Oct. 19, 2009

Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format

AZTECS HIT HE ROAD FOR PAIR OF MATCHES THIS WEEK
San Diego State will be back on the road again this week as it will play one conference match before competing in one of the three non-league contests remaining on its 2009 schedule. The Aztecs will be in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oct. 22, to take on MWC rival UNLV. That match will get underway at 7:00 p.m. (PT) at Cox Pavilion. Two days later (Saturday, Oct. 24) SDSU will square off against Cal State Bakersfield at CSUB's Icardo Center at 2:00 p.m. (PT).

SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State's all-time record against UNLV stands at 17-12 since the teams first met in 1985. The Rebels had won the last seven matches between the schools until the Aztecs claimed a five-set victory when they met in Peterson Gym in Sept. 2007. UNLV has won nine of the last 12 against SDSU with the Aztecs defeating the Rebels in five sets in San Diego last month. San Diego State is 11-3 vs. UNLV at home, 6-8 in Las Vegas and 0-1 at neutral venues.
SDSU is 1-0 against Cal State Bakersfield with the lone meeting between the teams coming in Bakersfield during the 1992 campaign. The Aztecs captured that match in three sets.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
UNLV enters the week with a record of 5-11 overall and 3-5 in conference play. The Rebels are coming off a three-set win over New Mexico. UNLV is led by Cursty Jackson (3.27 kills/set, 1.02 blocks/set) and Sara Nehf (2.62 kills/set, 1.64 digs/set). Erin Greenwood is hitting at a .344 clip while averaging 2.22 kills and 0.84 blocks per set.
Cal State Bakersfield's overall record stands at 10-12. The Roadrunners are independent as they complete the transition to Division I. CSUB is led by Lindy DeGeare (3.48 kills/set, 0.79 digs/set) and Alysia Baker (2.36 kills/set, 1.16 digs/set). Baker is from Vista, Calif. (Tri-City Christian HS). Seven of the 12 players on the roster are from Bakersfield.

HEAD COACH Deitre Collins-Parker
San Diego State Head Coach Deitre Collins-Parker is in her first season with the Aztecs after being named the fourth head coach in program history earlier this year. She previously served as head coach at UNLV for eight seasons (1996-2003) and at Cornell the past five years (2004-2008). Her 13-year career record stands at 170-201 (.458). A three-time All-American as a player at Hawai'i, she led the Rainbow Wahine to consecutive national titles (1983-84) and was named the national player of the year twice. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team and competed at the Goodwill Games and Pan Am Games prior to playing professionally in Europe for four years. She is one of six players named to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball 25th Anniversary Team in October 2005 and was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in the fall of 2008.

MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Outside hitter Kyley Sexton has been named Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for her efforts in the Aztecs' victory over Air Force last week. It marks her first MWC award. The sophomore from Salem, Ore. (West Salem HS), led the Aztecs to a 3-0 win over the Falcons last Friday. She knocked down 16 kills in 21 attempts with only one hitting error for a career-best .714 efficiency while also collecting five digs. Sexton's previous best hitting percentage on the season was .256, while her 16 kills marked her second-highest output of the season. She came into the match with a .122 attack percentage and averaging 2.28 kills per set. For the match, Sexton averaged 5.33 kills, 3.00 digs, 1.67 digs and 5.33 points per set.

EVANS HAS HOT HAND
Outside hitter Hannah Evans's turned in a career high .500 hitting percentage in the match against Air Force with nine kills and no errors on 18 attempts. Her previous best came against Air Force during her freshman campaign (2007) when she hit .400 (9-3-15). Evans' 15 kills against league-leading Colorado State on Oct. 8 fell one shy of matching her career best as an Aztec. She turned in her third double-double of the year in that match by adding 11 digs. Her two career-high matching 16-kill outings this season came against San Jose State (Aug. 29) and UNLV (Sept. 26). Evans completed double-double efforts in those contests with 14 and 12 digs respectively.

PEARSON DIGS AND SERVES
Paije Pearson has started 16 of SDSU's 18 matches this season after having a pair of starts as a freshman in 2008. Her eight digs and two service aces against Air Force last Friday were both career highs for the sophomore from Chandler, Ariz. She tied her career-best with five block assists in the win over Wyoming in SDSU's previous match (Oct. 10). She also finished that match with nine kills and a .316 hitting percentage.

JACKELS DIGGIN' IT
Kristi Jackels, a walk-on who redshirted as a true freshman in 2008, has been solid in the role of starting libero this fall. She recorded 16 digs over three sets against Air Force to improve her season average to 4.30 per set overall and 4.56 per set in conference matches. Her dig averages rank first in the Mountain West Conference both overall and in league contests. She tied her career high with 27 digs in the win over Wyoming on Oct. 10. Jackels previously recorded 27 digs against Rice on Sept. 4. She has recorded 20 or more digs in a match five times in including three straight (Sept. 13-19).

