores ranks sixth in the ACC with 10.29 assists per set, while libero Sophia Johnson anchors the Bears' back row with 2.92 digs per set.  As a team, Cal is slotted sixth in the league in hitting percentage (.285) and aces (1.63/set) while occupying the eighth position in blocks (2.54/set) and the 10th spot in both kills (13.04/set) and assists (12.21/set). The Golden Bears are under the direction of third-year head coach Jen Malcom, who arrived on the Berkeley campus after spending one season as associate head coach/interim head coach at UCLA in 2023. Prior to her stop in Westwood, Malcom enjoyed a seven-year stint at her alma mater Iowa State from 2016-22, serving the final four seasons as associate head coach. During her tenure in Ames, Malcom helped coach the Cyclones to five NCAA Tournament appearances along with a National Invitational Volleyball Championship crown in 2018. As a player, Malcom spent the first two years of her collegiate career at Syracuse before transferring to Iowa State, where she owns the school record for career hitting percentage (.318) and single-season block assists (159).

> CSU Bakersfield (3-3) split two home matches against Weber State last weekend, dropping a narrow 3-1 decision (25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 25-27) before outlasting the Wildcats in a five-set battle (25-14, 25-17, 18-25, 25-27, 15-11). The Roadrunners have posted identical 1-1 records at home, on the road and at neutral-site matches this season. Individually, CSUB is led by outside hitter Suelen Lima, who ranks fourth in the Big West with 3.87 kills per set, while fellow outside hitter Anna Bacchin (2.61) and middle blocker Jordyn Waite-Ward (2.14) are also averaging over two kills per frame. Waite-Ward leads the team with .283 hitting percentage among qualifiers, while setter Luiza Da Cruz is slotted 10th in the Big West with 5.70 assists/set. At the net, middle blocker Nele Broszat also ranks 10th in the Big West with 1.00 blocks per set (18 overall), while libero Analiese Gagliano anchors the Runners' back row with an average of 2.91 digs per set. Da Cruz, Lima, outside hitter Ana Benjamin and libero Taly Acherboim represent the Brazilian contingent on the CSUB roster, while Bacchin (Italy), Broszat (Germany), middle blocker Defne Yanik (Turkiye) bring international experience as well. Collectively, the Runners are slotted sixth in the conference in several categories, including hitting percentage (.197), kills (11.87/set), assists (11.13/set) and blocks (2.13/set). In addition, CSUB ranks seventh in the league in digs (13.30/set) while occupying the eighth spot in service aces (1.52/set). The Runners are led by first-year head coach Kristen Wright, a Bakersfield native who returns to her hometown after spending the past eight seasons as head coach at North Florida, where she became the winningest coach in the program's Division I history (since 2005). Prior to her arrival on the Jacksonville campus, Wright spend four years as head coach at MiraCosta College in Oceanside from 2014-17, leading the beach volleyball squad to a 3C2A state title.

ON THE HORIZON
> The Aztecs wrap up their non-conference schedule with two matches next weekend, playing host to Arizona in their 2026 home opener on Friday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. PT, before heading across town to battle the University of San Diego at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.

HEAD COACH BRENT HILLIARD
Now in his seventh year on The Mesa, head coach Brent Hilliard and the San Diego State volleyball program begin a new chapter this fall when the Aztecs embark on their inaugural season in the Pac-12 Conference.

In its final Mountain West campaign, Hilliard directed SDSU to its second straight conference tournament appearance and third in the last four years when the Aztecs secured the No. 6 seed at the 2025 MW Championship.

Facing third-seeded Wyoming in the opening round, SDSU recorded a statement win with a 3-0 upset of the Cowgirls before falling to No. 2 seed Colorado State in a tight four-set battle in the semifinals.

Under Hilliard’s tutelage, opposite hitter Taylor Underwood garnered first-team all-Mountain West accolades for the third year in row after leading the Scarlet and Black with 3.47 kills per set, which ranked seventh in the league.

With her 364 overall kills, Underwood surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau in an SDSU uniform after transferring from DePaul in 2023 and became the first Aztec player to record 300 put-aways in three straight seasons since Deja Harris (2016-18).

Not to be outdone, Hilliard oversaw the development of freshman libero Zara Stewart, a prized recruit who earned first-team all-MW honors after ranking fifth in the conference with 3.70 digs per set (455 overall).

Scholastic achievement has been a trademark for the Aztec volleyball program, and the 2025 campaign was no different, as 11 players earned spots on the Mountain West all-academic team following the fall semester, including Underwood and Campbell Hague, who also landed on the College Sports Communicators academic all-district team.