Kendall Mairs, Taelyn Bentley Earn Pac-12 Weekly Honors
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team netted two conference weekly awards on Tuesday, as Kendall Mairs was named Pac-12 Setter of the Week, while Taelyn Bentley was tabbed the league’s Defensive Player of the Week. The announcement was made by the Pac-12 office in San Ramon, California.
With their accolades, Mairs received conference recognition for the second straight week and third time this season, while Bentley earned the first weekly honor of her career.
Both student-athletes played pivotal roles in the Aztecs’ sweeps of Oregon State (Oct. 8) and Gonzaga (Oct. 10) at home last week, as the Scarlet and Black held two opponents to a combined .098 hitting percentage to help extend its winning streak to five straight.
In two matches, Mairs led the Pac-12 with 35 assists and 11.67 assists per set while ranking second on the team with 13 digs (2.17/set) and third with seven block assists. In addition, the Aztec sophomore displayed her versatility with five kills and a service ace. Thanks to Mairs’ setting, SDSU topped the Pac-12 with a .368 team hitting percentage for the week.
Against Oregon State, Mairs led all players with 35 assists, helping the Aztecs to their third-best efficiency for the year with a .345 clip, as the Scarlet and Black snapped a five-match losing streak to the Beavers dating back to 2000. The Camas, Washington, native also tied for match-high honors with six digs.
Two days later vs. Gonzaga, Mairs once again dished out a match-high 35 assists, which helped the Aztecs register their second-highest hitting percentage of the year with a .389 clip. She also ranked second on the team with seven digs and set a career best with four block assists, including two during a strong 11-3 closing run that secured the second set. Earlier, Mairs crossed up the Gonzaga defense with three kills during a timely 14-7 run in the opening stanza.
For the season, Mairs finds herself among the Pac-12 leaders in three categories, ranking third in assists (9.60/set) while tying for eighth in service aces (0.31/set) and occupying the ninth spot in digs (2.95/set).
Meanwhile, Bentley led the Aztecs with 10 blocks last week, which marked the highest total in the Pac-12 for those individuals playing six sets or less. The sophomore middle blocker also averaged 1.67 blocks per set, which topped the conference among players appearing in two matches.
Against Oregon State, Bentley established a season high with seven blocks, including a pair of solo rejections, helping SDSU limit the Beavers to a .137 hitting percentage.
In the opening set vs. OSU, Bentley set the tone with three blocks, including a solo rejection, as the Beavers compiled a measly .064 hitting percentage in that span.
Two days later, Bentley continued her strong play with three block assists and one dig against Gonzaga, as the Scarlet and Black limited the Zags to a paltry .061 hitting percentage, which marked the lowest clip by an Aztec opponent this year.
Though not a criterion for the award, Bentley flashed her all-round game with a combined 10 kills, finishing the week with a .364 hitting percentage after committing just two errors in 22 attempts.
Against Gonzaga, Bentley blasted six kills in 13 attempts with just one error (.385), marking the ninth time this season she has finished with six or more terminations in a match.
For the season, Bentley leads the Pac-12 with a .405 hitting percentage and ranks second on the team with 42 blocks (0.78/set) while occupying the third spot with 97 kills (1.80/set).
San Diego State resumes its homestand with two matches this week when the Aztecs battle Utah State on Thursday, Oct. 15 (6 p.m. PT), before locking horns with Texas State on Saturday, Oct. 17 (noon).