SALISBURY ATTACKS
Junior middle blocker Lauren Salisbury had six kills on seven attempts with no errors in the win over Air Force on Oct. 16. Over the past three matches, she is hitting .534 (44k, 5e, 73att) while averaging 3.67 kills per set. Against league-leading Colorado State on Oct. 8 she went for a season-high 19 kills while hitting .421 and also had four blocks in that contest. Two days later against Wyoming she matched that kill total with 19 against the Cowgirls, this time hitting at a .607 clip. She again recorded four blocks in the match. Salisbury has hit .300 or better in 13 of SDSU's 18 matches this fall. Salisbury enters the week with a .329 career hitting percentage, a mark that ranks fifth-best all-time for an Aztec player.

HANNASCH CONTINUES SOLID PLAY
Freshman middle blocker Andrea Hannasch has started every match and played in every set thus far in 2009. She had a string of three straight matches in double figures in kills ended last Friday vs. Air Force. She has been in double figures in that category in six of the last nine contests. Her .350 attack percentage vs. Colorado State on Oct. 8 marked the eighth time this season she surpassed the .300 mark in a match. She leads the team in blocking at 1.08 per set overall and 1.06 per set in MWC contests. Hannasch had a season-high 15 kills in the match against Rice on Sept. 4 and a personal best seven blocks in the win over Cal State Northridge on Sept. 5. Entering this week's matches she ranks among the conference top 10 individuals in hitting percentage, blocks and service aces.

VAN ORDEN AT SETTER
Setter Lauren Van Orden had 41 assists against Air Force (13.67 per set) to increase her league-leading average to 10/94 per set. She also had a solo block against the Falcons and has recorded least one block in 17 of 18 matches this season. She recorded five total blocks against Colorado State on Oct. 8 to match her career high that she set against San Jose State earlier this year. Her dozen digs at TCU on Oct. 3 tied her SDSU season and career best and allowed her to notch her third double-double of the season as she recorded 38 assists in that contest. Van Orden set her SDSU career high with 61 assists in the win over UNLV on Sept. 26.

MANASCO MISSES MATCH
Junior outside hitter Kelsey Manasco, who had started the previous 11 matches, missed the contest against Air Force after suffering a sprained ankle in practice earlier in the week. She is expected to be available for this week's contests. Manasco had averaged just under three (2.85) kills and 3.20 points per set over SDSU's five matches prior to Air Force. In the contest against UNLV on Sept. 26, she recorded career-highs with 24 kills and 51 attempts.

WORKING OVERTIME
The Aztecs have played five five-set matches this season and are 3-2 in those contests. All three of their five-set victories have come in Peterson Gym. Those wins came against Cal State Fullerton, UNLV and Wyoming. SDSU's two five-set losses have been to Rice (at the USF tournament) and at Brigham Young.

AMONG THE STAT LEADERS
As a team, San Diego State is second the Mountain West Conference overall team stats in assists (12.13/set) and third in kills (12.94/set). Individually, Lauren Van Orden's 10.94 assists/set is the best average the MWC. Libero Kristi Jackels is the conference leader in digs with a mark of 4.30 per set. Andrea Hannasch is seventh in service aces (0.25/set) as well as 10th in hitting percentage (.287) and sixth in blocking (1.08 per set). Lauren Salisbury ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.357), 10th in kills (2.68/set) and 10th in points (3.18/set).

AZTEC NOTES
The team's .466 attack percentage vs. Air Force last Friday (Oct. 16) was its highest since it hit .473 against Harvard on Sept. 18, 2003 ... The Aztecs have six players averaging over two kills per set (Salisbury-2.68; Manasco-2.48; Sexton-2.47; Evans-2.29; Hannasch-2.27; Pearson-2.06) ... Redshirt freshman setter Kasey Klein, who missed the Air Force match with a sprained ankle, had a season-high five digs in the win over Wyoming on Oct. 10 and also recorded her first point of the season with a service ace ... Lauren Salisbury and Andrea Hannasch have recorded at least one block in every match ... Salisbury, Hannasch and Lauren Van Orden are the only players to have started every match this season. Those three, in addition to Kristi Jackels, have appeared in every set ... Eleven of the 18 athletes on the team are freshmen or sophomores. The Aztecs have only two seniors: outside hitter Caitlin McMillan and libero/defensive specialist Courtney Lamphier.