Sara Mukaj Season 2022

2021 FALL SEASON (As A Freshman): Started seven of eight matches before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in a home clash vs. San Diego … Hit .333 with 16 kills on 36 attempts against four errors across 27 sets … Also finished with 22 total blocks, 16 digs, 12 setting assists and seven service aces … Totaled at least three blocks in her final six matches of the year … Set the team’s 2021 season high with four aces in her first start as an Aztec vs. Sam Houston at the Bearkat Invitational (8-27-21) … Displayed her versatility in the rematch against Sam Houston the following day, posting a .636 hitting percentage on seven kills in 11 attempts without an error while posting five digs, four block assists, four setting assists and one service ace (8-28-21) … Finished with four blocks, including a solo stuff, in SDSU’s first victory of the year, a three-set sweep over host UC Santa Barbara at the Gaucho Invitational (9-3-21) … Matched her season high with four block assists the following day against No. 21 Pepperdine (9-4-21) … Blasted four kills on five swings without an error (.800) vs. No. 25 USD, adding three block assists and an ace in her final appearance of the 2021 campaign.  

PRIOR TO COLLEGE: A heavily recruited player who has competed several elite club teams over the past five years in her native Italy, including Igor Volley Trecate Novara II and Exacer Montale, leading the latter to a second-place finish in the Italian Serie B1 Group C tournament in 2019 … Attended the renowned Anderlini Volleyball School … Helped another one of her club teams to the 2016-17 Serie C championship and a third-place standing at the Italian national U16 championships … Was also named MVP and voted best middle blocker in the U16 regional finals that year … Prepped at Istituto Scaruffi-Levi Tricolore … Chose the Aztecs over numerous schools, including Colorado, Colorado State, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Auburn, West Virginia, Iowa State, Kansas State, New Mexico, San Diego and UCF, among many other others.  

PERSONAL: Daughter of Gentjan and Migena Mukaj … Enjoys cooking healthy foods, traveling and spending time with family and friends … Lists Italian pro women’s volleyball star Raphaela Folie as her favorite athlete … Plans to major in food and nutrition at San Diego State.