Oct. 5, 2005

AZTECS TRAVEL TO LAS VEGAS FOR LONE MATCH OF THE WEEK
*San Diego State will head to Las Vegas for its only match this weekend as it takes on UNLV in a Mountain West Conference engagement.
*That match is schedule for Friday, Oct. 7, at UNLV's Cox Pavilion at 7:00 p.m. (PDT).

SERIES RECORD
*San Diego State is 14-5 in the series against UNLV including a pair of losses to the Rebels during the 2004 season.
*The teams first met in 1985 when both were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA). They did not meet again until 11 years later (1996) when both were in the Western Athletic Conference.
*Since both schools became members of the Mountain West Conference in 1999, SDSU has won 10 of 14 meetings. That record includes 12 regular-season matches and two contests at the annual MWC Tournament.
*The Aztecs are 7-1 against the Rebels at home, 6-3 in Las Vegas, and 0-1 at a neutral site.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
*UNLV enters Friday's match with a record of 7-8 overall and 3-1 in the MWC. The Rebels are tied with San Diego State for third in the league standings with each school having played the same four conference opponents.
*UNLV has three players who average over three kills per game: outside hitter Maria Aladjova (3.46 kpg), middle blocker Lauren Miramontes (4.24 kpg) and outside hitter Brittani Lumsden (3.02 kpg).
*Aladjova and teammate Mariana Pencheva both hail from Sofia, Bulgaria.
*Libero Jada Walker leads the MWC in digs in conference games with an average of 3.69 dpg.

HEAD COACH Mark Warner
*San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his 11th season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 173-152 (.532).
*Over the past 10 years, Warner has led his teams to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and a Western Athletic Conference championship. His tutelage has produced 15 all-conference players and he was named the Mountain West Conference co-coach of the year in 2002.

MOST RECENTLY
*San Diego State won a pair of league contests on the road last week, taking a 3-1 (30-25, 32-30, 29-31, 30-24) decision from Air Force before defeating New Mexico, 3-2 (24-30, 30-26, 30-27, 24-30, 16-14).
*Against the Falcons, SDSU got a match-high 20 kills from senior Lindsey Noll along with 10 apiece from Lindsey Mahan and Audra Dent. Aime Cordeiro had 21 digs while Leah Lathrop and Melissa Stapley each had 10. Noll hit a team-high .400 in the match and also had four blocks.
*In the win at New Mexico, San Diego State got double-double efforts from Melanie Greene (13 kills, 14 digs) and Alicia Waller (13 kills, 12 digs), plus 13 kills and eight blocks from Lindsey Noll. The Aztecs fought off a match point at 13-14 in the fifth game, then got a block and a kill from Noll to win it.

NOLL LEADS THE WAY
*Middle blocker Lindsey Noll, a 6-5 transfer from Missouri, is hitting .320 in all matches to lead San Diego State and rank fourth in the conference in that category.
*In last weekend's two matches, Noll hit .323 wile averaging 3.67 kpg, 1.33 bpg, and 4.67 points per game.
*Her 20 kills in the match against Air Force tied her career high which she set vs. Texas A&M while playing at Missouri. It was also the sixth time this season that she hit .400 or higher in a match.
*Noll's eight total blocks vs. New Mexico was one shy of her career high.
*She is hitting .368 after four league contests to rank second in MWC-match statistics. She is also averaging 1.47 blocks per game in league play to rank third in that category.
*Over the Aztecs' last six outings, Noll is hitting .381 and averaging 3.0 kills and 1.43 blocks per game.

GREENE GETS GOING
*Junior OH Melanie Greene has recorded six double-doubles (kills and digs) this season including four in SDSU's most recent six matches.
*The latest was a 13 kill/14 dig effort in the five-game win at New Mexico last Saturday.
*She leads the Aztecs with an average of 3.37 kills per game.
*In 2005, she is accounting for an average of 3.99 points per game to lead the squad.
*Her six service aces against Binghamton on Sept, 17 was a new career best while her 20 kills in the match vs. Cleveland State later that same day tied her career high.

WALLER SERVES IT UP
*Freshman outside hitter Alicia Waller had 13 kills and 12 digs at New Mexico to record her first collegiate double-double.
*She recorded seven service aces in the win over Wyoming on Sept. 24, the most in a match by an Aztec since Robyn Gregg had nine against Air Force on October 18, 2002.
*Waller is second the Mountain West Conference this week in both the overall and league-match only stats. In all contests, she is averaging 0.49 aces per game. That figure improves to 0.62 per game in conference-game statistics.
*Her seven aces ties in the Wyoming match ties for the most in any match by an MWC player this season and are most in a league contest in 2005. Waller also had six in a match earlier this year (vs. Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 7).

CORDEIRO KEEPS DIGGIN'
*Sophomore libero Aime Cordeiro had 21 digs over the four games at Air force, the fifth time this season she has had 20 or more in a match.
*She missed the match at New Mexico due to a concussion suffered at Air Force, but is expected to return to action this weekend.
*Cordeiro continues to lead the MWC in digs (overall) with an average of 4.82 per game. In MWC play, her average of .360 ranks second behind UNLV's Jada Walker (3.69 dpg) this week.
*Cordeiro's 24 digs against Boise State on Sept. 9 was a career best for the sophomore from nearby Santee (West Hills HS).

GOING LONG
*Prior to last Saturday's match at New Mexico, the Aztecs had not played a five-game match this season and became the last MWC in 2005 to do so.
*SDSU's last five-game match was against James Madison on Sept. 11 ,2004.
*Prior to the win in Albuquerque, the team's last victory in a five-game match was against University of San Diego on Nov. 4, 2003.

ON THE BLOCK
*After a slow start this fall, San Diego State's blocking has been coming on over the past several matches.
*The Aztecs have two regulars who average over a block a game entering the week: Lindsey Noll (1.12 bpg) and Lindsey Mahan (1.02 bpg). A third, Audra Dent, is just under one per game (0.98 bpg).
*In MWC competition, Noll's average of 1.47 bpg ranks third while Dent's 1.20 bpg is eighth-best in the league.
*The team blocking average recently surpassed the final average of the 2004 campaign (2.55 bpg in 2005 compared to 2.47 bpg in 2004).

DUAL SETTERS
*San Diego State is using a two-setter rotation this season, alternating sophomore Kristen Castillo and freshman Leah Lathrop.
*Each setter has appeared in all 54 games, and the two have averaged a total of 12.37 assists, 0.45 service aces and 2.70 dpg.
*Lathrop recorded the first double-double of her collegiate career with 24 assists and 10 digs in the win at Air Force last Friday.

SO FAR, SO GOOD
*Halfway through the 2005 regular season, statistical comparisons to last season indicate that the Aztecs are a much-improved team in 2005.
*Here are stat averages from the 2004 season and after the first 14 matches of the current campaign:

          2005    2004
KPG......15.41...12.84
Pct........219.....152
Asst/G...13.74...11.55
Aces/G....1.78....1.12
Digs.....14.50...11.83
Blocks....2.55....2.47

AZTEC WIN TWO TOURNEYS
*San Diego State won a pair of tournament titles in 2005: the Red Raider Round-Up and the Medical Mutual CSU Invitational.
*The Aztecs captured the crown at the Medical Mutual CSU Invitational with a perfect 3-0 record. It was the second straight tournament title for the Aztecs, who had won the Red Raider Round-Up at Texas Tech the previous weekend with a 2-1 mark (tourney championship based on game W-L record).
*It marked the first time that SDSU won two in-season tournaments in the same year since it won tourneys at University of San Diego and New Mexico during the 1996 campaign.

ALL-TOURNEY AZTECS
*Four different Aztecs earned all-tournament honors during the three tournaments that SDSU competed in earlier this season.
*Sophomore libero Aime Cordeiro was a three-time all-tourney selection (Aztec Invitational, Red Raider round-UP, Medial Mutual CSU Invitational).
*Junior outside hitter Melanie Greene earned the honor at both the Red Raider Round-Up and the Medial Mutual CSU Invitational. She was also named the MVP of the latter event.
*Junior Audra Dent and freshman Alicia Waller were named all-tourney at the Aztec Invitational.

AZTEC NOTES
*As a team, SDSU ranks among the top four in the conference in kills, assists, digs blocks and service aces.
*Audra Dent's seven blocks vs. New Mexico was a personal season best and her two solo efforts in that match tied a career high.
*Lindsey Mahan is averaging 2.5 kills per game over SDSU's last three outings. Her season average prior to that was 1.62.
*Aime Cordeiro's 24 digs vs. Boise State are the most in the league this season in a three-game match.
*Kristen Castillo is hitting .421 from her setter position. Last season she finished with a .263 attack percentage.
*Three Aztecs have recorded at least one block in every match this season: Audra Dent, Lindsey Mahan and Lindsey Noll.
*After recovering from a back injury, senior Ashley Bowker made her first appearance of the season during the Cleveland State tournament. She played in one game each in the matches vs. Niagara and Binghamton, averaging 1.50 kills and 1.00 blocks per game.
*Wyoming's 53 points scored vs. SDSU on Sept. 24 were the fewest allowed (since rally scoring began) by the Aztecs since they gave up just 45 to Harvard on Sept. 18, 2003.

UP NEXT
*San Diego State will take a break from conference action when it hosts cross-town rival University of San Diego on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) in Peterson Gym. The Toreros are ranked 15th in the nation this week.
*The Aztecs resume league play on Sunday, Oct. 16, when TCU visits Peterson Gym for a match slated to start at 11:00 a.m. (PDT).